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Who else thought of an H. P. Lovecraft story when watching this?

posted 9 years ago by GreatWhiteApeofBarsoom
6 replies | jump to latest

In the early 1930s, Lovecraft wrote a story thematically anticipating Prince of Darkness. That story was The Dreams in the Witch-House, about a doomed college student in a story where physics recapitulates the supernatural.

Lovecraft also adapted alternate dimensions, ambiguous dream sequences, and malevolent entities seeking to come into our world--all aspects of Prince of Darkness' story--into his narrative.

Whether Carpenter knew about the Lovecraft story or not when scripting Prince of Darkness I have no clue, but the movie betrays a clear Lovecraftian influence in its storyline and bears a number of resemblances to what Lovecraft wrote. Personally I think the similarities are enough to at least justify speculation that Carpenter had Lovecraft in mind when writing his script.

Requiescat in pace, Krystle Papile. I'll always miss you.

[–] MadSimian 9 years ago

It's pretty well known that Carpenter is a fan of Lovecraft. I mean, he wouldn't have made "In the Mouth of Madness" were he not. lol

The ladie reckons himself a poet!

[–] GreatWhiteApeofBarsoom 9 years ago

Oh, I know Carpenter is a Lovecraft fan. Aside from In the Mouth of Madness, he has quotes in the Lovecraft Dream Cycle collection expressing his admiration for the "Old Man."

I just found it interesting how many plot similarities Prince of Darkness has to Dreams in the Witch-House without devolving into the usual Cthulhuoid interpretation of Lovecraft's writing. We see a different aspect here, and I for one find that incredibly refreshing.

Requiescat in pace, Krystle Papile. I'll always miss you.

[–] MadSimian 9 years ago

I think what Carpenter had in mind when writing this was to meld Lovecraft with the movie, "Five Million Years to Earth"(whose general storyline also involves discovering a scientific source for the Devil and is actually one of Carpenter's major cinematic influences). You can also see some major inspiration from "Five Million Years to Earth" in "Ghost of Mars".

The laddie reckons himself a poet!

[–] highwayhaze 9 years ago

After seeing this movie my first thought was, "Man, Carpenter must love Fulci and Argento." It felt very much, to me, like Carpenter saying, "Let's see if I can do an American version of the Italian horrors from the mid 70s - early 80s."

Does anyone know if he has ever expressed any admiration for those directors?

[–] GreatWhiteApeofBarsoom 9 years ago

I never got a Fulci or Argento vibe out of this film. Their movies are basically straightforward splatterpunk horror. Prince of Darkness is more restrained in its narrative and deals with ambitious ideas, though somewhat clumsily.

Requiescat in pace, Krystle Papile. I'll always miss you. Justice was finally served.

[–] solidturtle 8 years ago

I very much agree with you. Plus, Carpenter is a noted Argento fan.