Very good updating of Lovecraft
Added 6/21/2009
Directed by Dan O'Bannon (who also directed the classic The Return of the Living Dead), this is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
This movie reminded me (in a good way) of Stuart Gordon's Lovecraft movies (Re-Animator, From Beyond and Dagon), except without the goofy humor. It isn't as good as those films, but it is close.
The pluses are good direction, good writing and very good make-up and special effects. Also, Chris Sarandon gives it his best. I'm glad they laid out some money for a good actor for the part of Charles Dexter Ward. He's a secondary character, but the movie turns on him and wouldn't have been as good with a bad actor.
On the downside, this movie was put together by Full Moon's Charles Band and like those Full Moon pictures, the film looks pretty cheap (the movie screams 'low budget' right from the DVD menu) and most of the actors are stiff no-names.
If you can get past the cheap look of the film and the bad acting, this is a nice, creepy, gory movie better written and directed than most B-pictures and well worth a rent.
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The Closest Thing to Lovecraft Directing...
Added 6/18/2009
This is by far the closest thing I have seen on screen to a true Lovecraft adaptation. Well, besides the fun silent B&W 'Call of Cthulhu' that came out in 2005 (2006?).
Anyway, this is the closest-to-Lovecraft-original COLOR film (with sound even!) I have seen and I really loved it. Thank you so much Dan O for making this genuine.
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Thank you to all
Added 2/16/2009
I am the original producer of The Resurrected. I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who took the time to write such wonderful reviews of our film. There are great stories about the production and the eventual marketing and promotion and distribution (or lack therof). We put years into making the film from inception to finish and we are very sad that only the bare bones DVD exists. If anyone wants the whole story, feel free to write me at mborde2248@aol.com
Thanks again, it is very satisfying to read positve comments. Cheers.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Very Lovecraftian
Added 10/31/2008
As touched upon in other reviews, this is the gold standard on H.P. Lovecraft-themed films. Involving story, terrific performances and wonderful atmosphere. Chris Sarandon, in particular, is a standout. Kudos to Dan O'Bannon's direction as well. Its great to finally have this on DVD, but its too bad its a bare-bones release.
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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, sort of
Added 5/9/2008
Being one of the few remaining more or less faithful film versions of H. P. Lovecraft's stories I hadn't seen, I was intrigued by the rather good reception this seemed to be getting among the HPL-fans. I was a bit put off at first, the DVD wouldn't play on my region-free DVD-player, but for some reason it worked just fine in my laptop, so with a little wiring I got it running on the big screen. I was instantly struck by how professional it really was, I was expecting a cheesy B-movie, at best, but it is a "normal" film, for its age. The film is based on HPL's excellent long story; "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", a story of cursed lineages, catacombs, ancient wizards and paranormal investigation. That story has served as the basis for much of the "zombie flicks" that come out, a genre I'm normally not so fond of, but HPL's tale is simply splendid.
They have changed the story a little, added some more emphasis on Dexter's wife, and given the leading role to John Terry, playing the private investigator March. Everyone in leading roles do a very fine job, but the first prize must go to the actor playing Ward himself, very impressive and mood setting acting, indeed! The early 1900's setting has been changed to the 1990's, but it doesn't really matter much in this particular story. There is even a glimpse back in time to Joseph Curwen's (Ward's ancestor) time, and it is a memorable glimpse, to say the least!
The film is quite faithful to the original story, but I recommend you read it first, since it is the type of story that is best the first time before you know the "solution" to the curious riddle of Ward's ancestry. So if you want an intelligent HPL-story in your DVD-collection, get this fine film. If only Stuart Gordon had watched this film before he started pumping out his films "based on the works of Lovecraft" *ahem*, we could have seen some more quality in a genre that is sadly lacking in that respect. My friend that has a love/hate-relationship towards horror in general hid behind his caps the entire latter half of the film, if that is anything to go by.
A fine and scary film in itself, not to mention its splendid foundations. 4,5 stars.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Very good updating of Lovecraft
Added 6/21/2009
Directed by Dan O'Bannon (who also directed the classic The Return of the Living Dead), this is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
This movie reminded me (in a good way) of Stuart Gordon's Lovecraft movies (Re-Animator, From Beyond and Dagon), except without the goofy humor. It isn't as good as those films, but it is close.
The pluses are good direction, good writing and very good make-up and special effects. Also, Chris Sarandon gives it his best. I'm glad they laid out some money for a good actor for the part of Charles Dexter Ward. He's a secondary character, but the movie turns on him and wouldn't have been as good with a bad actor.
On the downside, this movie was put together by Full Moon's Charles Band and like those Full Moon pictures, the film looks pretty cheap (the movie screams 'low budget' right from the DVD menu) and most of the actors are stiff no-names.
If you can get past the cheap look of the film and the bad acting, this is a nice, creepy, gory movie better written and directed than most B-pictures and well worth a rent.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The Closest Thing to Lovecraft Directing...
Added 6/18/2009
This is by far the closest thing I have seen on screen to a true Lovecraft adaptation. Well, besides the fun silent B&W 'Call of Cthulhu' that came out in 2005 (2006?).
Anyway, this is the closest-to-Lovecraft-original COLOR film (with sound even!) I have seen and I really loved it. Thank you so much Dan O for making this genuine.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Thank you to all
Added 2/16/2009
I am the original producer of The Resurrected. I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who took the time to write such wonderful reviews of our film. There are great stories about the production and the eventual marketing and promotion and distribution (or lack therof). We put years into making the film from inception to finish and we are very sad that only the bare bones DVD exists. If anyone wants the whole story, feel free to write me at mborde2248@aol.com
Thanks again, it is very satisfying to read positve comments. Cheers.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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