The Cthulhu Mythos in film

Although H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos is firmly rooted in the world of literature,

that has not stopped various film companies throughout the years from adapting some of his stories onto the silver screen.

Many of the direct adaptations of Lovecraft's stories have been amateur productions or low-budget horror films, while larger companies have so far merely taken inspiration from the mythos.

We won't be discussing every film based on or inspired by the Cthewo Mythos,

but I'll try to cover the important releases.

The first adaptation of Lovecraft's story was The Haunted Palace in 1963. Although titled and marketed

after the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, the plot is actually loosely based on the case of Charles

Dexter Ward by Lovecraft. Although deviating from the plot quite a bit, it is the first film to

show the Necronomicon, as well as the first on-screen mention of

Cthulhu and Yag's Hathoth. The film's setting is Arkham in 1875, and Vincent Price

plays the role of Joseph Kerwin and Charles Dexter Ward. The film is styled after many of the

atmospheric horror films of the 50s and 60s, and is an interesting piece in Cthulhu Mythos film history.

Another important film is the Dunnich Horror in 1970, created by the same company that did The Haunted Palace.

For this film, they kept the title the same as the short story, and stuck slightly closer to the original plot.

Ed Begley is Dr. Henry Armitage, and Dean Stockwell plays the creepy Wilbur Waitley.

The film features the Necronomicon, plenty of mentions of Yogsathath, and of course the titular Dunich Horror.

The plot mostly deviates with the presence of a young librarian, played by Sandra D.

and her interactions with Wilbur Waitley.

A mostly poorly done version. It was redone in 2009 for sci-fi,

this time with Dean Stockwell playing Dr. Armitage.

In 1987, we were given The Curse, a relatively close adaptation of the color out of space.

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