Dunwich Horror... the forgotten film blog

This forgotten blog about the Edinburgh film festival hid on a laptop for a while so here it is making a rather late premiere...

‘We’re still not really sure what it should be billed as’ admit the cast and crew of the Dunwich Horror as they prepare for a Q&A session after the screening of their… film.

It starts much like every other cinema experience. Shuffle along the aisle, take your seat, lights go down, curtains open... But we are told, ‘open your ears and lose your mind’ as we experience this unique adaptation of H P Lovecraft’s Dunwich Horror.

Director Colin Edwards told the audience, “It’s just an idea that I have been mulling around. I wanted to do something on a really big scale, that could burst open the monster horror story. We weren’t restricted by the budget so it was really exciting and fun.”

Horror seems the best choice for such an ambitious venture, heavily reliant on sound, to drive the audience. There are certainly highly enjoyable moments as your mind sketches wild pictures and characters which drift on and off screen.
“Lovecraft’s horrors are almost indescribable. I got a blast that everyone has seen a different film, I think that’s a really nice aspect of doing this,” says Edwards.

Unquestionably, one of the most joyous aspects of the horror genre is the image we conjure up of the unspeakable, never having it confirmed on screen. Using a variety of fruit and veg, salad cream and even badgers to create the unsettling sounds, the film certainly gives you a lot to play with in the confines of your mind.

One downside is that frequently, the sounds muddle together, coming only from the front of the theatre. The monster appearing inches from your left ear would have caused some real ‘Yikes!’ but as it is, there aren’t too many hug-your-neighbour moments. Edwards acknowledges this and said it’s a drawback of such a project since cinemas are not equipped with the high-tech audio systems found in an editing suite, so the finished result may not work quite as well.

Refuting its label as a ’glorified audiobook’, sound guy, Carl said it is designed to be an ‘audio movie’. ‘It’s not a film but a cinematic experience. We wanted it in surround sound and always intended it to be experienced by a group of people.’

At times the film feels over-narrated and character dialogue borders on clumsy as the plot is extrapolates; perhaps a necessary evil of this type of project. The treat of seeing such a film in a festival is participating in new ideas and approaches to film. And without a doubt, the Dunwich Horror encourages you to think about the way you ‘watch’ horror.

Still, those involved clearly enjoyed the flagship project. Edwards confessed he is already thinking about another audio project, once again delving into Lovecraft’s anthology of horror lore and adapting the sinister ‘Rats on the Wall’. This time round he is keen to employ more full on horror. “It’s a great story, it’s seriously stark, disturbing and dark and a really brutal kick in the nuts.”