This isn’t the version of The Whisperer in Darkness the HPLHS released in 2011. And I should note, it isn’t as good.
This is, of course, one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous stories – and with good reason. The story starts with hints of something strange and monstrous, gradually becomes creepier, before finally ending on a horrific note.
I suppose you could call this a fan film, as director Matt Hundley and his friends made this to be as close to the original story as possible. Which does mean, yes, that it involves a lot of talk as much of the original is told in the form of letters.
It’s talky, and unfortunately, slow. It could really have used a bit of editing, as there is too much time spent on establishing shots. And, like a lot of low budget productions, they could have used a lot more variation in their soundtrack, as it mostly comes at a low monotone. A few more cuts in some of conversations might have helped visually as well.
And yet, it still manages to be nicely creepy, with some impressive visuals (particularly the artwork illustrating the various Lovecraftian creatures that the protagonist finds) and a few seconds of digital creatures, which spend so little time on the screen that we never really get a good enough look at them to see how poorly done they might be (the “tentacles” on the faces of the Outer Ones do look more like spikes, unfortunately).
However, for a $700 project shot in ten days, it is impressive what they managed. I am somewhat amused to see Mark and John Polonia‘s names in the credits (“very special thanks”) as this is turned out better than most of their interesting-if-terrible DIY films. Lovecraft fans will want to see this, and for those unfamiliar with the original story, it will give you the creeps, guaranteed (although, perhaps, less so if you know what to expect. But that’s the problem with adaptations). You have to admire anyone willing to put the investment of their time and money into a passion project like this.
Mind you, the HPLHS version is far better, even if it strays a long way from the original.
But we expected that anyway.
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rivets on the poster 
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