Necronomicon (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Necronomicon


caption = DVD cover for "Necronomicon".
director = Brian Yuzna ("The Library" and "Whispers")
Christophe Gans ("The Drowned")
Shusuke Kaneko ("The Cold")
writer = Brent V. Friedman ("The Library")
Christophe Gans ("The Drowned")
Kazunori Itô ("The Cold")
Brian Yuzna ("Whispers")
H. P. Lovecraft (short stories)
starring = Bruce Payne
Richard Lynch
Jeffrey Combs
Belinda Bauer
David Warner
Maria Ford
producer = Takashige Ichise
Brian Yuzna
Samuel Hadida
Aki Komine
Gary Schmoelier
distributor = Davis-Films
released = February, 1994 (Fantasporto Film Festival)
runtime = 96 min.
language = English
budget = $4,000,000 (estimated)
amg_id = 1:148588
imdb_id = 0107664

"Necronomicon" is an American anthology horror film released in 1994. It was directed by Brian Yuzna, Christophe Gans and Shusuke Kaneko and was written by Brent V. Friedman, Christophe Gans, Kazunori Itô and Brian Yuzna.

The three stories in the film are based on three H. P. Lovecraft short stories: "The Drowned" is based on "The Rats in the Walls", [ [http://www.mythostomes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=74 "The Rats in the Walls", by H. P. Lovecraft.] Lovecraft's original short story that inspired "The Drowned."] "The Cold" is based on "Cool Air" [ [http://www.mythostomes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=70 "Cool Air", by H. P. Lovecraft.] The original story that inspired "The Cold."] and "Whispers" is based on "The Whisperer in Darkness". [ [http://www.mythostomes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=75 "The Whisperer in Darkness", by H. P. Lovecraft.] Lovecraft's original story that inspired "Whispers."]

The film stars Bruce Payne as Edward De Lapoer, Richard Lynch as Jethro De Lapoer, Jeffrey Combs as H. P. Lovecraft, Belinda Bauer as Nancy Gallmore and David Warner as Dr. Madden.

Plot

"From the master of terror comes a chilling tale of unspeakable evil."

The film is broken into four separate features, "The Library", "The Drowned", "The Cold", and "Whispers". "The Library" segment is the wrap-around story, which begins and ends the movie.

"The Library"

* Part 1 In the wrap-around story of the film, H. P. Lovecraft (Jeffrey Combs) learns of a monastery where a copy of the Necronomicon is held. Having been a regular here for his research, he sets up an appointment to read through one of the monasteries books, his cab driver told to wait outside. Taking insult when the head monk calls his work "fiction", he insists that all his writings are true. Requesting to read the Alchemical Encyclopedia vol III, Lovecraft steals a key from a monk, and waits until no one is watching before fleeing to the cellar where the Necronomicon is being held. Unknown to him, a monk has seen him. Unlocking the vault where the book is held, the door closes behind him unexpectedly, which surprises him and he drops the room key down a grating and into the water below. As this takes place, one of the seals is opened.

Sitting down to read and record what he is reading, Lovecraft starts writing various stories (although it is never specified if he is being fed visions of the future through the book, or if the book itself contains future accounts, it is quite likely that the stories are stories which will come to pass and for the Necronomicon have already passed, alluding to the Necronomicon's timelessness, as all the stories take place in a time well beyond the 1920s).

As Lovecraft begins inscribing on his notepad, the name the drowned can be seen, and Lovecraft begins to write the beginning of the narrative to the story before the movie shifts into the story.

"The Drowned"

Edward De LaPoer, a member of the De La Pore family, is tracked down in Sweden after inheriting an old, abandoned family hotel. Left a sealed envelope from Jethro De La Poer, he learns of his uncle's tragic death- upon a boat trip return to New England, a crash on the shore killed Jethro's wife and son. Upset over this loss, Jethro picks up a copy of the Holy Bible in front of several funeral mourners, tosses it into the fireplace and announces that any god who would take from him is not welcome in his home. In grief that night, a fisherman (likely an Innsmouth fisherman rather than a Deep One, as it had more humanoid features and could speak), arrives and tells him he is "not alone". The fisherman leaves behind an English translation of the Necronomicon.

