Indie director Aaron Vanek has previously done several short H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, including "The Outsider" and "Return to Innsmouth". "The Yellow Sign" is his longest film to date (47m), and probably his most finely-polished work. It is not yet in general release, but he's working on fixing that. Meanwhile, you might get lucky enough to catch a showing at a horror convention or film festival, especially if you're on the West Coast.
This film is inspired by the Robert W. Chambers story of the same title. Like H.P. Lovecraft, Chambers is a difficult author to adapt to film. "The Yellow Sign" is one of a set of loosely connected stories about sensitive individuals discovering an obscure play, "The King in Yellow", then becoming obsessed with the story's intrusion into their own lives. The emphasis is less on plot and characterization than on creating a eerie, disturbing atmosphere. Vanek, with colleague John Tynes of Pagan Publishing fame, have taken the sketchy plot of Chambers' story and built a more complete screenplay around it, while still capturing the proper weird, disconnected, dream-like fantasy feel.
The main character, Tess, is a struggling gallery owner who dreams about an artist and his work, then learns that he is a real man. She tries to persuade this recluse to exhibit at her gallery, but he only acquiesces after she agrees to pose for him. They chat as Aubrey works, and his statements challenge Tess's very identity and sense of reality. Interspersed with all these events are strange glimpses into Tess's dreams that, like Aubrey and his work, hint at dark secrets behind her comfortable, boring life.
There is a sort of mystical journey at the heart of this story, but the revelations it promises are not reassuring. "Have you seen the Yellow Sign?" If you have, you will not be the same ever again...
Vanek has done an excellent job with difficult source material. He is showing steady improvement in his craft and vision over his previous work, and I look forward to seeing his future weird tales.
