Sam Neill has quite the CV for Lovecraftian horror: Possession, Event Horizon, this one...plus he played an older Damien in The Omen films. At a stretch even the Jurassic Park movies can be somewhat Lovecraftian.
He does well here: playing the straight serious man who can't quite believe what is unfolding around him. And what is unfolding is very watchable from the viewer's perspective: dark hypnotic secrets, trippy illogical scenes, unknowable monsters. FX are fairly modest but have aged quite well. Consistent pacing. Performances from all really good. Ending is satisfying.
One of the stronger Carpenter films. Highly-recommended if you also enjoy his other works, or enjoy Lovecraft vibes. Might be a bit too esoteric for modern horror watchers.
Further Lovecraft recommendation: check out 2001's Dagon (7/10). Little-known modest effort, despite B-movie vibes it's a good watch, like In The Mouth Of Madness also faithful to that particular brand of horror vibe. There's also the more modern and less directly-Lovecraft The Void, Banshee Chapter & Underwater, they're a little more flawed (6/10 each). Still decent enough.
He does well here: playing the straight serious man who can't quite believe what is unfolding around him. And what is unfolding is very watchable from the viewer's perspective: dark hypnotic secrets, trippy illogical scenes, unknowable monsters. FX are fairly modest but have aged quite well. Consistent pacing. Performances from all really good. Ending is satisfying.
One of the stronger Carpenter films. Highly-recommended if you also enjoy his other works, or enjoy Lovecraft vibes. Might be a bit too esoteric for modern horror watchers.
Further Lovecraft recommendation: check out 2001's Dagon (7/10). Little-known modest effort, despite B-movie vibes it's a good watch, like In The Mouth Of Madness also faithful to that particular brand of horror vibe. There's also the more modern and less directly-Lovecraft The Void, Banshee Chapter & Underwater, they're a little more flawed (6/10 each). Still decent enough.