Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Powerful

A Masterpiece!

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

To judge from the poster of the 1970 version of "The Dunwich Horror", you would think this must be one of the most kickass horror movies of all time. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, you soon realise that a lot of artistic licence was taken with that poster - a lot.Sandra Dee plays Nancy Wagner, a research assistant to Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert on the occult. When she encounters Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell), she ends up at the Whateley mansion and falls under his spell - she keeps on drinking those cups of tea. Wilbur believes that a combination of rituals, incantations and sacrifice of the 'right girl' will allow an ancient race of superior beings, the Old Ones, to be brought back.The story involves twins, mating with dark forces and a room at the top of stairs that hides an evil entity. That room generates a lot of tension, until it's opened that is, then the limitations of the special effects are revealed. It needed something like the monster out of John Carpenter's "In The Mouth of Madness", but got strobe lighting instead.The best effect in the film is the altar on the headland. When Nancy innocently asks Wilbur what it was used for, he gives her a rundown on the program of events.It entailed selecting a beautiful girl, just like Nancy strangely enough, who would be placed on the altar naked to the elements while black robed figures gathered round to observe and 'relish' her, "and then they waited for the moment when she would allow the power of darkness to enter; the moment when the gate would open and the Old Ones would come through." Sandra Dee wasn't someone you automatically associated with sexy roles, but she has her moments in "The Dunwich Horror", especially when she ends up on the altar with a fair amount of thigh and hip exposed to relishing.Less appealing is Lex Baxter's score; he needed a safety catch on that theremin - his music makes the film seem more cheesy than it actually is.The film was remade in 2009, but it was a cheap looking effort with even worse special effects than the original. However there was homage for Dean Stockwell who played the role of Dr. Armitage.The stars of the 1970 version generate a certain level of interest, although I think disappointment over the depiction of the Old Ones is unavoidable.

Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) pops over to the Arkham Miskatonic University to borrow the legendary Necronomicon and Sandra Dee. But little does anyone know, Whateley is not quite human...Peter Fonda was apparently considered for the role of Wilbur. I wish that would have happened! I mean, Stockwell does a great job and has an incredible mustache (and Mike Mayo calls his performance "appropriately hammy"), but Fonda is one creepy dude! There is much to be marveled at here, even just in the making. The script was co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This is also Ed Begley's final film.Most importantly, the film is one of the earliest adaptations of Lovecraft's work (the fourth film) and one of the first to attempt exploring the Cthulhu mythos in cinema. American International Pictures really cornered this market early on, first with "The Haunted Palace" and then "Die Monster Die" before this one...

but you'll love it; it's got it all: sex, multi-form monsters...for a low budget rendition of a Lovecraft story it's not bad. Almost up to par with Dagon. I only regret not getting to see Wilbur Whateley's guts ripped out by a German Shepherd dog in the library. I live in a state (CT) that actually has a Devil's Hopyard, so I can relate, and the only problem I had with the movie was the music soundtrack, which was so 70's. Big surprise. Probably some of the most erotic Lovecraft filmage ever done, I have to hand it to R. Corman this time. You've paid good money to see much much worse. The Necronomicon scenes are pretty spot-on. The vernacular is there. One might hope for a third treatment (forget the J. Coombs version) that could implement some CGI, but they canned At the Mountains of Madness too. When is Hollywood gonna wake up and see the potential in HP Lovecraft? A lot of raw material is going to waste and we don't need a Spiderman 5.

Pretty good flick for the usual Lovecraft completist list. Dean (the Boy with Green Hair) Stockwell as Wilbur Whateley is kinda cool casting, but his characterization could've been a little more elaborate (i.e., the short story character was literally "out of this world!"). Sandra Dee's casting was strictly camp (as a fellow critic remarked, "Gidget Goes To Hell"), but not unlikeable, given her character is Wilbur's love interest! Ed Begley, Sr.'s Professor Armitage was really strong, great protagonist for Wilbur's evil intentions. Sam Jaffee as Wizard Whateley is a very different character than his usual ones (The Day The Earth Stood Still, et Al.), but seemed to generate more compassion than menace.The special effects generally lack enthusiasm, and Daniel Haller, a very fine production designer, could've insisted on stop-motion than in-camera opticals (Wilbur's "twin" looks like cut ribbons of paper or cloth!). The ending, with Sandie pregnant by Dean, is a real hoot.