Breaking Glass Pictures
Available on VOD (YouTube, Google Play)
Chad Ferrin is back with another Crappy World Film’s production! In H.P. Lovecraft’s The Old Ones, it’s man versus monster and from what I hear, he’s working on what may be part three of an ongoing series! I can’t wait to see what he has in store in Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Hopefully, he’ll have a budget for this one, since to imagine H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands is no easy feat! I’ve read a lot of graphic novel adaptations, and I’ll have high expectations for it!
Ultimately, this film honours everything that defines a crazy fever dream that only H.P. Lovecraft can write. While these films do well to honour his imagination, they aren’t inspired from any particular tale. The latest has a slightly serious tone, and when compared to how important Russel Marsh was in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Deep Ones, he gets centre stage. Apparently, he survived the prior events, was dumped at sea and escaped his prison! He didn’t take kindly to being tortured. And now, he’s out to slaughter some Old Ones Die Hard with a Vengeance style! And what’s put together surprisingly makes sense.
After a father (Scott Vogel) and his son Gideon (Benjamin Philip) rescues this sailor, this director wastes no time to see him fight. Marsh (Robert Miano) is ready and although the kid is simply along for the ride, he has a few moments to shine. At least he’s not like Podcast doing anything in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
When compared to the last film, Captain Marsh is a much more developed personality. He wants to reunite with a lost love. Also, after I interviewed him in the past, and he offered me a glimpse at an early draft, I could remember bits from it and thought about making comparisons. Although The Deep Ones was produced for fun, part two has more attention put into it. That is, this salty dog has a love interest. And we are tricked to wonder if she’s with him or against!
The wait for part two is worthwhile. But after he kills enough members from the esoteric order of Dagon, someone has taken notice! Nyarlathop (Rico E. Anderson) manifests to torment Marsh too, and as for that kid, well…. It’s about time he tries to do something! I won’t spoil the details, but the scene with rather cheap practical effects had me cackling. True to this studio’s name, what’s done is really poorly done, but I loved it anyway! I honestly was not expecting anything a Jim Henson production (like Little Shop of Horrors) can offer, but what’s done is done.
Also, this actor is perfect for the role. He chews up the scenery like it’s nothing. And to see Randolph Carter (Timothy Muskatell) and Crawford Tillinghast (Elli Rahn) have some role in this film are great brief nods. It’s rare to find them in a narrative that isn’t their own.
And although the setting lies somewhere in Southern California rather than New England, that’s okay. Without it, adapting this author’s works to concepts essential to his works should not be limited to setting. When considering this tale is really about this crusty sailor, all I can say is the following: when all the world’s a stage, and humanity suffers from the cosmic entities hiding within, nobody’s safe from the hate, and nor can they flee from all they have sinned!
3 Stars out of 5
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Old Ones Trailer
