Halloween movie - I'a! I'a! Cthulhu fhtagn! (Dagon (DVD))

Member Name: dancomp

Product:	Dagon (DVD)
Date:	01/11/06 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Atmosphere, ookiness, the first half

Disadvantages: Unsatisfying cop-out ending

Introduction:
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Successful American businessman Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) and his Spanish girlfriend Barbara (Raquel Meroño) are celebrating their latest venture with friends aboard their boat moored off the coast of Spain. There is a fishing village nearby hugging the shore called Imboca from which chanting can be heard, presumably praying of some sort from the church dominating much of the town.

With supernatural quickness, a storm rolls in and their vessel is torn open on the coral, injuring one of their friends. With the squall subsiding, Paul and Barbara head for the shore in an inflatable raft to get help. Unfortunately, not only are the dank, slick cobbled streets eerily deserted, what little in the way of locals they find have a strange inhuman quality to them, whether slightly bulbous eyes or webbed hands.

Unable to summon help, they are cut off from the outside world. Barbara is kidnapped while Paul's strange dreams of a stunningly beautiful girl (Macarena Gómez) calling to him intensify. Running now for his life, Paul's only source of help or even explaination comes courtesy of a drunkard (Francisco Rabal in his last role), an old man who as a child despite his parent's murder in front of him was the only villager not to have embraced the worship of an undersea monstrosity, the dark God known only as Dagon.

The film
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In case you have'nt guessed from the title, this movie is based loosely on the Lovecraft tale "The shadow over Innsmouth". One of the most well-known horror writers from the first half of the twentieth century and largely responsible for the Cthulhu Mythos, his books present a challenge to any would-be filmmaker. Directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), this horror movie is'nt half bad even if it fails ultimately to live up to the promise of the first hour.

Gordon manages to make the old town of Imboca unnerving, dank, cramped and claustraphobic. In fact, he has succeeded to such an extent with the location that the bar is perhaps set too high for the resulting script to follow. If Jeunet were to make an out-and-out horror film, the location would look like this. Perhaps it was a question of money, perhaps there were time constraints I don't know about, but from the midpoint of the film onwards, things take a turn for the worse - and not just for our protagonist.

There are highpoints still to be had, such as when Paul breaks into a house half-full of water and is attacked by a nightmarish tentacled creature - not because said creature sees an outsider fit for lunch, but because his house has been broken into and his "child" is scared.

Otherwise, the film degenerates into an unnecessary and frankly revolting face/off torture scene and having steered clear of blatant nudity to begin with, titties start to abound as something very promising starts to degenerate into B-movie cliches. All of this could have been forgiven except for an ending that comes across as hideously contrived, making nonsense of the principal character's motivations throughout the entire film.

Moving away from the script, the actors involved all do their best with the parts that they are given. Particular mention should go to Meroño who is almost on a par with Raban, a veteran of Spanish cinema. The special effects are generally very well done with the exception of one squid-head that brings to mind something reduced to £9.99 at the local costume shop. Bizzare, considering the few glimpses you get of Dagon are quite frightening.

The cinematography is skillfully handled, particularly taking into account the limited budget. The film's score from Carles Cases is actually borderline fantastic, however there is too little of it.

Summary:
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This film could and should have been a classic. The director and the scriptwriter had tried for over a decade to being their vision to the screen, only to fall at the final hurdle. This is really a shame. Still, check it out if you have the opportunity - preferably with your other half, a fair amount of alcahol and all of the lights turned down. Pray that knock at the door is just kids seeking chocolate and nothing more sinister or a little bit fishy.....

Under £3 at Amazon.co.uk with free delivery.

Cast:
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Ezra Godden .... Paul Marsh
Francisco Rabal .... Ezequiel
Raquel Meroño .... Bárbara
Macarena Gómez .... Uxía Cambarro
Brendan Price .... Howard
Birgit Bofarull .... Vicki
Uxía Blanco .... Madre Ezequiel/Ezequiel's Mother
Ferran Lahoz .... Sacerdote/Priest
Joan Minguell .... Xavier Cambarro
Alfredo Villa .... Capitán Orfeo Cambarro
José Lifante .... Recepcionista Hotel/Desk Clerk
Javier Sandoval .... Padre Ezequiel/Ezequiel's Father
Victor Barreira .... Ezequiel Joven/Young Ezequiel
Fernando Gil .... Sacerdote Católico/Catholic Priest
Jorge Luis Pérez .... Chico/Boy

Summary: Ah, much better - throat's clear now