31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon

H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon (1993)

Directed by Brian Yuzna, Christophe Gans and Shusuke Kaneko

Starring Bruce Payne, Richard Lynch, Jeffrey Combs, Belinda Bauer, David Warner, Maria Ford

Horror author H.P. Lovecraft is visiting a rare monastery that houses a copy of the fabled Necronomicon. He reads the text, only to find it’s filled with stories that have yet to happen and some that already have. As Lovecraft delves further into the text, the monks begin to suspect he knows too much. Machinations start coming into place to keep Lovecraft from ever passing on the Necronomicon’s knowledge.

The framing device is H.P. Lovecraft’s efforts to research the Necronomicon, a book featured heavily in the mythology of his work. Three full segments are very loosely based on Lovecraft stories, but with more added sex and eroticism that would have made the author extraordinarily uncomfortable. The best segments of the four are “The Drowned” by Christophe Gans and the Lovecraft wrap around by Brian Yuzna. Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill) is a very capable director and he pulls together a great segment inspired by “The Rats in the Walls”. Bruce Payne does well as a recently widowed man visiting his family’s old coastal hotel, only to discover what killed his ancestor many years ago. The segment uses both action and tone to build tension until the explosive finale.

Brian Yuzna’s framing story segment is a lot of fun for one reason: Jeffrey Combs. Combs finally gets to play the man who is partially responsible for his career. As Lovecraft, Combs chooses to play him more inquisitive and adventurous than the real deal. But his performance is the reason you keep watching the segment as it sets up the other stories. No matter the faults with the wrap around, Combs is always worth it.

The other segments aren’t bad; it’s just that they have their own particular problems. Yuzna’s other segment, based on “The Whisperer in Darkness”, is genuinely disturbing. Its ending is very dark and rather vicious to a pregnant woman, but that’s not the problem. The special effects, both cheap and now old, look awful. Creature puppets are rubbery and prosthetic makeup falls short of the images it’s supposed to represent. Shusuke Kaneko’s segment is based on “Cool Air’ and it’s good. The story just doesn’t have the same sick fun of the others. It does, however, have a fine performance by the always game David Warner.

Necronomicon is a decent anthology and a lot of fun if you’re a Jeffrey Combs fan. As long as you can deal with the segments not being completely faithful to Lovecraft’s originals and as long as you don’t mind early 90’s budget special effects, the movie is an entertaining collaborative effort.

7 out of 10