Product Details

• Writers: H.P. Lovecraft
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, German
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Microcinema
• DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001582AOK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,921 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The 5th volume of The H.P. Lovecraft Collection® continues to showcase author H.P. Lovecraft's unique contribution to American Literature having melded the best in traditional supernatural horror with the genre of science fiction emerging from the 1920s. The featured film on the collection is Strange Aeons: The Thing on the Doorstep, directed by Eric Morgret featuring music by composer Richard Temple (Untraceable, Ghost Rider). Base on Lovecraft's short story, it is a unique tale about the unfortunate match between scholar Edward Derby, and Asenath Waite, a young heiress with mysterious hypnotic powers. Soon after getting married, Edward changes drastically while advisor and friend Dan Upton realizes that he may be too late to stop what has already been set into motion. The film includes English subtitles, audio commentary by director and screenwriter, a bonus "making of" featurette and behind the scenes slideshow. The DVD also contains Patrick Weber's short film Maria's Hubris(also based on Lovecraft's Thing on the Doorstep) and the animated shorts From Beyondby Michael Granberry and Don't Feed the Bookby Robin Ator. The disc is packed with special features including an interview with director John Carpenter, teasers from the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, trailers and much more! Total running time is approximately 120 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Compared to other releases in this excellent series..., March 3, 2008

By 

UbiK - See all my reviews

This review is from: The H.P. Lovecraft Collection, Vol. 5: Strange Aeons (DVD)

..."Strange Aeons", based on the HPL tale "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a bit of a disappointment. Director Eric Morgret tries hard and provides a few decent moments - primarily his shot of the ghoulish-green Asenath (which adorns the evocative DVD cover) which is achieved with some clever mise en scene and the grim ending has some typically HPL-style paranoia. However, some of Morgret's influences are all too clear and a little jarring. Kobayashi Masaki's "Kwaidan" is lifted for the imagery of Waite's face covered in black inked glyphs and the derivative "Return of the Jedi"-style 'Luke meets the Emperor and gets barbequed' showdown between Upton and Waite detracts from a story that doesn't need overt pop culture references to succeed.
Acting-wise it's a mixed bag. Erick J. Robertson's Derby, is a plodding, somnambulistic exercise, while J.D Lloyd plays Derby's mentor, Upton, and his spiral into madness really well. Angela Grillo seems to relish the part of Asenath, getting a few excellent opportunities early on to establish herself with some fun dialogue and sneering looks. But it's Jerry Lloyd's turn as Robert Black that steals the show in a single outstanding scene full of madness and menace with an interesting stage design evocative of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Overall, "Strange Aeons" is a long film at over one buck fifteen and could have done with some judicious editing.
The additonal film on the DVD, "Maria's Hubris," is a German version of the same story and its really very good. At only 13 minutes long and directed by Patrick Weber it's got more dramatic impact than the main feature and a claustrophobic visual style in keeping with a tale involving body-swapping. The small, generally more mature, cast have a typically German grittiness and expressivity about them which tends to overshadow the younger and more inexperienced American cast of "Strange Aeons."
Nonetheless, buy this DVD, watch it on its own merits and I'm sure you'll enjoy aspects of it. Just don't expect a "Cool Air" or "Pickman's Model."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Pretty Good & I'd Watch It Again, July 28, 2009

By 

Jeff Farrow - See all my reviews

This review is from: The H.P. Lovecraft Collection, Vol. 5: Strange Aeons (DVD)

The only problem I had with this film was that the acting was less than stellar--not exactly mediocre--but not really bad either. The story was typical Lovecraft--and that, of course was very good. It involves an affable college professor, a little smug, but basically a good guy. It's his ill luck to have a very daemonic in one of his classes. She challenges him on just about every statement he makes to the class. Then she mentally controls his favorite student, a sort of son figure. Her hold on him because so complete they actually begin to exchange bodies--with sinister results, of course. The woman's power eventually extends to other members of the professor's class & begins to push him right over the edge. There were some excellent, spooky good images in the film. It lacked the power & magnitude of THE CALL OF CTHULHU and sustained suspense & acting in DAGON. Nonetheless, STRANGE AEONS is a must for the Lovecraft/SciFi/Horror video library.

The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft

Dagon

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Dandy from Lurker Films, March 19, 2008

By 

L. Cabos (planet earth) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The H.P. Lovecraft Collection, Vol. 5: Strange Aeons (DVD)

Very interesting adaption though -- like a lot of them -- the inseration of sex is something I wonder if old HPL would have appreciated. The Thing on the Doorstep is one of the lesser Cthulhu stories but, like all the previous editions in this series, well worth adding to your collection.