#39 - The Dunwich Horror (1970)
Based loosely on the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name, this movie is about Nancy, a young woman who is studying at Miskatonic University when she meets Wilbur Whateley, who is from a nearby town and hopes to borrow the Necronomicon (which they leave out in the open in the school library, of course). When Wilbur "misses his bus", Nancy offers to drive him home, but she soon becomes entangled with some strange goings-on... it seems that Wilbur's father wasn't quite human, and his brother is something from another world.
This was sort of bad. It has been a while since I've read Lovecraft's original story, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this isn't a particularly faithful adaptation. It certainly doesn't feel very Lovecraftian. It has its moments, though, like a young Dean Stockwell hamming it up as Wilbur, and some neat psychedelic camera effects that are maybe a bit overused. There is also a lot of unnecessary nudity and sexuality, which I guess isn't too surprising with Roger Corman as producer.
Not really recommended. Corman and American International Pictures made a lot of great horror films, but this isn't one of them.
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