Friday, 26 January 2024

VOD: H.P. Lovecraft's Monster Portal (a.k.a. Monster Portal, a.k.a.The Offering) (dir: Matthew B.C., 2022)

"Well, this isn't terrifying at all..."

Reminiscent of 1970s Amicus/Hammer movies, this micro-budget British horror/fantasy/thriller has lots of potential and to its credit it manages to deliver in some ways.  A young woman and her partner (plus two largely irrelevant and irritating friends) travel to her father's beautiful isolated country house following his apparent suicide, only to uncover his dabbling with an alternate dimension.  The film is shot attractively, the extensive music score is unobtrusive and suitably atmospheric, and the leads deliver capably.  The overall pace is very sluggish indeed, but in spite of its limited and low-key resources, within its limitations the film surprises by being one of the more successful attempts to bring the world(s) of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos to the screen, with the sparingly-used glimpses of other worlds and giant monsters realised fairly effectively for its budget.  
 

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