Cool Air (1999) (aka Lovecraft Collection #1)

Cool Air (1999) (aka Lovecraft Collection #1)

4/10

This is actually one main movie with a compilation of other shorts based on H.P. Lovecraft stories. The problem with Lovecraft stories is that he is very wordy, which is how he crafted his horror. Great for written stories, bad for movies. Even worse is if you already know the story. The problem with this disc is that it is faithful to the material. IMDB has several comments about how close it is to Lovecraft. Not really a plus, because it is boring this way.

I will break each piece down individually, then give an overall review at the end.

** Cool Air (the main attraction) **

Our protagonist, Randolph Carter, is new to town and needs a place to stay. He finds a room to rent from a rather cranky lady. Apparently it is rather hot, as he comments upon the heat. (Quick aside- dude, take off your tie and vest!). He soon notices a leak from the ceiling, which the Landlady cleans up but dismisses as crazy talk. She thinks he peed on the floor while sleepwalking. Then she gets freaky.

Carter meets his upstairs neighbor, an unorthodox doctor, under unfortunate circumstances. The Doc waxes on about metaphysics and such. Not quite as bad as Herbert West, but I'm not coughing for him anytime soon.

Problems arise, story ends. Not nearly as good as it was written.

The audio is well balanced, with some dialogue mishandled, and the background soundtrack is nice and ominous. Visuals are good. The film seems like it was done a lower grade black and white stock. The direction is above average. Editing could have been better. Acting was fairly bad.

** Nyarlathotep **

This was just bad. Constant voice over. Apparently Ny could make a watch into a super buggy, or something. More narrative babbling. OK, I know Ny can take on different forms and such, but to have an 'Ash" metal hand from "Army of Darkness" is just going too far! And could that damned fake beard-thing look more fake! Forget this one, it just angered me how off it got from the actual mythos.

Really grainy film. Bad audio. Stupid audio FX.

** An Imperfect Solution **

I don't even want to watch this one. It is based of of "Herbert West: Re-Animator", know in movie form as "Re-Animator". Yes, the popular movie is vastly different from the story. I don't care, it was a great movie, probably coming closest to what Lovecraft can be put on screen. Well, let's see what happens here. This short relies on atmosphere.

Film stock is good pseudo black and white. Audio varies. Dialogue feels stifled.

** The Hound **

Start with another voice over imposed over various random shots.. "As such is my knowledge, I am about to blow out my brains." Yup, at this point, I know how you feel. The narrator is, I guess, supposed to be telling a story, but he is running his mouth so fast I can't even tell what he is saying. I don't remember this story, so I can't compare it to this short. If the story was as boring as this short, I can see why I didn't remember it.

OK black and white. Interesting background audio. Dialogue is clear. The voice over sound like someone with hyperactive disorder, though. Machine guns fire slower (hence the plot confusion).

** The Hapless Antiquarian **

Another story I don't remember of the top of my head. At least this one is only 6 minutes long. No wonder. It's not even a Lovecraft story.

This is an OK compilation piece for an independent. It is 'faithful' to Lovecraft's stories. But this is not a good thing. Quality was overall decent, audio a bit below average, acting below average. If you are a big Lovecraft fan, this disc may be worth a view to see how a straight interpretation of some of his stories could be done. Then burn the disc and watch "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" to cleanse your palette.