Dagon

At its core this has good ideas, a fine atmosphere and sense of dread, and some rather nasty little moments. I don't really know much about the Lovecraft canon other than what I've picked up from various films, but this certainly seems to capture some Lovecraftian flavour. I think it's let down a bit by a rather bland lead, some dodgy CGI effects and untidy pacing. It didn't help that some of the exposition was delivered by a barely comprehensible tramp. A bit "TV movie", but worth a look.

I was really quite impressed that this was as effective as it was, concerning how steeped in fantasy the plot is. I was frustrated with large sections of the film because--in typical horror movie fashion--the lead characters keep doing the stupidest things possible. But it was awfully nerve-wracking in several parts. The skinning scene was genuinely horrific.

I think the biggest wall to this being better is the main character, who is rather irritating and doesn't seem to realise what movie he's in. The film is amateurish in just about every regard barring the set design and makeup, but that doesn't stop it being a decent way to spend an hour and a half.

Kind of wondering why people say it isn't Lovecrafty enough. I have no idea what their Lovecraft expectation is. Is it because the protagonist isn't constantly fainting like a bitch? Umm, it is gory and wet. I like it. Bad CG though.

Surprisingly good, one of the few lovecraft films who try to capture the essence his works and succeeds.

This was a really, really well done and faithful Lovecraft movie. That in itself is an achievement, but it happens to actually be scary, and as a cherry on top, some pretty sweet cans on the female lead.

While many adaptations of Lovecraft onto film seem to mostly dwell on gore and, at times, the Elder Gods' bizarre, few succeed in recreating the spiral into madness, paranoia, and total hopelessness. This film manages to do so. A stupendous cinematic adaptation of material that has usually been dealt with by gore-horror C-movie directors.

Lovecraft adaptations are pretty difficult to do, but this is one of the better ones. Gordon nails the feel of the creeping dread very well and the Spanish setting gives the film a more unique feel. The acting varies but is generally good and the lack of recognisable actors helps keep you on your guard. The film does suffer from some poor CGI effects though which makes Lovecraft's horrors dissapointing to see. There are some tense sequences though and it does capture the Lovecraft feel well.

A near-masterpiece of Lovecraftian horror set in a small Spanish town. Excellent cast, costumes, creature effects, story, dialogue (especially the dialects) and more. This is the last film of the famous Francisco Rabal and an excellent entry for the captivating Macarena Gomez. The film does an excellent job of building up tension as we follow the quirky, nerdy protagonist. The story is built to a climax that is well earned by elements developed from the beginning.

Set in the quaint New England village of Imboca, Spain, Dagon is a noble effort at trying to adapt a Lovecraft story to the big screen when doing so can be like navigating a city built with non-euclidean angles while being chased by an unseen horror from a nearby dimension only accessible through a rift in your dreams opened using a forbidden cant from a bootleg copy of the Necronomicon stolen from Miskatonic University--the attempt usually results in madness (most likely for the viewer).

Like the protagonist, the viewer really feels like being in a hopeless alien situation. Great, tense fun.

Some nice makeup effects, but crappy CGI and some amateurish acting really brings this one down.

Lovecraft is notoriously difficult to adapt for the screen, but Gordon has had some success bringing his nightmarish visions to life despite budget constraints, which are clearly evident in Dagon, an imaginative fantasy/horror hybrid. Godden is a tad weak in lead, but the acting on the whole is fine, with Gomez the clear standout as the strangely alluring fish woman with creepy eyes. The dank rain soaked village is evocatively realized, and it ends on an ambiguously fateful note.

If you can get past the rough bits, most of which are part-and-parcel of post '90s B-movies (not to mention the pretty sickening subtext of the original story) there's a rather tense and disturbing little horror movie contained in here that goes to show you don't need all the resources (or the best actors) in the world to gross and/or freak people out.

I saw this with no knowledge or expectations... and damn what a great little movie! Starts off looking like a weak low-budget horror film, but then really pulls itself together. Very consistent with its maritime motifs. Bags of atmosphere, tension, weirdness, shocks, unpredictable events, gore, monsters... plus very good acting from the lead couple. The ending is quite bizarre. You have to take this for what it is, a B movie. But this B movie makes a whole lot of A movies look bad.

Stuart Gordon is the go-to director for Lovecraft adaptations and he doesn't disappoint here. While huge gaps exist in the protagonist's backstory, you forget about it once the dread begins to unravel. Traditional effects are good, but the CGI is pretty laughable and distracting. All things considered, it's not a bad movie, but it's not nearly as good as some of Gordon's later work in the decade.

Good Lovecraft adaptation from the director and writer of another Lovecraft adaptation--and my pick for greatest horror-comedy ever made--Re-Animator.