Using the book, Jethro performs the ritual to bring his family back to life. However, his family are revived as unholy monsters with green glowing eyes and tentacles in their mouths. Feeling guilty, he chooses to commit suicide by casting himself off the upper floor balcony.

Edward, distraught over a car accident years before which killed his wife, Emma, finds the Necronomicon and performs the ritual to revive her. That night, Emma arrives and asks to be invited in. Edward apologizes for the accident. Emma quickly regurgitates tentacles from her mouth, and in a panic, Edward pushes her away. Emma angrily attacks, but Edward, with a sword taken from a nearby wall, cuts her. We see a tentacle coming from Clara's back leading underneath the floor below. Drawn underground from the injury, the creature below destroys the floor and rises, a gigantic monster with multiple tentacles, one eye and a large mouth. Edward cuts a rope holding the chandelier above, jumps to it and climbs to the ceiling. "Emma" again tries to restrain him, but Edward busts out the stained glass ceiling window, the sunlight driving her away.

Edward pushes the chandelier rope free from the pulley, the pointed bottom piercing the monster in the eye. Now on the roof, Edward has avoided the same fate that Jethro had years before and decides to live.

The actual time frame of the story is never given, though the somewhat-anachronistic variety of styles shown in automobiles and dress indicate that Edward's story is likely set sometime between the 1930s and the 1970s, with Jethro's roughly 60 years prior. The story does not adapt "The Rats In The Walls" but rather involves the same family.

"The Library"

* Part 2As the first story ends, Lovecraft becomes suspicious he is being watched. The water beneath him churns, and another seal opens, revealing yet another seal. One of the monks finds Lovecraft's hat where he was designated to remain, and the two of them comment on whether or not Lovecraft would be brainless enough to try to discern the secrets of the Necronomicon, to which the other (the head monk) affirms, commenting that he is "only human". Lovecraft continues to read the Necronomicon and inscribe stories, which leads into the cold. As this takes place, events that Lovecraft is unaware of are happening within the monastery.

"The Cold"

Reporter Dale Porkel is suspicious of a string of strange murders in Boston over the past several decades. Confronting a woman at a local apartment building, he is invited in only to find the entire place is very cold. The woman he has confronted claims to suffer a rare skin condition which has left her sensitive to heat and light. Demanding the truth or his story runs as-is, Dale is told the story of Emily Osterman's arrival to Boston 20 years before. Taking residence in the apartment building, she is told by Lena, the owner, not to disturb the other tenant, Dr. Richard Madden, a scientist. Her first night she is attacked by her sexually abusive stepfather, Sam, who has tracked her down. Running away, the two struggle on the steps leading to the next apartment.

Dr. Madden opens his door, grabs Sam's arm and stabs his hand with a scalpel. The fall down from the stairs kills him. Emily is bandaged up and given medication. That night, Emily is awoken by drilling noises and blood dripping from her ceiling. Heading upstairs, she finds Dr. Madden and Lena mutilating Sam. She passes out, to awaken later in her bed with a clean ceiling. Dr. Madden assures her she was having a nightmare.

The next day while job hunting, Emily sees two cops with a flyer asking for information about the murder of Sam. Confronting Dr. Madden, he comes clean - though Sam was already dead from the fall, Dr. Madden claims he would have killed Sam regardless for what he had done. Dr. Madden reveals his copy of the Necronomicon and how he learned of its information on sustaining life. In the greenhouse, Dr. Madden proves this by injecting a wilted rose with a compound to revive it, claiming that as long as it is kept out of the sun, it will never die. The two make love, with a distraught Lena spying on them.

