Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Usually I don't like movies that have three stories with a wrapper around them but here it works fine. The first story is pretty good, the second is pretty dull and the last is awesome. The wraparound is one of the best in this type of movie. The first story was good with a great amount of creepy monster effects and scary moments. The second story left me cold. The third story was great with like demons and stuff. The wraparound would have been better as a separate story but it is very entertaining with a great ending (just like the first and third stories). Four stories in one film and three of them are great! This is a gritty classic.

Hearing that the fabled Necronomicon is in a library, writer H.P. Lovecraft wants to use it to help his writing. After finding it hidden in a secret compartment under the library, he reads three stories from it.The Good Story(s): The Drowned-After a devastating loss, a man is shown the crumbling hotel he has just inherited after his relatives have all died under mysterious accidents. When he learns the truth about his relative's actual deaths, he uses supernatural means to prove their validity. When he finally learns the secret buried underneath his house, he begins to question what really happened to his family. On the whole, this was a great story with a lot to like. One of the better parts to this one is the undeniable and utterly creepy atmosphere here. After starting off in the Gothic territory with a huge mansion, darkly lit hallways and strange rooms, it soon shifts over into the typical Lovecraft story with mysterious creatures, unknown incantations and a general feeling of unease that erupts for no reason. It's a great example of Lovecraft done right, especially when mixed with the Gothic opening. It's action-packed finale is a great conclusion, and makes it end on a high-note that most really don't have.The Bad Story(s): The Cold-Told through flashback, a young woman arrives in Boston looking for a new start, and she moves in to a new apartment complex. Told she is not to interfere with a resident doctor who also lives there, she goes on until he is required to save her and they come in contact. When she discovers that he is secretly conducting strange experiments in his room, he tries to keep the true nature of his work secret. This one was pretty interesting, and it moved a lot faster than it should, but the main problem about this episode was that the whole thing was built around a twist ending that was quite easily spotted and doesn't come at all as a surprise it should be. It really should work, but because it has come along so often, there's just the feeling of a clichéd style to this, and that lowers it into this category. Otherwise, this would be in the top one, as it is a good one, just let down by a weak and predictable ending.Whispers-Chasing a suspect, a policewoman loses her partner/lover and she has to track them both down. While navigating through a deserted building, she is attacked and happens upon a giant pit littered in mangled bodies. After being tormented and tortured by various visions, she is finally able to put it all to rest. Easily the weakest if the three, and despite providing the real gore in the film, isn't at all scary and is instead just a bore. Frankly, with all the deformed bodies and gore thrown around here there's very little about this that should fail on that alone, but it just so bland and lifeless that there's little hope for the great bloodshed on display It is a great wonder to look at with the cave itself being utterly freaky looking and the central pit of bodies displays the kind of darkened aura normally associated with his work, but this is just not scary enough to be worthwhile.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity.

