Based on on a story by H.P. Lovecraft and scripted by Curtis Hansen, (director/screenwriter of "L.A. Confidential"), "The Dunwich Horror" was, at one time, a staple of late night Creature Features across the country.

I ran across it several times on TV as a teen in the 1970's during one of it's many airings, and recall always having nodded out during parts of the film, waking from time to time to some outrageous, acid-like, totally bizarre scenes that made me wish I would have stayed awake long enough to know just what the heck was going on.

Recently, through the magic of DVD, I was able to finally see "The Dunwich Horror" in all it's glory, minus the commercials and the edits of television.

And you know what? About twenty minutes into the film I began to fall asleep!

What I once thought must have been a result of the time slot, (this was usually on about 2:00am back in the day), has revealed itself to be a fault of the film itself, which moves at a snail's pace for nearly the entire first half.

The story, which some have claimed is one of the more faithful Lovecraft adaptions, involves Wilbur Whately (Dean Stockwell), small town warlock with more than a few family secrets in his closet. (Literally).

He has his mind set on college student Nancy (Sandra Dee), and quickly seduces her with his wild eyes and his porn star hairstyle and mustache, much to the dismay of her friends and co-workers.

Soon, Nancy is shacking up with Wilbur at his spooky mansion, where she begins to have strange dreams involving naked hippies covered in body paint. Weird stuff to be sure.

Grandpa,(Sam Jaffe), needless to say, is none to pleased with Wilbur bringing this girl to the homestead and provides some of the film's best unintentional humor as a result.

Oh yeah, there is also something living in the upstairs attic that is big, angry and wants out.

It is that "creature" that provides the best moments of "The Dunwich Horror", the segments that woke me from my slumber all those years ago.

In a flurry of multi-colored, psychedelic lights, we catch glimpses of a very unusual monster, who, once he/she/it has broken free, wrecks total havok on the towns people of Dunwich.

Though the "attack" comes too late, and is not very long in duration, it is effective enough to almost sit through the whole first half of the movie just to get to it.

The end of the film appears to have been rushed and suffers badly as a result, but we do finally get one good shot of the creature before the credits roll.

"The Dunwich Horror" is not a horrible film, but it certainly does not deserve the attention it has received over the years.

Some of that attention revolves around Sandra Dee's very, very brief nude scene, (trust me, Janet Jackson revealed more at the Super Bowl), and another brief scene in which the monster rips of a victim's clothing. There is nothing more than PG-13 here though (by today's standards), so those seeking a cheap thrill are going to be disappointed.

All in all, "The Dunwich Horror" is so-so, but a must see for fans of early 1970's drive in schlock.

The widescreen DVD transfer is crisp and is part of MGM's incredible Midnite Movies series. There are no extras save for a trailer, as is the case with most of these titles.

Look for this one used or in the cheap bin.








Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older