Howard Phillips Lovecraft, otherwise known asH.P. Lovecraft, is arguably one of the most influential writers in American history to date. Focusing on work that’s largely related to science, fantasy, and horror fiction, his very distinct writing is still transforming modern music, film, video games, and novels decades later. Two of Lovecraft’s major influences consisted of Lord Dunsany, an Irish author of fantasy tales, in addition to thebeloved works of Edgar Allan Poe.
A fun fact about Lovecraft is that heactually started out his writing career as a journalist, joining the United Amateur Press Association in 1914. A year later, he created his own publication,The Conservative,where he wrote several essays and various pieces for the magazine. Around the same time, Lovecraft had started to produce fictional pieces under the radar, but it wasn’t until 1917 when he became more serious about his stories.
By 1923, the horror magazineWeird Taleshad purchased some of Lovecraft’s fiction, jolting him into mainstream notoriety. Soon after his two-year marriage to Sonia Greene had come to an end, Lovecraft returned to Rhode Island where he began work on what is now considered to be his best stories.The Call of Cthulhuwas published byWeird Talesin 1928, and is considered his most recognizable depiction of an ethereal form of dread many now call ‘cosmic horror.’ The Cthulhu character has been in everything from countless video games likeThe Witcherto evenepisodes ofSouth Park.
Lovecraft introduced the world to supernatural beings that would wreak havoc on humankind, combined with a unique darkness and cosmic pessimism, creating an organic formula which instilled both fear and deep interest in those who were brave enough to fully immerse themselves into his world. Lovecraft once stated that his “tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and emotions have no validity or significance in the cosmos-at-large,” according toAmerican Heritagemagazine. Let’s look further into the best onscreen H.P. Lovecraft movie adaptations.
6The Resurrected
Talk about not knowing your spouse. InThe Resurrected, Claire Ward (Jane Sibbett) becomes increasingly suspicious when her husband Charles Dexter Ward (Chris Sarandon) begins receiving packages that appear to be human remains. Once Claire reaches out to a private detective to find out what her husband is up to, the family’s remote cabin becomes key to a series of experiments that Charles partakes in, posing as a sorcerer who strives to bring back the dead.
Related:Ron Howard Discusses His New H.P. Lovecraft Film
5The Whisperer in Darkness
Adapted from Lovecraft’s 1931 novella,The Whisperer in Darknessfollows professor Albert Wilmarth (Matt Foyer), who does researchabout folklore horrorand tales, as he investigates the history of strange occurrences and creatures who surround the secluded hills of Vermont. Wilmarth’s extensive investigation reveals a horrifying truth that could possibly be tied to the emergence ofscary and monstrous aliens, in and around the abandoned farmhouse. The film was shot using a Mythoscope, mixing vintage and modern techniques, in order to produce a replica of the 1930s stylistic elements.
4The Dunwich Horror
The Dunwich Horroris perhaps the most well-known work fromLovecraft, with a mythos expanding outward into all of pop culture. An expert in the occult, Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley) travels to an old Whateley manor in Dunwich in pursuit of Nancy Wagner (Sandra Dee), a student who mysteriously vanished the previous night. Henry and Elizabeth, one of Nancy’s friends and classmates, are quickly turned away by the family’s heir, Wilbur (Dean Stockwell). Henry however, is persistent and unravels the mystery through conversations with locals and further investigation, revealing the evil entities that are associated with the manor as well as the Whateley family.
3Re-Animator
The 1985 Americancomedy horror filmis loosely based on Lovecraft’sHerbert West – Reanimator. InRe-Animator, directed by consistently the best adapter of Lovecraft, Stuart Gordon, Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) portrays a young scientist who discovers a mysterious fluid that can bring dead tissue back to life. After recruiting his roommate Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) into joining the project, the two young scientists dive deeper into the experimentation, as reanimated corpses begin to flood the campus, putting the lives of everyone in immediate danger. It’s a hilarious, gory, and bonkers film.
2Color Out of Space
InColor Out of Space, Nathan Gardner (an incredible Nicolas Cage) and his family are in abrupt danger when a meteorite unexpectedly lands in the front yard of their farmhouse. Coming in close contact with a mutant extraterrestrial organism that infects their minds and bodies, the battle between them and the terror plaguing their surroundings transforms everyday rural life into a living nightmare.
Related:Color Out of Space Review: A Wild Lovecraftian Horror That Lets Nicolas Cage Shine
As a peculiar aerolite liquefies into planet earth, land and the properties of space-time become infected with an unusual color. To their surprise, the Gardner family discovers that the alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it manages to get a hold of.Color Out of Spacewas a triumphant return for Richard Stanley, who had been absent from directing for two decades following the catastrophe surrounding thetroubled production of the filmThe Island of Dr. Moreau.
1From Beyond
From Beyondrelishes the science, horror, sex, and mystery so darkly present in the best Lovecraft tales.The well-reviewed filmfinds Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel), an obsessed scientist, and his assistant discovering a way to access a parallel universe by tapping into the brain’s pineal gland, with the creation of the Resonator machine. After Dr. Pretorius is killed by forces from this other dimension, his assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), becomes accused of the murder. Psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) and detective Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree) both take on the case, as the group risks a return to the unusual world to furthersolve the mystery.
