Tweet
Released by: Lurker Films
Released on: 4/1/2007
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Year: Various
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
The latest in the ongoing H. P. Lovecraft releases from Portland based Lurker Films collects a few different takes on the same story - Pickman's Model. The feature attraction on the disc is Chilean Gothic, director Ricardo Harrington's take on Lovecraft's macabre tale of art and obsession.
Robert Upton Pickman (Renzo Oviedo) is an artist whose star is on the rise thanks to his talents for portraying unspeakable evil on his canvas. He's able to conjure up images that disturb and provoke and no one is entirely sure where he gets his motivation from. When an inquisitive journalist named Gabriel Martinez decides to investigate the murder of his friend, he soon finds ties to Pickman's life and his art. Martinez uses some contacts to track Pickman down, and soon gets pulled into Pickman's bizarre world of unspeakable horror.
The most visually polished of the three versions contained on this disc, Chilean Gothic moves quite slowly but builds nicely in the last fifteen-minutes or so to a very satisfying conclusion. Harrington does a good job of capturing the bizarre tension that fills Lovecraft's writing and the performances are relaxed and natural enough that it makes the characters reasonably believable. Set design is strong with a keen eye for detail ensuring that the characters' surroundings look the part. It isn't a modern masterpiece, but it's a solid take on an interesting story that's done with a fair bit of style and enough class to make it worthwhile.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Shot on 16mm and edited on tape, this is a murky looking picture that unfortunately doesn't look as good as it should have presented here in non-anamorphic widescreen. Although the lighter scenes are okay, the dark scenes are too dark though this looks more like it has to do with the elements that the film was shot on rather than the transfer it self. It's all watchable, but make no mistake, this is a fairly low budget production and it looks like one.
Chilean Gothic is presented in a nice Spanish Dolby Digital 2. 0 stereo track with optional English subtitles. Audio quality is fine, there are no problems with hiss or distortion and the dialogue is clean and clear.
In addition to Chilean Gothic, Lurker Films has provided a few other short films on this disc starting with Giovanni Furore's take on Pickman's Model. It's a very different take on what is essentially the same story. The performances are considerably more manic and over the top and Pickman himself is portrayed as truly diabolical. The set design is nuts, very theatrical and overstated, but it works in a very exaggerated way. Thirty-three minutes in length, non-anamorphic widescreen, Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with English subtitles.
Up next is Cathy Welch's adaptation of Pickman's Model. Again, this essentially tells the same story as the other versions, but there are some notable differences. The cast is exceptionally good here, and of the three versions this one definitely features the best acting. Welch ups the gore factor a fair bit and ties Pickman's interests into some pretty twisted stuff and as such it's a little more frightening than the other films - which is a good thing. Set design is strong, the ending is freakishly interesting, and this one works really, really well. Thirty-two minutes in length, non-anamorphic widescreen, English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
Last but not least are two shorts based on Lovecraft's work but not related to Pickman's Model. The first is a computer animated cartoon called In The Vault which follows an old cemetery worker who gets locked in a vault where the dead decide to pay him back for the disrespect that he's shown them over the years. The second is Between The Stars, and it is about a man who gazes at the stars every night and we see how he amuses himself - it gets quirky. Both are well done and quite humorous and they fight in nicely with the three longer films.
Aside from the short films, there is a pair of spots for the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, held every year at the celebrated Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon which features Ramsey Campbell and Robert Price. Campbell and price also appear for video interviews in which they discuss Lovecraft's influence. A still gallery and some animated menus round out the disc's supplements. Inside the keepcase is an eight page booklet which contains writings on Lovecraft and on the short films which appear in this collection.
The Final Word:
While not as strong as earlier entries, the fourth volume of The H. P. Lovecraft Collection - Pickman's Model, has enough to offer fans of the author that there's no reason at all for them not to check this release out. Lurker Films have supplied plenty of content here.