Dagon ( 2002 )
The plot centers around two couples on vacation, whose ship suddenly runs aground off the Spanish coast and one of the women becomes trapped below deck as the boat begins to take on water. Our male and female leads take a boat to a nearby fishing village to seek help, only to discover that the townsfolk have been enthralled by something that is slowly turning them into blasphemous abominations. Something evil... Something ancient... Something from the deep. And it wants it’s tribute.
Probably my favorite Stuart Gordon/Lovecraft outing next to Re-Animator, and one of the more true to form adaptations ( even though it’s more like a reimagining of The Shadow Over Innsmouth as opposed to Dagon... Cuz Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna never seem to get the titles to match the screenplays for some god damn reason ). Arguably one of the most faithful films in regards to the source material and it’s mythos. Dagon nails the nightmarish, otherworldly, and warped atmosphere of one of Lovecraft’s tales, while mixing in Stuart Gordon’s signature style with some impressive practical creature/gore effects. The story borrows heavily from the original narrative, while also changing enough to keep it from being a straight up adaptation, is more engaging than I expected, and I felt the twist and ending were well executed. My only real complaints are standard fare for most low budget foreign flicks. The dubbing can be a little hokey and distracting at times which can detract from the overall dark and serious tone, and the few CG effects are clearly unpolished or not finished ( but thankfully they are both brief and sparse ).
Overall, I’d highly recommend this one to fans of both Stuart Gordon and Lovecraft respectfully. As well as anyone looking for a creepy little creature feature with decent effects and an interesting, cult themed, story. Also, fans of horror themed games should check this one out, as the original story and this film inspired the level design and enemies in games like RE4, Bloodborne, and by far the most intense ( and my personal favorite ) part of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
7/10