187th Review for The Collab Weekly Movie Watch

I lost my Lovecraft virginity earlier this month when I finally read (well, actually listened to) the In the Mountains of Madness audiobook. I really liked it and am looking forward to finally seeing an adaptation of the book. Maybe (finally) Guillermo?

Anyway, this film is based on another story by the famed author, which I haven’t read, but you can clearly see its footprint throughout the film. The mystery at hand is interesting. I could be mistaken, but this is Dan O’Bannon’s second directorial feature, and he does a great job creating a creepy, Lovecraftian atmosphere through the cinematography and score, while also injecting a good dose of campy humor (the…

This film is based on the classic Lovecraft novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. It's generally faithful to all the main points of the story. A few things are changed around or updated, but generally it sticks to the story; though a lot of nuance from the written version is lost. However, as Lovecraft films go, this one really is something special. The film begins on something of a cliché and this coupled with "made for TV" cinematography and a crappy voiceover mean things don't look good initially; but the whole thing gets a lot more interesting once we get to the proper meat of the story, which involves an investigation into the the affairs of a Charles Dexter…

Pick Your Poison Challenge 2025

Day 22: Tentacle Tales 🐙

Dan O’Bannon is perhaps a name that resonates with genre fans everywhere. Despite having a relatively small body of work, he left a significant impact. This is the guy who wrote the first draft of Alien and the screenplay for Dead & Buried. O’Bannon also stepped behind the camera a few times to try his hand at directing. His directorial debut came in 1985 with the absolutely legendary The Return of the Living Dead. A few years later, he would direct his follow-up — and final feature — The Resurrected.

The Resurrected somehow left me with a bit of a bittersweet feeling. Sweet, because the film is a ton of fun.…

"The Resurrected" is a 1991 horror film directed by Dan O'Bannon. As O'Bannon holds pretty heavy notability writing features like "Alien" (1979), he also a lot of notice for both his writing and direction of "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985). With directing film not really being his most frequented avenue within the film industry, it's really interesting to note that "The Resurrected" is really his only film outside of "Living Dead". Seeing O'Bannon's name attached to this as I started the feature, I knew exactly the mentality in which I wanted this film to go in. Within that, I would easily say that I was not disappointed whatsoever on how things turned out.

The premise of the film…

Richard Band brands the ear drums with a classic terror score that smokes most film music.
Chris Sarandon scorches the earth with his portrayal of Joseph Curwen and his resurrective hunger. Yog-Sothothery from the depths of the Nameless Mist. Milk of the Void. Places we cannot fathom. Research that extends far beyond driven. Demons drawn down from the stars. Blackest shadows harnessed that stride from world to world to sow true death. Megalomaniacal mental illness.

Reflux and stop motion reassembly and autonomy. Laser light rebuilds and Curwen re-killed. Lovecraft Horror done well in a similar manner to a 90's King adaptation. Telefilm vibrations that you almost have to see, being it's O' Bannon's other film. Ample grotesquerie with an assortment…

*Taken from my last review Oct 26th, 2024*

(New thoughts from recent watch are in section further below)

"The Resurrected" is a 1991 horror film directed by Dan O'Bannon. As O'Bannon holds pretty heavy notability writing features like "Alien" (1979), he also a lot of notice for both his writing and direction of "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985). With directing film not really being his most frequented avenue within the film industry, it's really interesting to note that "The Resurrected" is really his only film outside of "Living Dead". Seeing O'Bannon's name attached to this as I started the feature, I knew exactly the mentality in which I wanted this film to go in. Within that, I would…

when we think about ghosts, it's in the terminology of the monotheistic afterlife -- there is this world, heaven/hell, and then the in-between purgatory that allows spirits to fade in/out of our reality zone, thus accounting for their insubstantial appearances, invisibility, and powers which lie beyond perception yet remain inextricably tied to haunting a specific location/person -- the 'genius loci' is then the waystation betwixt dimensions.

but what if ghosts, instead of being trapped between matter and soul, are trapped between time and space? what is the doctrine of reincarnation (which the original christians believed in) if not the process of a ghost taking up new residence within an object/animal/person? as physical energy is converted into matter, so to is…