Difference between revisions of "Films Big Dumb List"

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* ''[[Stranger Things (2016 series)]]''
 
* ''[[Stranger Things (2016 series)]]''
 
* ''[[Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2012 series)]]'' ("is also centered around a Necronomicon-like book")
 
* ''[[Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2012 series)]]'' ("is also centered around a Necronomicon-like book")
 +
* ''[[Penny Dreadful (2014 series)]]''
 +
* ''[[Sanctuary (2008 series)]]''
 +
* ''[[Dark Skies (1996 series)]]''
 +
* ''[[The Others (2000 series)]]''
 +
* ''[[Extant (2014 series)]]''
 +
* ''[[The Whispers (2015 series)]]''
  
  
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== In Progress ==
 
== In Progress ==
  
−
* ''[[House of Bones (2010 film]])'' ?
 
 
* ''[[Dark Shadows (1966 franchise)]]'' (the Leviathans story arc channels Lovecraftian fiction) https://lovecraftzine.com/2013/12/10/the-collinsport-horror-dark-shadows-and-the-cthulhu-mythos-by-rick-lai/
 
* ''[[Dark Shadows (1966 franchise)]]'' (the Leviathans story arc channels Lovecraftian fiction) https://lovecraftzine.com/2013/12/10/the-collinsport-horror-dark-shadows-and-the-cthulhu-mythos-by-rick-lai/
−
* ''[[Penny Dreadful (2014 series)]]'' ("not explicitly Lovecraftian, but is well done and provides excellent imagery for Gaslight era horror.")
 
−
* ''[[Sanctuary (2008 series)]]'' ("an episode has a tentacle whip out of a boys belly to drill a hole in some poor saps head and we're introduced to a menagerie of beasties...ok not exactly Lovecraft but I thought I'd mention it")
 
−
* ''[[Dark Skies (1996 series)]]''
 
−
* ''[[The Others (2000 series)]]'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Others_(TV_series)
 
−
* ''[[Extant (2014 series)]]'' ("to be honest, I wasn't crazy about this show and felt it really didn't work in its second season, but the first season, at least, seemed to work on a vaguely Lovecraftian level.  The story was in many ways similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Village of the Damned, with alien fungi impregnating an astronaut as the first step in unleashing their formless, mind-controlling psychic hybrid children onto the Earth.  (If the first season could be compared to Village of the Damned, then the second season could be compared to the sequel Children of the Damned, with both the second season and the similar sequel failing to engage me as completely as the originals for similar reasons - namely, in that the second season and sequel really weren't particularly creepy, and suffered from being slightly preachy and talky.  YMMV.)")
 
−
* ''[[The Whispers (2015 series)]]''
 
 
* ''[[Friday the 13th: the Series (1987 series)]]'' (note also that the ninth film includes a blink-and-you-miss it shot of the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'' in the background, apparently because it looked cool or possibly as a sight-gag; later there was also a comic that crossed-over Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Evil Dead)
 
* ''[[Friday the 13th: the Series (1987 series)]]'' (note also that the ninth film includes a blink-and-you-miss it shot of the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'' in the background, apparently because it looked cool or possibly as a sight-gag; later there was also a comic that crossed-over Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Evil Dead)
 
* ''[[Twilight Zone (1959 series)]]''
 
* ''[[Twilight Zone (1959 series)]]''
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* ''[[Tarzan (1918 franchise)]]'' (there is some thematic pulp overlap between the work of Burroughs and Lovecraft, but is there enough?)
 
* ''[[Tarzan (1918 franchise)]]'' (there is some thematic pulp overlap between the work of Burroughs and Lovecraft, but is there enough?)
 
* ''[[Godzilla (1959 franchise)]]'' (there is perhaps some thematic overlap in Kaiju films, but with so many films under this umbrella, this is a mighty big can of worms to open!  Perhaps use the article to focus on some select films, like the original Godzilla and Rodan films, which most closely match cosmic horror in tone, theme, and atmosphere?)
 
* ''[[Godzilla (1959 franchise)]]'' (there is perhaps some thematic overlap in Kaiju films, but with so many films under this umbrella, this is a mighty big can of worms to open!  Perhaps use the article to focus on some select films, like the original Godzilla and Rodan films, which most closely match cosmic horror in tone, theme, and atmosphere?)
−
* ''[[Under the Skin (2013 film)]]'' ?
+
* ''[[House of Bones (2010 film]])'' ?
 
