The Whisperer in Darkness (2011)

I am an avid fan of the writings of Lovecraft, well, and anything Lovecraftian in general, and happened to come across "The Whisperer in Darkness" by sheer luck. I didn't have my hopes up, because most previous movies based on Lovecraft stories had been off key or had too much focus on special effects and putting the ominous dread of the core of the story in the background.However, as with the 2005 version of "The Call of Cthulhu", I was more than genuinely surprised in a good way with the 2011 film version of "The Whisperer in Darkness". This was right on the spot in every aspect; focusing on the storytelling, the build up of the cosmic dread and the despair of the protagonist.The actors in the movie were doing good jobs bringing the story to life through their characters. And director Sean Branney really capture the essence of the timeless writing of Lovecraft.However, personally, I am not overly keen on movies in black and white, as colors add so much more flavor to the movie experience. But keeping it in black and white works well enough for the movie, given the thematic setting of H.P. Lovecraft's mythos and universe."The Whisperer in Darkness" is a MUST watch for any fan of Lovecraft. And I rate it a solid seven out of ten stars. If the movie had been in color, the rating would have been eight. Visuals are important in the movie media.

As with many Lovecraft fans, I feel that his work is a creative goldmine just waiting for the right film treatment. I've seen pretty much every film even vaguely adapted from his stories, and though most are ultimately forgettable, a few—such as Dagon and Cthulhu—have been watchable. Then comes along this one...As it got going, I found myself in awe of the quality. For a low-budget film, the production, cinematography, acting, sound, and script were all top-notch. I thought to myself, "FINALLY someone has made a good Lovecraft adaptation!" Unfortunately, this amazement did not make it to the end of the film. When we are first introduced to the Mi-Go (the monsters of the story), we are teased with shadows and fleeting glimpses, which are enough to send a chill up your spine. However, in the final act of the film, they decide to go ahead and reveal the creatures in all their CGI glory... though I honestly wish they hadn't. I get that independent filmmakers can't afford the sorts of FX that studio films can, but that just makes me wonder, why put them in at all? The film was perfectly creepy without it, and as soon as I saw the cheap CGI, I was taken completely out of the film. It wasn't just one scene either, but the entire ending. I could have cried.Had this film stuck to the "less is more" techniques it began with, I would easily have given it 10/10, but sadly, the cheap CGI tainted its perfection.

This adaptation of the classic H.P. Lovecraft story had a lot of potential, however weak acting limited the enjoyment factor to me. A lot of the players were just plain poor actors or were guilty of blatant over acting to include the narration. The supporting players were much better actors than the main players which was a bit frustrating. The cinematography and sound was great. The music was effectively used in creating the right feel for the film. Presenting the film in black and white was very effective in adding to the noir and 1930s feel. I don't want to go into any further details as I don't want to give any of the story away to those who may be unfamiliar.

What got me to buy tickets to this film, other than my love of HPL, was the fact that I believed it would be true to the source material and be a gripping, creepy scary film. I don't mind if things are changed, but just stay true to what HPL was actually about — horror. This film is not horror by any means — it seems the writers/director took a bunch of great pieces of Lovecraft stories, smashed them together, and then tried to throw in jokes. If you don't know who H.P. Lovecraft is and like black and white campy movies, then go see this by all means, you might like it if you don't mind sitting through about 75 minutes of straight dialog. If you like HPL and are interested in seeing a faithful adaptation of his work or are trying to go see something scary, absolutely don't see this. I only gave it 2 stars — one because it had H.P. Lovecraft's name in the title and the other because they added an extended sequence featuring Charles Fort, which I thought was a great touch even though it was literally completely unnecessary.