Top 11 Lovecraftian Horror Films
Steve Barton
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Alien (1979)
Here we begin our Sigourney Weaver section of the list. Hey, Jeffrey Combs and Stuart Gordon can’t get all the love! Weaver’s first appearance in an overtly Lovercraftian-styled film occurred when she appeared as Ripley in Alien. Alien had a Lovecraftian component built right into the art team as H.R. Giger, an artist with a known Lovecraftian influence, designed the signature alien creature (based on his creation Necronom IV) that would go on to define the franchise. Giger would win an Oscar in 1980 for his work on the film. If looking at the drooling xenomorphs isn’t enough to convince you of Giger’s love for HPL, the fact that he named his first printed collection of images Necronomicon should prove it. Now where have we heard that name before?
Ghostbusters (1984)
Sigourney Weaver returned a few years later to star in another Lovecraft-flavored film. Ghostbusters is certainly the funniest film on this list, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its money shot moments. With gods and monsters coming from other dimensions and that obligatory feeling of doom right around the corner, Ghostbusters has tons of elements to qualify it for this list. And if you need more proof, check out this quote from Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) a.k.a. Vince Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer… “Gozer the Traveler! He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms! During the rectification of the Vuldrianaii, the Traveler came as a large, unmoving Torb, then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Sloar! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was like to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you!”
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Finally, Ms. Sigourney Weaver returns not to fight the evil as she did in Alien or to assist it as when she was possessed by Zul in Ghostbusters, but in The Cabin in the Woods Weaver is The Director of The Facility, a faction responsible for keeping The Ancient Ones at bay. And it is these Ancient Ones that bring the most Lovecraftian flair to the movie. In true Cthulhu mythos fashion, the power of The Ancient Ones is only hinted at for most of the film (that is, until the final moments when they decide to lay the smack down on Earth), but once again we have a huge ominous power hanging over the movie, with the vast majority of humanity having no idea they are just one teenager’s death (or survival) away from complete annihilation.
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