Dagon

Alternate titles : None

Tagline : "Pray for Us"

HP Lovecraft gets adapted again by the same chappies who gave us Re-Animator and From Beyond. This latest adaptation centring around a young couple, Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) and his girlfriend Barbara (Raquel Morono), who are enjoying a sailing holiday together when they encounter a freak storm just off the coast of Spain.

Their boat runs aground and so they are forced to head for shore hoping to find help at the nearby fishing village of Imboca. Unfortunately, it isn't too long before they realise there's something decidedly "fishy" going on besides the local industry, as Barbara disappears and Paul soon finds himself being pursued by the deformed villagers.

It turns out that the locals are worshipping the Sea god of Dagon, who has promised them eternal life. As a result, the locals are undergoing hideous transformations into bizarre amphibious lifeforms, who seem to take a grave disliking to outsiders.

Aided by a friendly drunk named Ezequiel (Francisco Rabal), who doesn't whole with the towns aquatic ideals, Paul attempts to find Barbara and escape. Only to come face-to-face with the true horror of the god of Dagon. A gruesome legend that until now has been concealed in the deepest, darkest depths of the oceans...

Overall this is highly enjoyable viewing, and it was refreshing to see something different from the current tirade of Scream-clones. Fans of their previous collaborations, H.P. Lovecraft fans, and main stream horror fans alike should enjoy this immensely. No Jeffrey Coombes this time though.

Overall Marks : 6/10.

Terrifying Trivia

• The film was based on HP Lovecrafts 1931 novella 'Shadow over Innesmouth', although the title was taken from an unrelated earlier short story from 1919 about a shipwrecked naval officer encountering an aquatic monster on a remote island.
• The film's budget was $4.8 Million.
• The movie had been in various stages of production for well over 15 years before Stuart Gordon managed to get the go ahead.
• The chant by the locals at the sacrificial ceremony near the end, appears in many H.P. Lovecraft tales, shouted by followers of the Old Ones.
• The T-Shirt Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) is wearing says "Miskatonic University", which was the setting for "Re-Animator" and various other HP Lovecraft stories
• The setting of the original HP Lovecraft story was Massachussettes, in the US. But this was changed to Spain for the film as that's where Stuart Gordon's studios are based.
• The strange buildings on raised pillars bearing the trident symbol were actually granaries, which are quite common in rural Spain. These usually have christian crosses on them, but the film makers placed trident symbols on them for the film.
• Dagon is originally the name of a half-fish/half-man deity that appears in the bible and was worshiped by the Assyrians in Ninevah, whom the prophet Jonah was sent to preach to.
• The fictional church in Imboca is called 'The Esoteric Order of Dagon', which is the fictional cult that appears in HP Lovecraft's 'The Shadow over Innsmouth' and 'The Trial of Cthulhu'.

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