Adaptations

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File: 1423382638119.jpg (266.59 KB, 1000x1000, 1:1, eldritch cucumber.jpg)

Adaptations Cultist 02/08/15 (Sun) 08:03:58 f95b84 No.270

So the sticky kicks off with a list of adaptations of HPL's work, and it got me thinking: what are /hpl/'s favourites?

The Atlanta Radio Theater Company's adaptation of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" has long held a special place for me, not least of all because of how well it seems suited to the old-time radio drama format.

A lot of HPL's more purple writings sound very stilted when given a straight reading with audio-books. But I think with this reinterpretation, they captured Olmstead's mounting anticipation, curiosity and dread very well indeed; and his flight from the accursed town was suitably frantic.

There were some parts of it that were explicit exposition, and other parts were a little too hammy (didn't enjoy Obed Marsh, for one). But overall it conveyed the central theme of degradation nicely, and the pacing was spot on.

Cultist 02/09/15 (Mon) 22:16:20 cb2284 No.272

My favourite Lovecraft adaptation is Dan O'Bannon's “The Resurrected” (aka “Shatterbrain”).

I liked the PI setting (Lovecraft added the PI characters so he could sell the story to a magazine mainly devoted to detective stories), the practical effects – the scene in Curwen's underground was pretty much flawless and very creepy and atmospheric. I think the private eye shtick in Lovecraft stories is a bit overdone in the CoC boardgames/RPGs, but in this story it worked very well.

“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” is not one of my favourite HPL stories, but I feel everything clicked when they made “The Resurrected” - the parts in the original story that seemed to drag on a little was handled very well in the film.

>>270
I haven't checked this one out yet, but I imagine they would have to tell part of the back-story in flashbacks to avoid the mother of all exposition dumps by Zadok Allen. TSOI is probably my favourite HPL story, so I would love a faithful adaptation of it. Although I very much enjoyed Gordon's take on the story in “Dagon”, there were some elements in it that felt a bit unnecessary.

The BBC Radio 3 Extra's reading of the story could be worth checking out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015flrz

Cultist 02/11/15 (Wed) 00:40:27 e6ffd4 No.273

>>272
> I think the private eye shtick in Lovecraft stories is a bit overdone in the CoC boardgames/RPGs, but in this story it worked very well.

I've never played them, but it always seemed strange that the emphasis appeared to be on investigators, rather than investigation. Seems like a good enough angle to propel the board and card games; but unnecessary in an RPG, where everyone has the option of playing a penniless academic with a fondness for genealogy, or someone who just happens to be a passing acquaintance of a (mad) artist or researcher.

> I imagine they would have to tell part of the back-story in flashbacks to avoid the mother of all exposition dumps by Zadok Allen.

Most of the hearsay and gossip about the town is captured in (rather one-sided)dialogues between Olmstead and residents of other towns, and it's these that felt a little too in-depth for my liking.

Zadok's piece is actually handled really well, with interjections from Olmstead and - you guessed it - flashbacks to Marsh.

>The BBC Radio 3 Extra's reading of the story could be worth checking out
>This programme is not currently available on BBC iPlayer Radio

Well, fuck.

But I'll get around to tracking down "Shatterbrain" now, so thanks for the recommendation.

Cultist 02/20/15 (Fri) 19:12:43 5bbbe2 No.280

>>273
You can find the BBC Radio reading over at The Pirate Bay: https://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6746802/H.P._Lovecraft_-_The_Shadow_Over_Innsmouth__%28BBC%29

Cultist 02/22/15 (Sun) 03:25:03 aa9bba No.282

>>280
Thanks, anon.

Cultist 04/11/15 (Sat) 12:41:00 eaebd8 No.308

Why did everyone have to pinch HPL's ideas? I really liked Hellboy, but damn they ripped him off. Dr. Who and Pirates of the Caribbean to name another couple.

Cultist 04/13/15 (Mon) 10:48:58 9d6a06 No.309

File: 1428922138107.gif (396.38 KB, 500x281, 500:281, Dagon.gif)

>>308
Because HPL's stories are in the public domain(?) and ripping something off is a lot easier than coming up with something on your own.

Cultist 04/20/15 (Mon) 05:40:12 41ff85 No.310

>>308

Basically his work has influenced all modern sci-fi and horror, and a ton of modern fantasy. Way more than you'd think.

In A Song of Ice and Fire the Greyjoys Drowned God is clearly a reference to Cthulhu, with their symbol being a squid, and the whole "that which is dead may never die" creed and all. The fire god sounds pretty lovecraftian as well.

The nether realm in Torchlight 2 and the creatures within it look much like a Lovecraftian version of hell.

Without even mentioning the Mindflayers, when I gave Dungeons & Dragons Online a try a while back I was quite pleased to discover the first quest line has you going into someone's house to discover a secret shrine in their back built around a tunnel into the sewer line, and discover he's worshipping Deep Ones who you must then track down and fight.

Just the other day I was listening to an audio book of Felix & Gotrick while cleaning. The book was Slayer of the Storm God which I just assumed meant they'd be fighting something similar to Thor. Instead the story involved a gaggle of people turning into various sorts of sea creatures fighting them for an amulet, which when placed on someone's chest transforms them into their god, who is quite obviously Cthulhu, but with some shark bits mixed in.

Cultist 05/05/15 (Tue) 23:08:31 bd2f0a No.315

I don't know if this counts, but my brother and I have been working on a comic book series using HPL's concepts, but set in a fucked up version of the modern world. We've been working on it for over a year now, though if he doesn't start producing more pencilled pages I'm going to have to take over drawing myself.

Cultist 05/07/15 (Thu) 16:48:38 b65b00 No.318

>>315

Go on…

I've been working on a comic book project myself, and it's been going really, really slow for me too, thanks to artists who disappears for weeks before responding. Basically I've been trying to get this eight-page sample completed since 2013 now…

Cultist 11/04/15 (Wed) 22:43:39 6ce7fa No.335

File: 1446677019974.jpg (983.93 KB, 1648x3188, 412:797, The Haunted Palace (1963) ….jpg)

A new favourite of mine is “The Haunted Palace” from 1963, directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Lon Chaney, Jr.

Despite the title it is actually an adaptation of HPL's “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”

I just recently discovered these Roger Corman/Vincent Price films based on Poe (& HPL), and they are all great. Price is always great in these roles, the costumes and the sets and special effects are terrific with some really beautiful matte paintings.

This film in particular really looks gorgeous – from the dark and eerie streets of Arkham, to the ancient, windswept graveyard and Joseph Curwen's old, abandoned haunted palace overlooking the town.

Other films worth absolutely worth checking out by Roger Corman starring Vincent Price based on Poe:

* House of Usher

* Pit and the Pendulum

* The Masque of the Red Death