* ''[[Cronos (1993 film)]]'' - a vampire thing by Guillermo del Toro, with an alchemical tome, a weird rejuvenating artefact, and not much else "Lovecraftian"
 
* ''[[Cronos (1993 film)]]'' - a vampire thing by Guillermo del Toro, with an alchemical tome, a weird rejuvenating artefact, and not much else "Lovecraftian"
 
* ''[[Mulholland Drive (1996 film)]]'' ?
 
* ''[[Mulholland Drive (1996 film)]]'' ?

Revision as of 22:48, 6 January 2017

This is the "big, dumb list" of "Lovecraftian" movies that Yronimos Whateley is in the process of cataloguing in the Wiki. It's "big", and it's "dumb" because if Yronimos were smart, he'd never have started undertaking such a mad task.

The list was generated largely by mining several lists of suggestions made to Cthulhu-themed internet discussion boards in response to questions about "Lovecraftian" films. It's also (currently) unorganized - it's mostly listed roughly in the order that Yronimos felt like adding them to the catalogue in, without regard to date, alphabetical order, or any other system of sorting.

Yronimos quickly realized there was a number of films that are clearly "Lovecraftian" - being based explicitly on Lovecraft's stories with varying degrees of faithfulness - while others were almost universally considered "Lovecraftian" in spite of not being based on any particular story; then, there were a number of films in a grey area which could be suggested without objection, and finally a number which would prompt some lively objection and debate over whether it could be included; thus the "tentacles" rating system was born; depending on how "Lovecraftian" Yronimos found the films to be on a slightly less-than-completely subjective scale, with the most accurate adaptations getting five tentacles, and the films most likely to cause argument getting only 1 tentacle, and films that Yronimos could not see any but the most tenuous and distant relationship to Lovecraft (not even a brief mention of his name or anything) in getting left out of the catalogue.

Links

  • Tentacle Rating overview: (link)
  • Film Page Template: (link)

Notes

Want to help, but do not feel like creating your own entry from scratch? See the "Catalogued" section below for films that interest you - most catalogued films in this section could really use the following added to their pages:

  • REVIEWS, EXISTING: Links to reviews needed! Especially reviews from a "Lovecraftian" angle; films reviewed in "Lovecraft film marathons" or on Lovecraft-themed sites are ideal; reviews from general horror-themed sites are OK, reviews written by YSDC members (maybe by YOU) are awesome!
  • REVIEWS, NEW: If you've never seen a film before and want to track it down and watch it, feel free to blog your own review of the film, and add a link to your review on the film's page.
  • SYNOPSES: Very few of these film pages include detailed plot synopses. Feel free to expand the Synopsis section of your favorite film with an original, more detailed play-by-play of the plot.
  • ASSOCIATED MYTHOS ELEMENTS: Whenever possible, in this section I try to mention "Lovecraftian" elements that appear in the film, like tomes, creatures, deities, etc. Sometimes, I forget some elements and miss others for films I have seen, or I just don't know what elements appear in films I've never seen. In rare cases, films will include tomes, creatures, gods, etc. that I don't recognize. If you notice anything missing from the "Associated Mythos Elements" section, feel free to add them.
  • KEEPER NOTES: If you've used a film as a basis for an RPG scenario before, feel free to add suggestions and advice to the "Keeper Notes" suggestion describing ways the film can be adapted to adventures for Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, etc. I hope to include such notes for every film eventually, but they tend to be time-consuming to write from scratch.


Catalogued

In no particular order:



