I just finished watching this film and I have to say, I loved it! I can't understand why it has such a low rating. I do have one question/thought about it though, do you think the creature is from the H P Lovecraft 'Deep Ones' mythos? Surely it could pass for being Dagon's brother? Your thoughts on this, please.....thanks.
"Shoot it man...shoot it man...shoot it in the head!" Dawn of the Dead (1978)
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I love hp lovecraft movies adaptation,great stuff.
Deep Ones?did they make a movie out of it?
http://www.videodetective.com/photos/001/00007604_.jpg
Yeah, because everything with friggin' tentacles was invented by H.P. Lovecraft . . .
Always remember to wear a helmet when caving, and carry three light sources
No, just all the good stuff.
Really, tentacles arent very frightening in and of themselves - its the utterly-alien creature theyre attached to that is scary; and thats pretty much what Lovecraft's most famous monsters were all about.
Granted, this movie tried to say it was just a gigantoid sea-worm, which is realistically about as likely as it being Cthulhu: stuff doesnt just become gigantic for no reason, and a naturally occuring giant tentacle worm - especially one that could move from the deep to the surface without dying and is intelligent enough to herd prey through a ship - is pretty much as likely to exist as an ancient alien God-priest slumbering in a temple beneath the sea. Its fiction, sure - but at least Lovecraft's was written in such a way as that it might actually seem feasible; as opposed to sounding like something thought up by some coke-heads with a general biology textbook.
A giant sea-monster/alien-being that attacks a boat from out of nowhere is pretty much the climax of Call of Cthulhu; including the appearance of a crazy monster-island.
Dagon is pretty much the same thing, iirc - boat is attacked, man ends up on crazy monster-volcano island, encounters giant monster...
... What about that is so NOT like an H.P. Lovecraft story?
H.P. Lovecraft fans act as though he devised the notion of sea monsters, giant tentacular adversaries, ships under attack from creatures of the deep, sunken cities, aliens, etc. despite their existence in fact and folklore for many thousands of years before Lovecraft ever put pen to paper.
Now, I have no problem with Lovecraft or his writings; he did a superb job. The rabidity of his fans is another story. Writers frequently compare natural phenomena and circumstances to Lovecraft with terms such as "Lovecraftian" or "Lovecraftian horrors" (the latter always employed when referring to some sort of monster, real or not). It's almost as if Lovecraft fans believe the author holds some sort of copyright on cephalopods, or even the ancient astronaut theory, simply because he slapped a pair of wings on an octopus he said was an alien and wrote a story about it.
Carefully study the mythology of all ancient cultures that had a strong connection to the sea, and learn about mollusks, to understand the genesis of Lovecraft's ideas.
Always remember to wear a helmet when caving, and carry three light sources
Your astute observations regarding all Lovecraft fanatics are entirely accurate, myself included, and don't even begin to sound as though we could fall into stereotypical categories such as "dumb jock" or "know-it-all forum poster".
shareDoes that mean your mom was invented by HP Lovecraft?
shareActually it's pretty funny that the ship gets attacked in pacific ocean.
And R'lyeh is located in Pacific ocean, though not probably exactly where the ship was traveling.
What clichés? Thats a word the wannabe critics use when they want to whinge.share
I'm a big Lovecraft fan and I do agree that a lot of Lovecraft fans can be a bit...extreme...but I think it's a somewhat understandable to make comparisons between this film and Lovecraft's work. A lot of the similarities discussed cover it pretty well. I know there is an explanation for the creature in the film, but it sounds like the explanation of a logical person trying to make sense of an illogical situation.
The fact is, this film is perfect for projection (in the psychological sense of the word). I saw this film when it was first released, and -- only being 12 as well as unfamiliar with Lovecraft at the time -- accepted the given, "logical" answer as such. Now, watching the film so many years later, AFTER having become such a huge fan of Lovecraft, I can easily say that this film has a Lovecraftian "monster". It's a giant, tentacled beast that attacks a ship in the Pacific Ocean, much like in the Call of Cthulhu. Still, as was stated, sea monsters aren't Lovecraft inventions. Factoring in additional details such as unnatural intelligence can lead one to think it's something more than just an "oversized sea creature".
Again, it may not have been created as a Lovecraft-inspired film, but it does fit into the Lovecraft mold pretty easily -- if a Lovecraft film were shot as a dumb summer action flick along the lines of a Stephen Sommers or Michael Bay film.
My reviews and more random musings @
http://asinynepov.blogspot.com/
I was literally thinking about HP just now. When my brother reminded me of this movie.
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