Will del Toro's Mountains of Madness disappoint?

[Druidic]

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artatt...e_terrible.php

[ramonoski]

The general impression I got from the very early script draft that's available online is that the movie indeed feels closer to a remake of The Thing by way of Prometheus than a faithful representation of the book. I suppose it comes down to Lovecraft just being too bleak for mass consumption so compromises will be made. I have no doubt a good thriller/horror movie can come out of it, and I'm sure Del Toro will make creatures look amazing on screen, but I think an ideal ATMOM should leave the audiences feeling diminished, forced to reconsider our position in the cosmos—far as we can tell there are no creatures like shoggoths or elder things around, but the mere vastness and emptiness of the universe should get their heads going. That said, that was a very early draft and who knows how many things have changed since then.

I agree with the article that perhaps things should get started with a smaller project. Perhaps a good tactic would be making a good adaptation of "the thing on the doorstep", sell it like it a romantic comedy and release it on valentine's day to dupe the masses into watching it.

[Alarm Agent]

I think the problem with lovecraftian movies in general is that the underlying philosophy (whether you call it nihilism or cosmicism) is inherently difficult to convey in a visual medium. Not to mention that the majority of the people is unable or unwilling to follow such directions of thought; even today most movies are based on simplistic good/evil schemes .And most SciFi movies are suggesting that the universe is a big playground waiting to be conquered by humans, even if this is just part of humanitys delusion and self-deception. Maybe a more experimental angle to the movie could be helpful.

I remember reading somewhere that Del Toro was planning to bring in S.T. Joshi as an advisor if he ever made his ATMOM film.

Another thing to recall is that the Elder Things are pretty anthropomorphic in the sense that Lovecraft specifically lauds them as being "scientists... whatever else they were they were MEN." (or words to that effect, I can't recall the exact quote)

Elder Things versus the Shoggoths is some kind of parallel to the good vs evil paradigm.

Half the time HPL just wasn't as cosmocentric and philosophically "indifferentist" in his fiction as his devotees might have wished him to be.

Anyway, who knows what to expect from the filmmaker who brought us both Cronos and Pacific Rim? It could be splendid or else all sound and fury.

Mark S.

[ramonoski]

Quote Originally Posted by Hell-Ghost

I am dreadfully afraid of the gargantuan popularity that Lovecraft will suffer as a result of this adaptation. Yet hopefully it will eventually die down.

How bad could it be? I mean, it's not like there aren't already Cthulhu plushies, parodies in kids cartoons, themed birthday cards and the like (not to mention some awful homage/pastiche stories in diverse anthologies)

[ramonoski]

Some music critic once said that there are two Richard Wagners: the Wagner people know from listening to his work, and the Wagner people know through his reputation alone.

I think in some way that statement could be applied to basically everybody that ever lived. So, we have Lovecraft the author from Providence, and Lovecraft the figure appropriated by pop culture (the recluse, the racist, the asexual, the man with an irrational fear of seafood, or however it is people like to portray him) who may as well be two different people.

But I know what you mean. I think it's the sentiment Poe was channeling when he wrote "and all I loved, I loved alone." We are certainly not the only people with a special connection to Lovecraft or whatever (he is a popular and important author, after all), but that personal connection is indeed something precious and invaluable.

Quote Originally Posted by ramonoski

We are certainly not the only people with a special connection to Lovecraft or whatever (he is a popular and important author, after all), but that personal connection is indeed something precious and invaluable.

That's an interesting point, which makes me want to make another (I'm sure all Lovecraftians are aware of it). Frank Belknap Long continuously remarked (or harped) upon the fact that S.T. Joshi didn't know Lovecraft personally. If you like, Joshi never encountered Lovecraft with his guard down, so to speak, as Long did. I've no doubt that, so far it's possible to know Lovecraft through writings, Joshi knows him better than anyone. But there's still that disconnect between the written word and direct experience.

Mark S.

[Druidic]

The problem, as I see it, is this…

ATMOM has already been filmed several times. Twice as The Thing (I’ve always regarded Who Goes There? as a legitimate and brilliant reworking of Lovecraft’s novel) with both films being remarkably effective despite vastly different approaches. The movie (not the video game) Aliens vs. Predator was also admittedly ‘inspired’ by Mountains; while Prometheus gave a similar story the kind of twist that some had envisioned for the Lovecraft tale-- taking it to another planet.
I’m not overly pessimistic about del Toro’s film just not terribly optimistic. He’s going to really have to convey the full strangeness and utter alienage of Lovecraft’s vision to be successful, no easy task even for a guy who at his best is quite talented. One interesting thing about Mountains of Madness: like Mark says, it really does run with a Good vs. Evil scenario for much of the story…and not until the nightmarish ending does Lovecraft shift gears into Cosmic Horror. Our identification and sympathy for the star-headed ones all but forgotten as we once again find ourselves in a world where a luckless glance in the wrong direction at the wrong moment can rob a man of his sanity…

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

The problem, as I see it, is this… ATMOM has already been filmed several times. Twice as The Thing (I’ve always regarded Who Goes There? as a legitimate and brilliant reworking of Lovecraft’s novel) with both films being remarkably effective despite vastly different approaches.

This remark is bang on the money IMO, my dear old tiger.

I've long felt the John W. Campbell novella owed a great deal to Lovecraft and mined HPL's cosmic vibe.

Mark S.