H. P. Lovecraft remains one of the most influential horror authors ever to pick up the craft. Modern audiences love cosmic horror even more than its founders, guaranteeing an endless march of reinterpretations of Lovecraft’s work. Some developments make inspired creative choices to revitalize the Old Ones, while others stick to the hits.Cast a Deadly Spellfeels familiar while delivering a fun, campy take on the pulp classics.
HBO gained its current reputation for creating or enhancing the second Golden Age of Television with showslikeThe SopranosandSix Feet Under. They produced countless films before, during, and after, most of which landed on their paid cable network. The company has its name on Stephen Spielberg’sAmistadand Gus Van Sant’sElephant. Most of their projects were short-lived, but the Home Box Office made notable accomplishments.
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Many have describedCast a Deadly SpellasWho Framed Roger Rabbit?withLovecraftian horrors in placeof cartoon characters. The film also has similarities toThe Dresden Filesand modern Lovecraft-inspired games likeThe Call of CthulhuorThe Sinking City. Set in 1940s LA,Cast a Deadly Spellsees detective Harry Phillips Lovecraft accept widower Amos Hackshaw’s cash to hunt down the Necronomicon. Magic has become mundane in the film’s world, used by most to make life easier. Detective Lovecraft shuns magic but enters the world of organized crime and shady sorcery to find his prize. He finds his former partner-turned-mobster, Harry Bordon, hunting down theNecronomicon and stumblesinto a larger conspiracy that could threaten more than just his bottom line.
Cast a Deadly Spell’s Lovecraft influence
Almost every proper noun inCast a Deadly Spellcomes from Lovecraft. The main character borrows the author’s middle and last name, altering “Howard” to “Harry” as the only change. Detective Lovecraft travels to a nightclub called The Dunwich Room on his hunt for the Necronomicon. Beyond H. P., the series shouts out Ray Bradbury and Lon Chaney. The references are typically obvious, butCast a Deadly Spellis not an adaptation of any specific story. It resembles many recent adaptations, which borrow names like Cthulhu and Dagon or concepts like the Great Old Ones without remounting the plot.Cast a Deadly Spellwould feel at home next to Stuart Gordon’s cult classic Lovecraft movies.Re-Animator, From Beyond, andDagonare messy productions with unpleasant or poorly-aged aspects, but they’re still enjoyable.Cast a Deadly Spellhas the same half-ironic appeal. It isn’t scary, nor particularly intelligent, but the commitment to the noir atmosphere and campy monster horror remains entertaining.
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Witch Huntis the 1994 sequel toCast a Deadly Spell. The film ignores much of the established backstory of the first outing. Dennis Hopper replaces Fred Ward as Detective Lovecraft.Witch Huntuses Lovecraftian horroras a political allegory, referencing the McCarthy Era and the Red Scare. Much of the mystery takes place around a film studio, making unsubtle references to the fate of communists in 1950s Hollywood. Years after magic became ubiquitous, imperious senator Larson Crockett wields fear and hatred to illegalize the supernatural and execute offenders.Witch Huntis the weaker film, earning it an even less notable cultural impact.
How doesCast a Deadly Spellend?
Lovecraft finds the Necronomicon with Lilly Sirwar, who is either a crossdresser or a trans woman. It isn’t clarified. Sirwar was an old flame of Mickey Locksteader, who Bordon’s assassin killed beforediscovering the Necronomicon. Lovecraft escapes several demon attacks before bringing the book to his employer, Hackshaw. He learns that Hackshaw, femme fatale Connie Stone, and Bordon are working together to use the Necronomicon’s power. Hackshaw tries to sacrifice his teenage daughter to summon an Old One. Connie kills Bordon to cut him out of the deal.The Elder Godeats Hackshaw because his supposed sacrifice isn’t a virgin, ruining the ritual. Connie is arrested for murder, but she kisses Lovecraft on the way out. Lovecraft reasons that his are the only safe hands for the Necronomicon and leaves with the cursed book.
Cast a Deadly Spellis far from perfect, but the fun genre mash-up, campy tone, and excellent cast make it worth the weaker aspects. It’s not likely to be anyone’s favorite Lovecraft adaptation, but fans should seek it out if they’re looking for a new cosmic horror outing.Cast a Deadly Spellis as forgotten as most HBO movies, but it’s fair to call it a hidden gem in the bizarre catalog.Cast a Deadly Spellwon’t convert anyoneinto a Lovecraft devotee, but it should enter the rotation somewhere betweenDagonandThe Breach.
