Admittedly that’s a terrible joke on my part. Also admittedly, I’ve never read the story H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House is based on — “The Dreams in the Witch House.” Chances are high that Alice Gilman (Portia Chellelynn) has, because the second most disturbing moment in the film turns out to only be in her mind’s eye as she reads H.P. Lovecraft. Or is it? It sets a good creepy tone, of course, which director Bobby Easley maintains with cinematographer J.D. Brenton. If you’re here for the vibe, this movie works really well.
Unfortunately, writer Bobby Easley has a lot of exposition he wants to cram into his script in an attempt to update the story. He ties in domestic abuse and Christian intolerance to the neat nightmare that Lovecraft laid out. Not only do they slow things down, they just seem perfunctory and with the conservative Christian illusion, makes the story seem rote. If only he could have trusted himself as a director; the dream logic works just fine, and fits with Lovecraft. The less you explain, the better it works.
Chellelynn comes out decently through it, doing her best playing a grad student whose research is leading her down a path no one should go. She plays strong, not damaged, as a survivor of domestic abuse, but scared when… well, the other dimensional naked guy shows up. Anyone would be. The rest of the cast tries, but they’re weighed down by that exposition. When they only need to project presence, they’re fine.
It’s understandable that Easley would try to give it modern relevance. The best part of last year’s The Deep Ones was transplanting the Cult of Dagon to snooty Santa Barbarans. But again, the less explained, the better. The Color Out of Space with Nicolas Cage proves you can just let it ride.
This is a team with talent. H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House just feels like the team didn’t quite trust their own strengths.
