Crouch End (2006 short)

Street sign from Crouch End (2006 short)...

Summary

An episode of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes television miniseries, concerning the case of Doris Freeman, a nearly hysterical young American woman who arrived in a small London police station speaking of monsters and supernatural visions while reporting the disappearance of her husband, lawyer Leonard Freeman, in the sinister neighborhood of Crouch End, said to be built on a Druid "towen", or place of sacrifice.

Details

• Release Date: 2006
• Country/Language: US/Australia, English
• Genres/Technical: Fantasy, Horror
• Runtime: 45 min
• Starring: Claire Forlani, Eion Bailey, Linal Haft
• Director: Mark Haber
• Writer: Stephen King (original story), Kim Lemasters (screenplay)
• Producer/Production Co: Ostar Productions, Coote Hayes Productions, Turner Network Television (TNT)
• View Trailer: (link)
• View Film: (link)
• IMDB: (link)

Ratings

MPAA Ratings

• Rated: PG (mild Violence and Adult Content)

Tentacle Ratings

A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:

• SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; could be a very loose adaptation)

Not exactly a "Lovecraftian" film in the sense of being based on any of Lovecraft's work or containing references to his creations, though some viewers may find the location and atmosphere suggestive of Lovecraft's work (an "Eldritch Location" film). Stephen King does name-drop several of Lovecraft's creations in this story.

Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.

Reviews

Review Links:

• Steve Barton at DreadCentral, (link) - "2.5/5...A classic King nightmare that dives right into the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. The good news is that this entry serves up some good first impressions: The rich visuals, eerie music score, and first-rate production design lend the series a mature, classy feel as opposed to Masters of Horror's frantic guerilla style. The bad news is that this particular episode falls well short of its potential... we’re hit with an unbelievably hokey final act – a combination of music video editing, third-grade surrealism, and bargain-basement CGI that completely destroys any trace of atmosphere or tension...."

Synopsis

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)

The case of Doris Freeman, a nearly hysterical young American woman who, arrived in the Crouch End police station speaking of monsters and supernatural visions in reporting the disappearance of her husband, lawyer Leonard Freeman in the sinister neighborhood said to be built on a Druid "towen", or place of sacrifice.

Notes

Associated Mythos Elements

• Fiction: Stephen King's "Crouch End"
• Location: Crouch End
• Race: Ghouls
• Race: random tentacle-monster
• Deities: name-dropped in street names and off-hand remarks as "Cthulu Kryon", Yogsoggoth, Ryeleh, Nrtesn Nyarlahotep, "The Darker Way", "The Road that Leads into the Funnel", "The Whistler From the Stars", "Eater of Dimensions", "The Blind Piper", "The Goat With a Thousand Young"...