That night, Lena threatens to kill Emily if Emily will not kill her, as Lena is in love with Dr. Madden, a feeling that has never been returned. Emily flees, only to return months later to announce her pregnancy. Upon arrival, Emily finds her boss from the diner in Dr. Madden's apartment, struggling to avoid death. Helping him, Lena stabs her boss in the back, killing him. Lena insists on killing Emily, but Dr. Madden will not allow it, destroying lab equipment in the process. The resulting fire injures Dr. Madden severely, and without his fresh injection of pure spinal fluid, feels no pain as his body disintegrates. Distraught over his decay, Dr. Madden literally tears himself apart, peeling all tissue from his skull and finally dying. Lena, with a shotgun, shoots Emily. Emily announces her pregnancy and Lena, feeling a loyalty to Dr. Madden, saves her life.

Dale is suspicious over the continued murders. He also suspects that the woman he is talking to is not Emily's daughter, but Emily herself, having contracted a disease during intercourse. He is right, but the coffee he drank was drugged. Emily reveals that she is still pregnant, hoping one day that her baby may be born. She also reveals that she has continued murdering for spinal fluid, and chooses to keep a supply stockpiled, as an aged Lena approaches Dale while brandishing a syringe (presumably containing anesthetic).

No time frame is specified, but present events are likely to be during the 1980s or 1990s, with the previous events set 20 years prior.

"The Library"

* Part 3Lovecraft continues to read from the Necronomicon, inscribing what he reads to his notepad. At this point he removes his coat and begins looking around him to see what is happening, grabbing his cane and brandishing it in case anyone is about to attack him, and the head monk from the beginning looks through a trap door to see and confirm that Lovecraft is indeed with the Necronomicon, and tries to open the door leading into the room that Lovecraft is in to find that it is locked. A third seal opens up as Lovecraft continues to read, leading into the butcher. Lovecraft is becoming as suspicious as ever as he continues to inscribe tales from the book.

"Whispers"

During a pursuit of a suspect known as "the Butcher", two police officers, Paul and Sarah of the Philadelphia PD, are arguing over their failed relationship and the coming baby. The argument leads to a crash, flipping the police cruiser upside down. Paul, having unbuckled his seatbelt in the heated argument, is knocked unconscious and is dragged off by the Butcher. Sarah unbuckles herself and, breaking out the window, exits the vehicle. With the radio out, she follows the blood trail Paul is leaving as he's being dragged away.

Inside the old warehouse, Sarah follows as Paul is taken down a service elevator. Turning around to find another way down, she trips on a rope and is sent through to the floor below, saved by the rope around her ankle. The rope breaks, leaving her on the floor. As she gets up, she finds a man in glasses, Mr. Benedict. Insisting he is merely the landlord of the warehouse and the Butcher is a tenant, he offers to lead her downward. Downstairs, the two are shot at. It is merely Mrs. Benedict, a blind old woman. Sarah, sick of this, takes Mrs. Benedict's shotgun and orders the two to lead her to the Butcher.

In their small living space, Mrs. Benedict senses that Sarah is pregnant. However, Mrs. Benedict insists that she is not really his wife and that they merely met a couple weeks ago. She also claims that the Butcher is an alien.

Led below by Mr. Benedict, the tunnels under the warehouse are of an ancient, almost Mayan construction with murals depicting human sacrifice. Mr. Benedict tells of how the Butcher is not an alien, but works for them, and that these tunnels predate human society, once home to beings who do not follow any god. During a confrontation with Mr. Benedict over what Sarah believes are lies, she is attacked by Mrs. Benedict, flammable liquid poured on her as she is shoved down a hole. As the rope ladder is pulled up, Sarah finds herself in a cave filled with old bones and fresh corpses. Strange bats fly about and when Sarah shoots the cave walls, green blood oozes forth.

Sarah hears Paul, only to find a jittering body with the back of its head open and no brain attacking her. Fighting back, a creature eventually emerges from Paul's body, one of the bat-things. Speaking from an odd orifice in the chest, Paul reveals that it is him, his brain now in this body. It is how these creatures reproduce, by stealing human brains. Eventually, the mind is also stolen as all human will is lost.

