Sureds

The low budget H. P. Lovecraft adaptations or Lovecraftian films are often the best. Probably because the creators of such films love the work of the master of weird fiction and know how to strike the right chord. Don't get me wrong, there are also a lot of bad low budget movies out there obviously. Just being passionate about something does not automaticly gives one the skills of a good storyteller, director or cinematographer. But when all these stars are right, a great little Lovecraft film can just be the result.

Famous examples of this are Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, Stuart Gordon's Re-animator and Mario Baino's Dark Waters. But there are more very notable, lesser known examples like The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society's adaptations, Nathan Shelton's Shadow Bound, Ward Crockett's Night Things and David Schmidt's House of the Black Wings, just to name a few. All very much worth watching if you're an enthusiast of the weird and cosmic horror tale. The Festival is yet another one of these gems.

This wonderful little modernized adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's short story from 1925, cleverly blends in The Shadow over Innsmouth and even some Call of Cthulhu. Now this is low budget and that shows but the admirable thing is that there are so many good things about this that more than make up for it.

The story is told very well and flows perfectly. The atmosphere really grabs the Lovecraft vibe and dread can be felt in just the right places. And that's quite an accomplishment as the film takes place mainly in daylight. The main actor does a great job and puts down a very likable and easy to empathize with, protagonist. I dug the special effects which are all practical and contribute to a nice 80's feel. We even get some awesome stop-motion.

All in all The Festival is an obvious labour of love and it shows. It was released on DVD at some point but seems out of print now. Very much worth tracking down and also worthy of a rerelease if you ask me. With all the wonderful smaller labels out there these days this would be a great one to pick up.

When I first saw the trailer of this wonderful independent film, I knew I had to track down a copy. The mysterious, apocalyptic, even cosmic horror feel to it got me captivated immediately. I was lucky to get my hands on a limited bluray release but I think the film will be released on a wider scale later on in 2021.

After seeing the film I can only conclude that I was not disapointed. It itches in just the right places and brings some great storytelling to the table. Which is where independent film can distinguish themselves when done right. Hellbox does just that and more. It obviously takes some inspiration from the Hellraiser saga and manages to bring that vibe brilliantly, whilst keeping it's own uniqueness completely. But even more I got a very Lovecraftian vibe from it. I was often reminded of The Call of Cthulhu with the apocalyptic threat slumbering in the background while the protagonists struggle with their personal demons and try to make sense of the strange occurrences that befall them. The flashback story seqences contribute to that. And I loved the intro sequence with the Knights Templar. It adds greatly to the epic feel of the story.

Ofcourse the movie has it's flaws here and there but overall it's a great independent film that knows exactly how to tell a good horror story. The special effects are minimal but look great and contribute to the 80's horror film feel that the first Hellraiser movies, for instance, brought. The movie seems to have been made back in 2008 and was called 'All That is Hidden' then, but now in 2021, finally gets it's well deserved release.

Well I really love this movie. You have to to take into account that this is a movie from the 90's and made on a very small budget. Which makes it even more applaudable in my book and I'm so happy I found this on dvd. The characters are interesting, the effects are great for a 90's flick with such a small budget and the story is great and highly original. It felt to me like reading a good fantasy novel on more than one occasion. Nicoll Bacharach does a very convincing job as a mad sorcerer prince. Yes, it's cheesy too but that's what sword & sorcery films are all about. And there are much worse sword & sorcery flicks from the heydays of the genre with a much less interesting storyline. Ionopsis is a must-have for people who love 80's sword & sorcery and fantasy. The makers of Ionopsis are responsible for another pure sword & sorcery film from the late 80's/ early 90's called Way Bad Stone which is equally awesome.