October Horror Challenge - Necronomicon (1993)

    

Synopsis

This Lovecraft anthology includes three different tales with a wrap-around story. The wrap-around framing story features H.P. Lovecraft (played the legendary Jeffrey Combs). "Rats in the Walls," "Cool Air," and "The Whisperer in the Darkness" are adapted for the other three tales.

Review

My favorite Mythos director, Brian Yuzna, directed much of this flick. Additionally some of the effects were done by Tom Savini. Here are my thoughts on the stories.

Library: The wrap-around story is a lot of fun. I mean Combs as Lovecraft is just inspired. Also Yuzna makes a cameo as the cabby at the end.

The Drowned (Rats in the Walls): This tells the tale of Jethro and later his nephew Edward. Both lost their loves and sought to bring them back via a ritual in the Necronomicon. The deep one that brings Jethro the Necronomicon is the best live action one I've seen, even better than all the fish folk of Yuzna's later flick, Dagon. Bruce Payne's portrayal of Edward is full of heart and sorrow. He might not be in the film long, but his performance rally stands out.

The Cold (Cool Air): The story is about a series of missing persons being investigated by a reporter. A woman tells her tells him the story of her mother and they came to live there. An eccentric doctor, played by David Warner (who I know as the scientist from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze) has found a way to prolong his life, though it has changed him. I like the story, but the effects in this one aren't as good as those in The Drowned.

Whispers (The Whisperer in the Darkness): Two Philadelphian police follow a suspect known as "the Butcher" into an underground cavern.  For me the highlight of this is Don Kalfa (Ernie from Return of the Living Dead). The story is kind of meh, the monsters look silly, and the twist also felt dumb. It's not awful, but is just kind of mid. If you want to see a better film with a similar plot, I recommend Midnight Meat Train.

Of the four stories, Library and Drowned are my favorites. This one isn't in print in the states and I had to grab my Jolly Roger to watch it. Still if you're a Stuart Gordon fan and haven't seen it, you should check it out. 

Your Game

While it was the least favorite of my stories, the bat monsters from Whispers would be great monsters for a SURVIVE THIS!! game.

Extraterrestrial Bat Monster (Aberration Beast)
Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice: 2 HD
Move: 6, Fly 24
Actions: 1
Attack: 1XS sawtooth beak (1d6)

Special: Marrow frenzy
Bonuses: +3 to melee attacks, +2 to melee damage

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 8

Madness: -
Terror: 8

HDE: 2

Marrow Frenzy: Once the bat monster gets a taste of human bone marrow it will ignore all other targets in order to devour the marrow. It automatically hits the target on its turn.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

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