Enter the Octopus

I’m a recent convert to Netflix, and one of the first things that I’ve been doing is catching up with Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” series, specifically those that I can watch via Netflix’s nifty “Watch it Now” streaming service. The first episode that I watched was the series’ adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dreams in the Witch House,” which while fairly consistent with the meat of the original story still played fast and loose with setting, tone and the depiction of various minor characters.

Given, this treatment is probably the most “hands-off” take on Lovecraft’s material that I’ve seen in quite some time – at least since the old ‘Night Gallery” series – but it’s still not what I’d call true to its source, which leads me to ponder why it is that the gentleman from Providence’s material escapes faithful adaptation.

The eighties were rife with terrible movies all purporting to be based on one story or another of Lovecraft’s, each worse than the next. Consider the bizarro S&M leatherfest of “From Beyond,” for example, or Great Cthuhlhu help us all, even the worse “The Unnamable.” Things, in my opinion, haven’t gotten much better since then, except for perhaps movies like “The Reanimator” which, while overall a mockery of Lovecraft’s story, at least provided some Grade B amusement.

There have been occasional bright lights, like the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s silent adaptation of “The Call of Cthulhu” – a true classic, in my opinion – but for the most part successful cinematic adaptation has been elusive.

While I don’t know exactly why directors and screenwriters feel so compelled to recreate Lovecraft’s stories from whole – and lesser – cloth when they seek to adapt them, I can at least sympathize with their need to polish certain less palatable elements for today’s audiences. Lovecraft’s attitudes toward race and gender would be hard to swallow for the casual moviegoer who, entering the cinema “cold”, would has no knowledge of the era in which these stories were created. And certainly, Lovecraft’s stilted dialogue can be hard on contemporary ears. However, this doesn’t mean that the stories themselves aren’t capable of entertaining those same contemporary audiences, and I feel that by continuing to film movies that can only be called adaptations by the most generous of definitions Hollywood is giving short shrift to both Lovecraft’s genius and an entire generation of fans. Who could blame a filmgoer who, after seeing one of these awful adaptations, would endeavor to avoid Lovecraft’s original work?

Today’s modern filmmaker should work to preserve the man’s legacy and the cultural value of the Cthulhu Mythos. Every terrible movie that arrives on DVD shelves around the country only cements the misconception that Lovecraft’s work isn’t worthy of serious consideration.

I just received this from the gang at Arthur:

Michael Moorcock, acclaimed author, humanist and key counterculture figure (edited New Worlds, the experimental science fiction magazine, collaborated with Hawkwind, wrote lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult, etc) and continuing inspiration to the Arthur gang is ailing a bit and he needs our help. He’d be able to get a lot more writing done right now if he had a wireless keyboard with large keys that he could use with his PC. He’s been looking round and apparently there are no BIG KEYS keyboards that are wireless. Could that be true??? And if it is, could some helpful wiznerd out there build one for MM? Let us know what you know. Write to Mike Moorcock care of Jay Babcock at Arthur Magazine — jay at arthurmag dot com

Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard

By Mark Finn

Monkeybrain Books

This short and very approachable biography of the late creator of Conan the Barbarian, Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn and countless others endeavors to set right numerous misconceptions and outright falsehoods about Howard’s life and work. In contrast to the paranoid, delusional caricature depicted by early biographers, author Mark Finn portrays Howard as a troubled, imperfect man whose choice to take his own life can ultimately be understood in the context of the incredible pressures that made him who he was.

Finn builds the case that the seed for the author’s eventual suicide was planted from a very early age, ironically nurtured by the same elements that fueled his creative genius: his geographic isolation, imagined and real social ostracism, and the maladjusting influence of his mother, a smothering, overprotective woman who molded him from a very young age to serve as her caregiver and companion.

Also examined is Howard’s development as a writer and his work’s recurrent theme of civilization as an unnatural and temporary arrangement. Like his eventual suicide, Howard’s work is best understood within its proper context: in this case as an expression of his experiences growing up in the brutal and sometimes violent shadow of Texas’ early twentieth century oil boom.

Compellingly written, Blood & Fire is an excellent starting point for those who are interested in learning more about Howard and his enduring legacy.

Congratulations, Peter! I’ll be sending your book out this week.

For the rest of you who entered, never fear, I have a couple of more really cool contests coming your way – stay tuned.

Jay Lake fans may have a little bit longer to wait for his new novel Tourbillon, but in the meantime check out his frighteningly original take on zombies in the new anthology Better off Undead, available from DAW. Two All Beef Patties finds a recently deceased computer tech turned zombie chef in an attempt to find something – anything – that tempts the tastebuds of the dead.  The solution is food for thought. Or is it “thought” for food? Find out: grab the anthology and devour it.

Want more Jay Lake? Well, you’re in luck! Fellow writer of the fantastic Matthew Hughes (have you checked out his Archonate books? They’re fantastic) was kind enough to post the introduction Jay provided for his latest novel, Template. Check it out here, and then head on over to the excellent Fantasy Book Spot website to read the first chapter.

This movie is at the top of my list of films that I want to see. Problem is, that while I’m still living here in Mississippi it’ll never ever come here, so Netflix cue here we come. Indie film people, I promise that there are smart people living here that really enjoy this sort of thing – we just don’t have a good independent theater. I live in the capital city, Jackson, and there’s not a single indie screen.

Anyway, check out the description and then watch the trailer.

A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father. A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn’t seem affected by the freezing temperatures. Coinciding with Eli’s arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. One man is found tied to a tree, another frozen in the lake, a woman bitten in the neck. Blood seems to be the common denominator – and for an introverted boy like Oskar, who is fascinated by gruesome stories, it doesn’t take long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire. But by now a subtle romance has blossomed between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors. Oskar becomes increasingly aware of the tragic, inhuman dimension of Eli’s plight, but cannot bring himself to forsake her. Frozen forever in a twelve-year-old’s body, with all the burgeoning feelings and confused emotions of a young adolescent, Eli knows that she can only continue to live if she keeps on moving. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can… Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing and darkly atmospheric, yet poetic and unexpectedly tender tableau of adolescence. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is based on the best-selling novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Look at me/Busy as a bee/Where did I get all this energy/Oh, meth/mmmm, meth!

Some talented tweeker remixed this into the ass-shaking track you can hear below.