Theoretically speaking, this is one horror movie concept that couldn't possibly have gone wrong! "Necronomicon" is an anthology embracing three lesser known stories (at least, to me they were lesser known) by the legendary novelist H.P. Lovecraft, filmed by an interesting variation of directors, and moreover linked together through an inventive wraparound story that revolves on Lovecraft himself; as played by Jeffrey Combs (who else?). Heck, even the title vividly speaks to the imagination of us, true horror fanatics, as surely everyone will recognize the "Book of the Dead" either from previous Lovecraft adaptations/novels and, if not, certainly from Sam Raimi's splatter-classic "The Evil Dead". Basically, we've got every necessary ingredient to cook up a wondrously delicious horror smörgåsbord here, but somehow the end result nevertheless left a rather sour aftertaste in my mouth… Each and every separate Lovecraft short story is superb, and more than often embodies the true definition of sheer genuine & terror, but the teleplays are underdeveloped and never fully capture the dark and ominous atmosphere that Lovecraft had in mind when he wrote them. Considering the surreal themes and sinister setting, these should have been stories that spontaneously inflict nightmares and cause phobias amongst the viewers, but sadly it never comes to that. You feel emotionless the entire time. It's actually hard to explain … "Necronomicon" seemingly has it all, from solid subject matter over stylistic filming aspects onto nauseating gore effects, and yet something essential is missing. The wraparound, as stated above, introduces Lovecraft himself sneaking into a dark & secret library chamber, because he heard the place hides a copy of the allegedly mythical book The Necronomicon. With the suspiciously eerie librarians observing his every move, Lovecraft reads to us three stories of the macabre. The Necronomicon is simultaneously the leading thread running through the stories, as all the protagonists come into contact with the book one way or the other. The first segment has a Swedish heir returning to the ancient family hotel by the seaside. He learns that his ancestor lost his beloved wife and child in a shipwreck, but managed to bring them back to life through forces hidden inside the hotel. Since Edward also was responsible for the dead of his girlfriend in a car crash, he hopes to discover the secret and bring her back from the other side as well. Obviously not the best of ideas … "The Drowned" is my personal least favorite story of the three, but I do have to acknowledge it's a stylish contribution. Director Christophe Gans ("Brotherhood of the Wolf") takes the maximum out of the marvelous seaside location and the morbid old hotel. The flashback, with Richard Lynch as the archetypal sea captain ancestor, is masterfully handled as well. However, Bruce Payne's stone-cold performance as well as the hideously abrupt anti-climax plummet the quality level enormously. The second story, entitled "The Cold", is my choice for best segment. It's about a sleazy journalist who knocks at the door of a large mansion and brutally confronts the lady of the house with the mystery of why so many people vanished after having visited this place. She has no option but to tell him about her mother's acquaintance with the brilliant previous tenant – Dr. Madden – who developed a unique but sinister method for preserving his youth and virility. One slight disadvantage, though, it requires a lot of human spinal fluid and must remain safeguarded in a cold environment. Personally, I'm a sucker for horror stories revolving on the quest for immortality (like "The Rejuvenator" and all the movies about Countess Bathory); especially when they feature an outrageously over-the-top mad scientist character, like David Warner in this case! "The Cold" has a marvelous story-within-story structure that nearly isn't confusing as it sounds and benefices from the most properly "finished" screenplay of all three stories. This is also the only segment that finds the exact right balance between juicy gross-out effects and high level of tension. Not bad for a Japanese director that allegedly couldn't speak a word of English on the set! The third and final story has director Brian Yuzna's trademarks all over it. "Whispers" is an indescribably nasty and sickening illustration of what pure hell is most likely to look like. This segment is lacking substantially, but you'll nevertheless stare with your eyes and mouth wide open, as it is a non-stop spitfire of pitch-dark and ghastly images. Unfortunately they are not really disturbing or scary … just very, very unpleasant! Two police officers are chasing a car down to a grim neighborhood and literally end up in a subterranean labyrinth of terror. Words even file to describe the atrocities they encounter there, including petrifying elderly folks, flying carnivorous demons and extraterrestrial butchers. I like a good portion of gore and bloodshed, but this particular segment was quite unbearable. In general, "Necronomicon" is definitely a mixed bag. Those who claim that the 90's only brought forward derivative, inferior and non- atmospheric horror turkeys should check it out because it's certainly one of the better efforts of the decade. Still, like that other 90's Lovecraft adaptation "The Resurrected", this movie can't hold a candle to some of the earlier – albeit admittedly loosely interpreted – movies based on the writer's repertoire, like "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond". I'm sure many people will beg to differ, but I think even Lucio Fulci came closer to capturing the real mindset of Lovecraft when he looked for inspiration for "City of the Living Dead" and "House by the Cemetery".

I really enjoyed this movie. Great stories done rather well.I just watched this movie today after trying to get my hands on it for several years, so here is my fresh dead review.This is truly a brave attempt at translating HP Lovecraft's works into film, a truly difficult and daunting task to do with any skill. Attempts to illustrate the alluded-to but barely observed horror of most of the genre tend to fail because the substance is not generally visual. It is a state of mind. But I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and I will explain why.The house we begin at where the Necronomicon is rediscovered is atmospheric and the directing is also rather visceral and refreshing. The camera work is very creative and flexible utilizing many different styles, a lot of askew profile shots or detached views from above, even the use of black and white to denote a tragic flashback is skillfully used here.The music is also quite nice. The casting equally talented. The story of a man whose family is taken from him, he turns from God, and a strange demonic creature comes to him, bringing strange solace in the form of the ancient book: The Necronomicon, where the man discovers a ritual to bring his family back from the dead. The man utters archaic iambic pentameter, tossing his own blood upon the pentagram. "That which is not dead can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die, In his lair Cthulhu waits dreaming."And though his family does return, they return in a monkey's paw sort of damnation and terror, but why? Why the extent of this just to say, "Gotcha!" in a truly horrifying manner? To extinguish the light, any semblance of hope, or effort. Indeed we are speaking of the Necronomicon, a cursed book brought to man by the truly damned.The third story has music I know I have heard somewhere before, somewhere not too long ago I might add, but I just can't place it! Maybe on an episode of Dexter? Some of the lines are so cheesy but entertaining, like this little jewel."I just came by to watch you practice your flute playing, only you're going to practice on my instrument."Also unlike most horror these days, it is not hidden it is not behind a screen it is not off camera, it is close up, visceral. You really feel it the way horror is meant to be felt.