Sarah is attacked by the Benedicts. Restrained, we learn that Mrs. Benedict is in fact one of these aliens, a "queen", and that Mr. Benedict is the butcher, a man who willingly helps these aliens gather humans in exchange for his freedom. In addition to requiring human brains, they also feed on bone marrow. Sarah passes out as one of her arms is severed.

Waking up, she finds herself in the hospital and is told by her doctor (Mr. Benedict) that she was in a severe accident and her mind has been hallucinating various horrors in response. Her mother (Mrs. Benedict) is there to console her, but tells her the baby is lost and that Paul is brain dead. The illusion is quickly torn away as Mr. Benedict reveals Paul's mangled body in the bed next to her. Pulling the sheet down, she finds her left arm and both legs amputated. The walls melt away as Mrs. Benedict removes Sarah's right arm, various creatures in the background holding her limbs and draining the marrow out through straw-like mouthpieces. Sarah's screaming melts into laughter as she succumbs to her new fate as one of these creatures.

The time frame of this story is likely the 1990s.

While the story takes minor elements from "The Whisperer in Darkness", these bat-like aliens have very little in common with the Mi-go. They do not pursue scientific interests, instead opting for a life of leisure and gluttony free of worries. The only real similarity seems to be in their ability to transfer a human brain into a new container, albeit one of their own bodies rather than a brain canister, and at that, as a means to expand their population rather than to transport humans through space. They also bear no physical resemblance aside from wings.

"The Library"

* Final SegmentWith the conclusion of the third tale, Lovecraft is confronted by the head monk. Standing up in surprise, the monk assures him that all will be fine if he opens the door, to which Lovecraft admits he dropped the key. The monk is quite angry at this point and warns Lovecraft to replace the book, however he is attacked at this point by a monster in the water beneath him, and the last of the seals opens up. The monk at this point reveals himself to not be human at all, as he begins stretching his body through the slender bars, and Lovecraft uses a sword in his cane to defeat the monster in the water. The monk mocks Lovecraft, telling him that "the secrets of the Necronomicon do not come cheaply, and it will cost him his life". Strangely, Lovecraft pulls back the skin on the monk's head easily and the monk does not die as he expected to come of it, and Lovecraft is forced to use his sword once more to wound and stun the monk, who is devoured by a nameless being who comes through the dimensional barrier which is then sealed once more by the seals as the vault closes.

Gathering his things and grabbing the book, Lovecraft begins to depart, as one of the monks warns him of the foolishness of his actions, and then threatens his life, telling him he will pay for his misdeeds. Lovecraft then escapes into the night, as his taxi pulls away from the monastery's front doors, and it does not appear that Lovecraft is followed or pursued actively by the monks.

Reception

Necronomicon was well received upon its initial VHS release in America, but did substantially better in European and Asian markets.Fact|date=July 2008

Cast

"The Library"
*Jeffrey Combs as H. P. Lovecraft
*Tony Azito as Librarian
*Brian Yuzna as Cabbie

"The Drowned"
*Bruce Payne as Edward De Lapoer
*Belinda Bauer as Nancy Gallmore
*Richard Lynch as Jethro De Lapoer
*Maria Ford as Clara
*Peter Jasienski as Jethro's Son
*Denice D. Lewis as Emma De Lapoer
*Vladimir Kulich as Villager

"The Cold"
*David Warner as Dr. Madden
*Bess Meyer as Emily Osterman
*Millie Perkins as Lena
*Dennis Christopher as Dale Porkel
*Gary Graham as Sam
*Curt Lowens as Mr. Hawkins

"Whispers"
*Signy Coleman as Sarah
*Obba Babatundé as Paul
*Don Calfa as Mr. Benedict
*Judith Drake as Mrs. Benedict

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0107664|title=Necronomicon