Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown focuses on American writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). The film combines two different views of Lovecraft. First of all, the documentary takes a very detailed look at his life, beginning with his birth. By examining his childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, and the way in which his mother sheltered him, the movie explores how this relationship shaped the young writer. We learn that Lovecraft fell in love with reading fiction at a young age, but became a recluse by the time that he was a young adult. As Lovecraft begins to write stories of the horrific and unexplained, the piece looks at some of the more famous works and explains how they were published and received. We then learn of Lovecraft’s romantic and social life, and how he grew to be a somewhat prolific writer. Intercut with educational (for lack of a better word) bits are comments from Lovecraft devotees, such as John Carpenter, Neil Gaiman, Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Stuart Gordon, amongst others. They offer some further insight on Lovecraft’s life, but, more importantly, they offer a critical analysis of his work. There is much discussion of the Cthulu Mythos and how Lovecraft’s stories about creatures from other dimensions was very influential. The speakers also touch on how their own work has exhibited shades of Lovecraft. —DVDsleuth.com