This movie was taken over by two things. The first was the difficult to decode, rapidly edited dream scenes. The second was a relentless barrage of being told what was going on rather than getting to watch what was going on and figure it out for myself.
I found myself thinking of 50s - 60s British horror films while watching this. Many of those have a short bit of exposition, the kind of writing that is intending primarily to present information, by the main character to help bring together the disparate plot and background bits the viewer might need to make sense of the film. This film was dominated by exposition.
When the film backed away from the monologues and the dream sequences, and, opinions to the contrary aside, it did back away from these from time to time, it was engaging.
The acting seemed to me, in parts, to be a parody of 1910 era acting. The "severe doctor" routine is one I recall seeing in some silent films. It was usually directed toward a patient, not another doctor. Both Wardlow and Fenton seemed to be channeling this character while arguing. With the 1911 setting of the story I saw this as an interesting cultural feedback loop. I don't recall hearing the accents used in the movie at anytime when I was in the Catskills. To me, a former New York State resident, the accents were ludicrous and a real distraction.
*****Spoiler In Next Two Paragraphs*****
I'm a fan of Lovecraft's writing. I do not hate all of the movies based upon his work. I'm a Jeffery Combs fan based upon his Herbert West characterization. This was the most unusual adaptation I've seen to date. It certainly got to the heart of the obsessive nature of many of Lovecraft's main characters. When Eischel reveals the physical alteration he's made to himself it is more than just madness he reveals, he also lays bare his willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve his ends.
This movie was at times difficult to watch for good reasons, i.e. - it was disturbing when it should have been disturbing. It was also difficult to watch for bad reasons, i.e. - the script or delivery of it was wooden or hammy. The best example of this came at the end when you could have gone to the kitchen and made coffee in the pause between the bulk of the last sentence of the script and the last word of the last sentence.
I found myself thinking of 50s - 60s British horror films while watching this. Many of those have a short bit of exposition, the kind of writing that is intending primarily to present information, by the main character to help bring together the disparate plot and background bits the viewer might need to make sense of the film. This film was dominated by exposition.
When the film backed away from the monologues and the dream sequences, and, opinions to the contrary aside, it did back away from these from time to time, it was engaging.
The acting seemed to me, in parts, to be a parody of 1910 era acting. The "severe doctor" routine is one I recall seeing in some silent films. It was usually directed toward a patient, not another doctor. Both Wardlow and Fenton seemed to be channeling this character while arguing. With the 1911 setting of the story I saw this as an interesting cultural feedback loop. I don't recall hearing the accents used in the movie at anytime when I was in the Catskills. To me, a former New York State resident, the accents were ludicrous and a real distraction.
*****Spoiler In Next Two Paragraphs*****
I'm a fan of Lovecraft's writing. I do not hate all of the movies based upon his work. I'm a Jeffery Combs fan based upon his Herbert West characterization. This was the most unusual adaptation I've seen to date. It certainly got to the heart of the obsessive nature of many of Lovecraft's main characters. When Eischel reveals the physical alteration he's made to himself it is more than just madness he reveals, he also lays bare his willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve his ends.
This movie was at times difficult to watch for good reasons, i.e. - it was disturbing when it should have been disturbing. It was also difficult to watch for bad reasons, i.e. - the script or delivery of it was wooden or hammy. The best example of this came at the end when you could have gone to the kitchen and made coffee in the pause between the bulk of the last sentence of the script and the last word of the last sentence.