DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE

No one can overestimate the effect that Howard Philips Lovecraft exerted over the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. Combining themes and stylistic tricks of all three genres while beholding to none, Lovecraft lent a startling, terrifying vastness, maturity, and philosophic boldness to storytelling. Not content to deal within the stale philosophical limitations of conservative traditional fiction, wherein clear cut Good and Evil drew crippling boundaries of morality by which authors had to adhere, Lovecraft bypassed such petty constructs as religious authority and morality. More interested in awe and cosmic mystery, in forces and the process of discovery, than he was in routine pulp formulas or action thrillers, Lovecraft's work established an amoral, limitless universe greater than man's limited science, impervious to his religions, and unconcerned with his values or plight. In this author's universe, Man is little better than an insect, and that is precisely what his alien, cosmic entities/powers perceive us as when they bother with us at all -- either too insignificant to bother with or fun to crush.

The terror in Lovecraft's fiction aren't found primarily in his Old Ones or ancient gods, his mouldy mystical tomes or malignant dimensions but, rather, in his unique persistence that the universe is limitless in size and strangeness, and, more importantly, in his suggestion that Man, once thought to be the center of the universe, is, in fact, nothing at all. This cosmic point-of-view, treating humankind's achievements and struggles as meaningless, is treated by Lovecraft in a style -- and with themes -- that are ambiguous and abstract by their very nature. Not only Lovecraft's subject matter but, the manner in which he wrote delighted in the philosophically abstract, the unknown that was so terrible and removed from our finite ability to interpret phenomena that his characters go mad. What is left unsaid in Lovecraft is always more important than what he discussed. Awe, the unknown, and man's inability to either discern or understand the universe (or himself) was his primary interest, and remains the reason his fiction is so very influential. It is also the chief reason why filmmakers have such difficulty bringing his vision to screen.

Whereas Lovecraft valued intellectual nightmares, cinema demands concrete pictures, symbols, characters. Thus we have been subjected to movies that miss this point entirely, focusing on bug-eyed Ancient Ones and alien beings -- the trappings of Lovecraft's mythos, really only a small part of his overall work -- while missing the cosmic mystery that was the dark heart of his fiction. Of further difficulty when trying to film Lovecraft's ambiguous nightmares is our modern, traditional desire for clearly established characters. Lovecraft himself admitted that he wasn't concerned (nor did he like) human beings. Phenomena was his primary interest, not characterization, and certainly not the graphic sex and gore that drowns so many of his concepts in the cinema. This has proved troubling for genre specialists, attempting to give a face to ideas which have none. Stuart Gordon has came the closest to reaching Lovecraft's abstract ideal, capturing some of his principle ideas and moods in essence if not literally. While such cult favorites as Re-Animator misrepresented Lovecraft's intentions, replacing the impulse of awe with dark humor and graphic carnage, the same director's Dagon is the closest anyone has came to realizing the author's essential mood of strangeness. Dreams in the Witch House, a re-imagining of another Lovecraft favorite, is similar in mood if not in scope to that feature, capturing the eldritch atmosphere and sense of huge forces working beyond the pall of everyday life inherent in the original text.

Placing the story in the 1930s, Gordon also adds the characters of Frances Elwood and her infant son, Danny. Walter Gilman (Ezra Godden) is a Miskatonic University math student working on his thesis, when he finds cheap, secluded lodging in the legend-haunted town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Renting a room in a foreboding old house, Walter's already fixated mind, stressed due to his studies, notices one evening after particularly draining work that there is a startling resemblance between a geometrical graphic he has been studying and an odd angle in the corner of his room, between wall and ceiling. Distorted architecture, geometry, and a close relationship between occult magic and science are favorite themes of Lovecraft, and are evoked by Gordon with wonder, compounded by the interesting if unnecessary emotional attachment that Francis develops with his neighbor. Meeting her as she fends off a horrific rat, Walter finds himself attracted to Frances Elwood (Chelah Horsdal), a single mother two months behind on her rent, and uses her as a sounding board to explain his 'string theory,' which suggests that intersecting dimensions form a doorway from one universe to another. They take a liking to one another, but their relationship is jeopardized as Walter finds himself subject to bizarre visions of a human-faced rat, and later a witch-like figure that seems to slip into his room by way of the strangely angled corner. Walter becomes obsessed, and questions his own sanity as legend and science, past and present overlap. Confronted by a witch who uses these gateways as a means to work her malicious evil, struggling with his own soul, Walter's life becomes an unbearable nightmare as he attempts to protect his neighbor's son . . .

While this story, as stands, is intriguing and wonderfully filmed, smart and atmospheric, and certainly captures the primal terror of Lovecraft's central disdain of humanity/the looming malignant powers outside human experience, Dreams in the Witch House could have proven even more interesting had the screenwriter and director chose to stay more faithful to the literal interpretation of the story, finding dramatic ways to embody the stifling philosophical horror without throwing in a handy love interest. Also a slightly tiring a good vs. evil context is developed, with Walter becoming little more than a surrogate between the real and the supernatural as he fights off possession. The surreal, intellectual premise of the original story would have been more difficult to film, but infinitely more interesting. "The secret of making good horror movies is to go too far," says Stuart Gordon. Perhaps this is the basic philosophic and artistic block in the director that prevents him from fully capturing Lovecraft's nameless, ambiguous terrors, for the Grand Old Man of Providence preferred and suggestion to full out graphic assaults. This is why so many of his characters loose their sanity and cannot properly explain what they encounter when waking Old Ones or stumbling upon cosmic mysteries. Still, Gordon, as with Dagon, depicts the heart of Lovecraft's attitude, exposing humankind as a weak animal whose finite understanding and limited intellectual capacity is meant to protect us from the revelations of a secret universe that exists beyond the 'wall' or illusion of what we consider to be reality. In this, as well as in the wonderful performances and directing, this episode of Masters of Horror is a worthy addition to the Lovecraft cinematic cannon.

Another sterling volume of Masters of Horror, Anchor Bay treats Dreams in the Witch House with customary respect. The DVD's transfer -- in 1.78:1 -- is wonderful, with no grain or visual disruption. The picture is sharp, offering plenty of image contrast and bold colors. Audio consists of a Dolby 5.1 track in surround sound, which is evenly distributed amongst dialogue and effects.

Extras, the frosting on this dark horror confection, are plentiful and engaging, exploring both Gordon's career and approach to cinema. Lovecraft, actors, crew and Gordon are explored with depth. We are given a social and aesthetic context within which to appreciate the film, including Stuart Gordon's commentary track, wherein he discusses his inspiration, the difficulty of adapting the author, and technical details. Happily, while Gordon's personable approach remains intact on the following featurette, he avoids repeating the same information word-by-word. While some material is revisited, he also discusses his overall career and beginnings, sprinkling it all with various personal memories. Perhaps the most significant extra, besides the commentary, is "The Making Of Dreams In The Witch House," which includes scenes from the production and interview clips. The featurette "Working With a Master" gives collaborators the opportunity to wax enthusiastic, which serves as a personable account of who Gordon is as an artist and man. Also included are a special effects featurette, photo gallery, and the usual trailers.

Review by William P. Simmons