Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

fico-lcfotud

Fantastic documentary for anyone looking to learn a little more about Lovecraft. Steller choices of interviewees from filmmakers such as John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon to horror literary icons such as Ramsey Campbell and Peter Straub, and of course the ultimate Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi. Highly recommended.

This is one of my favorite documentaries, it's great mainly because it is hard to mess up a documentary on such an interesting person.

I agree with others. While this is entertaining, giving us a view of this interesting figure, there isn't much new to fans. The fun is seeing some of the kings of the horror and sci fi genre, talking about the influences of the man. Also, the graphics were a good deal of fun. Because of Lovecraft's reclusiveness, it's hard to get inside his head. But his extensive letter writing (I own five volumes of his letters) we know many of his quirks, but what was going on behind closed doors is another matter. In modern terms he wasn't a very kind or pleasant fellow, but he had a unique talent.

I'm not a fan of documentaries, but this one I just had to see. A documentary about Lovecraft, the father of modern horror, from the corner of the great names of the genre, such as Nile Gaiman, one of my favorite writers, then Peter Straub, who collaborated with Stephen King on the "Talisman" novel, directors by Guillermo del Toro, Stuart Gordon and John Carpenter, and others. Technically, the film is well-made, combining a narrative about the life and work of H.P. Lovecraft, with interviews with the aforementioned giants, as well as with movies, music and paintings inspired by Lovecraft. The film has a good pace and at no time is it boring, but it is essentially quite basic and made primarily for the people who know little or nothing about this legend. Although I only got some new information about Lovecraft's biography, while I did not find out anything new about his work, I enjoyed listening to my favorite writers and directors talking about Lovecraft with love. Recommendation. 7/10

This is an okay, very general biography of lovecraft. Its issues include interviews with almost exclusively white men, and what at times seems like an apologetic approach to the writer's racism. There are plenty of scholars and authors of color, and plenty of women and others, who the producers of this documentary could have interviewed. Furthermore, while it is true that in some ways Lovecraft was a product of his time, it is also true there were plenty of people in the Twenties and Thirties who were not racist. With respect to the interviews, while it is entertaining to hear the likes of Campbell, Carpenter, and Gaiman comment on Lovecraft, there is little depth to their remarks, which can also be blamed on the producers for not asking more incisive questions.

Good document with excellent interviews from authors and film makers in the horror genre. Learned alot about H.P. Lovecraft. Well done documentary. Worth a watch.

It was interesting to see, at long last, a documentary about the reclusive "gentleman from Rhode Island" (as Robert E. Howard referred to him). For fans of fright fiction, there aren't a whole lot of writers whose work can hold a candle to that of Lovecraft (for my money, there are only a handful: Robert E. Howard himself, Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Charles Beaumont, and Shirley Jackson). Some of my own earliest stories were inspired by Lovecraft and, although I now own two Lovecraft biographies, this is the very first time I've ever seen a documentary (courtesy of The Chiller Channel) about the man. Long overdue, to say the least. The comments made by the frightmeisters herein are all surprisingly well-informed (especially those by director Del Toro, whose movies THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE and PAN'S LABYRINTH are themselves stellar examples of the kind of horror(s) Lovecraft often unearthed). A must-see for anyone interested in one of the pioneering True Greats.

"Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" is a nice documentary about author Howard Philips Lovecraft's life. And this particular documentary is a great introduction to the force behind some of the most influential horror writings in the 20th century. As an avid fan of Lovecraft's writing, and finding many of the films based on his work interesting as well, I sat down to watch this documentary and found it to be quite good. You were given bits and pieces of the author's past and history, bits and pieces which you may or may not already have been familiar with. But regardless, "Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" is a great introduction for new fans of his timeless works. The documentary has appearances by some of the more influential horror writers and movie directors of the 21st century, giving their input and adding to the story. Which I found to be a nice touch. Of course, "Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" is a piece that is intended for fans of H. P. Lovecraft, and if you sit down to watch this documentary without knowing what it is, you might be sorely disappointed, because this is not for everyone to enjoy. "Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" also delves into the Cthulhu mythos to stir up enough interest for new audiences to spark a flame of interest. And for us well-read fans, the documentary does bring about some interesting facts. As a fan of Lovecraft, I found "Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" to be a good supplement to the books on my bookshelves. And if you enjoy Lovecraft's works, then watch this documentary. And if you are a fledgling fan in the works, then "Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown" is a good introduction to the fabulous works of one of the greatest authors in the horror genre.

The documentary starts out interesting with a history of Lovecrafts childhood and relationship with his mother. The movie is punctuated by interviews with icons of movie making...they still had me. It moves into his relationship with his wife, move to NY then they lost me. Seeking to attempt to provide reason for Lovecrafts literary racism wondering, well was he really a racist? Or was he just a man in New England at the time? If someone uses racist language in their writing are they racist? Institutional and systemic racism at its best, the producers failing to see that whiteness is what everything else is compared against. It's disappointing the filmmakers clearly don't get that. I turned it off.