Customer Reviews

H.P. Lovecraft's Pickman's Model

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Conor Timmis, the creative talent behind KREATING KARLOFF, brings H.P. Lovecraft's PICKMAN'S MODEL to the screen.
It is an effective 20 minutes of cinema with terrific use of shadows and darkness to keep the atmosphere eerie and the viewer engrossed.

Justin Tacchi's adaptation stays true to Lovecraft's story. At first viewing, the ending may be a bit confusing, but the cast has assembled to provide a commentary (one of six special features included on the disc) and watching it a second time I saw how things fit together.

For those who don't mind reading text on line, another of the dvd's extra features is a 35 page scroll of the original tale.

Read the story first, watch the film, then watch it a second time with the commentary.

As he did successfully with KREATING KARLOFF, Conor, along with the cast and crew, brings his enthusiasm and intelligence to the project. Lovecraft enthusiasts will be pleased.

The oldest and strongest genre of filmmaking is horror, and the oldest and strongest kind of horror is Lovecraftian horror. This is an enjoyable little indie film. A labor of love, by fans of Lovecraft. I applaud anyone that can complete a film on a shoestring budget. These filmmakers accomplished much with virtually no resources.

An interesting and reasonably well-made amateur film. Somewhat faithful but be warned: the audio goes soft and loud. If you are a Lovecraft fan this is worth adding to your collection -- you already know that in HPL's name you've collected crappier movies!

This is a film you should indulge in if you'd like to see a short indie filmed in Lovecraft's native New England, adapting much of the dialog straight out of Lovecraft's original prose. With a budget measured in hundreds of dollars, there is little of the spectacle associated with Stuart Gordon's Lovecraft-inspired tales or John Carpenter's 'In The Mouth of Madness'. This will have its pluses or minuses depending on what you're looking for. Don't expect slithery creatures from the beyond here. You have to accept the horrors suggested by Pickman's paintings and alluded to, but not explicitly shown, in Lovecraft's original story.

The writers and creators of this film are from central Connecticut, in the New Britain area. The columned white house used as a location is actually Russell House on High Street in the campus of Wesleyan University. For a minute I had a deja-vu, as if I were visiting my philospohy professor all these years ago.

Bonus features include the original tale in text format, a commentary track, and interviews with the writer, producer, and actors. Conor Timmis, who plays the role of Pickman, shows his mettle by recommending 'The Resurrected' and the Lovecraft Society's 'The Call of the Cthulu' as prime adaptations of Lovecraft for the screen. I couldn't agree more.

'Pickman's Model' has inspired several filmmakers over the years, with mixed results. This film comes closest to elucidating the true foundation of the story, and that in itself made the purchase worthwhile.

As I write the film is unavailable here at Amazon, which is a shame. The entire movie may be seen on YouTube, and although I am happy to watch it there I cannot help but think that such available viewing may contribute to a lack of actual sells of the DVD, which has extra features and is a DVD I really want to buy. "Pickman's Model" is one of my favorite weird tales by H. P. Lovecraft, and this is a decent rendition of the tale, with moments that remain very true to the source. Should a cinematic treatment of Lovecraft be a slavish imitation of a written text? I don't think so -- it needs to be an interpretation of the director as expressed through cinematography, music and acting.

I would have liked to have seen a more dated period -- young men in boring modern attire kills much of the atmosphere of a Lovecraftian piece for me. But the acting is pretty good and one quickly concentrates on story rather than wardrobe, or lack thereof. Jesse Murphy gives a very solid performance as Thurber, a young man who is thrown into a world of fantastic mystery and horror. This is an important aspect of the tale, that these ancient horrors yet exist, hidden and unseen from the modern world which yet they taint. Murphy conveys the confusion of one who stumbles into such a realm superbly. He is quite handsome, which is an excellent contrast with the figure of Richard Upton Pickman as portrayed by Conor Timmis. Conor is himself quite good-looking, but Norman Bryn's gifted hand at make-up has transformed him into a creature of the Underworld, however subtly (well, those teeth are anything but subtle...) When I first watched this film I found the portrayal of Pickman just a bit over the top, with exaggerated facial and vocal distortion; but Pickman is absolutely a sinister figure in Lovecraft's original tale, and upon numerous viewings of the film I find Conor's portrayal exactly right and quite effective. It's almost like watching a young Boris Karloff portray a figure of Lovecraftian legend.

The photography in the underground portion of the film is at times too dark, but there are some exquisite moments, such as when Pickman creeps (literally) behind Thurber and utters a choice line, then fades again into obscurity. This is an amazing representation of my favorite lines from the short story, "Either he was born in strange shadow, or he'd found a way to unlock the forbidden gate. It's all the same now, for he's gone--back into the fabulous darkness he loved to haunt." The portrayal of Pickman by Conor Timmis is a wonderful interpretation of such a figure, and he has moments of haunting effectiveness.

The script, by Justin Tacchi, is quite a faithful adaptation of Lovecraft's story. Derek Meinecke, in the minor role of Eliot, has been much better in other films such as REANIMATOR: 1942, where he gave a great performance. He doesn't, here, quite convey the repulsed horror needed to express that which he sees on a photograph. I wish, indeed, that some effort had been made to show, however indistinctly, some image of the creature that serves as Pickman's model.

All in all, this is an excellent wee film, one that captures a sense of H. P. Lovecraft's weird tale and brings it to cinematic life. It is a film to which I constantly return, and like the more I see of it. Well done, gentlemen.

Postscript:--Strangely, shortly after writing this review I returned here and now the DVD is available for a low $12.00!!! Why I initially got a message that it was unavailable I cannot comprehend -- but no matter, I have just order'd ye DVD with 1-click. Hooray!

Ruined one of my favorite Lovecraft stories. Poor production, bad acting, bad story telling. The story was almost unrecognizable from the original Lovecraft tale. $12 wasted.