In Progress


  • The Prisoner (1967 series) (there is at least the odd scene of a group of men-in-black circled around and apparently worshiping the mysterious and perhaps alien "Rover")* Intruders (2014 series) ("about an ancient, secret cult who can project their minds after death into the bodies of other people. The Lovecraftian atmosphere was at best sort of vague in the first season, but I suspect that it would have gotten more overt had the show been given a chance to develop elements such as the "ghost machine" (some sort of creepy fringe science device that let ordinary people hear disembodied spirits), the cult's ancient conspiracy, its library full of strange tomes written by generations of the same personalities in different bodies, and so on.")
  • Fringe (2013 series) ("Still early to call, in this reality, fringe science (such as that present in "The Reanimator" and "Whisperer in the Darkness") is real, including reading the minds of the living and recently deceased, bionic replacement, nanobot infestations, and cloning. Focus is apparently primarily on the technological singularity, and it is hinted that something (probably a corporation or cabal, rather than an alien or otherworldly presence) is using the earth as a petri dish.")
  • The X-files (1993 series) "Our Town" (said to be like a Lovecraft story with cannibals instead of tentacle monsters)
  • Star Trek 1966 series) ("the Kelvans, aliens from Andromeda that took on human forms and would "distill" people into a powdery polyhedron ("essential saltes," anyone?), as well as Sylvia and Korob, alien illusionists who looked a bit like tentacled stickbugs in their natural form. The mind-controlling jellyfish things from "Operation: Annihilate" were very creepy and Lovecrafty in their own way, as well.")
  • Babylon 5 (1994 franchise) ("Several elements of this show are Lovecraft-inspired, since creator J. Michael Straczynski is a big Lovecraft fan. “Passing Through Gethsemane” This episode has a character known as Brother “Edward”/“Charles Dexter”; a reference to Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. "")
  • Supernatural (2005 series) (episode "Let It Bleed" features Lovecraft as a character/plot device/theme for the episode; the Leviathans story arc introduced in Season 7 is a riff on Lovecraftian fiction)
  • Lost (2004 series)
  • The League of Gentlemen (1999 series) ("dark humour, particularly the couple in the "local" shop, wouldn't be out of place in Innsmouth")
  • Strange (2002 series) ("A team formed of a Defrocked Priest, Nurse, Computer/Electronics wizz kid and a mediumistic young man investigating and stopping demonic activity in the local city (Bristol I think??). Very atmospheric and eerie with the team working from limited information, scouring ancient books and newspapers alike and often having many misteps before they track down the "Demon of the Week". And in the background the Uber-Demon Asmoth (who killed the Priest's wife) looms large and unidentified.")
  • Doomwatch (1970 series) ("The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist (played by John Paul), responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers. ")
  • The Tomorrow People ("*Another* British show, rebroadcast on cable in the 80s, Stateside. I have no idea if it holds up, but it was serious nightmare fuel for me as a child.")
  • Sapphire and Steel (1979 series) (" the first story that takes place entirely in a house being invaded by strange beings from outside the "corridor" of time. And I hear that the series gets better from there, as it moves from being a kid oriented series into more adult territory.")
  • The Owl Service (1969 series)
  • Moondial (1988 series)
  • The Box of Delights (1984 series)
  • Ultraviolet (1998 series) ("It's UK government agents vrs. Vampires, but at least the vampires are something new. Not one fang to be found among them... and why not? Fangs are not in the folklore. That's Bram Stoker's b.s. It may not be Lovecraftian, but its a good look at how a police procedural would be impacted by the supernatural.")
  • The One Game (1988 series)
  • Oktober (1998 series)
  • Edge of Darkness (1985 series)
  • The Nightmare Man (1981 series)
  • Jekyll (2007 series)
  • Strange World (1999 series) ("Our hero, working for USAMRIID is consulting on crimes using extremely advanced science. It was pretty much "Fringe" only without the ridiculous conflicts built in between the characters. I enjoyed it alot. My favorite moment in "Strange World" was when the discover that some one is cloning human body parts for organ replacement. And where do they find this beating but disembodied human heart? In a jar in a lab? NO. They find it when they give an ultrasound to the woman who's being going to a fertility clinic of last resort. She was willing to put up will all kinds of pain and discomfort if it meant she could have a bady. When they run the ultrasound it isn't the bad she can feel kicking... it's the beating human heart.")



Documentaries?


Shorts:


Unfiltered Animations and Shorts

I haven't gone through these yet at all; they seem to be a mix of short-subject films, anthologies, and cartoons (which range from episodes imitating Lovecraft's fiction, to episodes that might have a Lovecraft reference as a punch-line somewhere):



Audio Books, Radio Plays, & Other Audio-Adaptations


I don't Get These

I couldn't really figure out the "Lovecraftian" angle on the following films that I've seen suggested as "Lovecraftian":


Not Yet Released

Teasers:


Games

I really don't feel like doing these; perhaps on a slow day I'll just make sure some "red links" are added somewhere, so someone with the motivation can do the work:

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