A top-notch Gordon/Lovecraft film, which, like Re-Animator, achieves genuinely eerie horror despite an underlying trashiness. It's the great Francisco Rabal's last film - he died upon its completion, hopefully of natural causes, while young Macarena Gomez is as creepy as she is alluring - no small feat. I forgive the casting of Ezra Godden in the lead. This is as effective a piece of fantasy-horror as you're likely to find.

I liked the locations but it was quite weak. The ending did help, though - very effective.

For some inexplicable purpose I keep watching Stuart Gordon movies, and on my deathbed I'm going to be shaking my fist and ruing the night I watched this piece of Z-grade garbage instead of helping the world in some way. I blame Robot Jox.

Maybe it's b/c Gordon avoids subtitles even when the man who explains what's going on is hard to understand, or the lack of the kind of budget to hire the kind of efx people & actors to REALLY pull this off, that this didn't become a hit b/c it's easily 1 of the most compelling horror films I've ever seen. Gordon's pacing is wonderfully brisk w/ the protagonist constantly fleeing into a stranger nightmare. Profoundly creepy & unsettling, I could only think w/ a big budget this would've been huge

The campiness makes it hard to take too seriously, and the lead is terrible, but the nightmarish seaside locale, drenched with rain and infested by a bunch of repulsive human-fish-things, is brought to life in a really vivid and satisfying way. So satisfying, in fact, that it almost turned me into a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, an author I'm not exactly fond of.

Anyone who has ever watched a Gordon film will definitely see his style all over this one. He chooses to use much more physical effects and little CG, which works fairly well for this style of fantasy/horror.

Avoid at all cost. Specially Lovecraft fans.

Never gets boring, but it's not a masterpiece. I do.. admit.. and I'm ashamed to tell.. but I sometimes.. was maybe.. just maybe a tiny little bit.. scared....... *cough* eh..

Mainly leaving the audience in the dark on the subject of the actual dark god the movie is named after, it's maybe for the best that this flick does not delve too deep into the lovecraftian horror universe, as the movie is largely unimpressive save some suspenseful or just plain gory scenes.

The campiness takes away from what could have been an amazing adaptation of "Shadow/Innsmouth". The protagonist is too silly and dorky to like most of the time and some of the scenarios are downright goofy. When it takes itself seriously, it's a great demonstration of Lovecraft's writing. The town, practical effects, cutting away before too much gets revealed, it all adds to some great tension and horror. Not a fan of that uncomfortable rape scene at the end, but still worth seeing for HP fans.

Klimatyczny i dosc nieszablonowy horror na podstawie tworczosci H.P. Lovecrafta. Bardzo dynamiczny, z ciekawymi rozwiazaniami i porzadnym aktorstwem. Efekty specjalne nienachalne i nie raza sztucznoscia (w koncu film ma juz 8 lat). Wedlug mnie bardzo dobra i warta polecenia produkcja, ktora choc potrafi porzadnie przyspieszyc tetno, to czasem wywola rowniez usmiech na twarzy.

This would be better if the protagonist wasn't such a punchable nerd. Terrible CGI tentacles balanced out by some nice practical gore effects & creepy fish people makeup.

MAKE A GOOD LOVECRAFT MOVIE NOW!

Poor amateurish acting, loose directing, hopeless script. There was one more or less acceptable skinning, but it did not save the movie. Digital effects revolted me and promised nudity was lame.

Surprisingly good. Though I hated Vikki character.

Not good but a decent lovecraftian movie. There aren't enough of those.

It's an alright movie when watched with Lovecraft-glasses on, but all things considered most of the movie is just the main character running around. Which is in a way a good thing because the character is pretty damn annoying whenever he opens his mouth. Like most of the cast, really. But the atmosphere and the directing is decent enough for the movie that this is.

Oh man, what a piece of shit. Totally undeserving of the Lovecraft name attached to it. It's not even Dagon goddamit, more like The Shadow over Innsmouth. Here's to hoping that someday, somebody will do H.P. Lovecraft cinematic justice; cause this ain't it.

Boa incursão ao universo lovecratiano e que tinha na produção o ótimo maquiador espanhol David Martí antes mesmo dele ficar famoso pelo Oscar ganho por O Labirinto do Fauno. Box Versátil Lovecraft no Cinema Volume 3.

I honestly thought this was a 90's movie while watching it, take from that what you will. Jeffrey Combs clone Ezra Godden gives a great lead performance & all of the fish people play their parts well. The script is tight & well-paced, the story is intriguing, & it has some great atmosphere. Unfortunately the ending is by far its weakest point, as it makes very little sense & tries to dump a massive plot twist with two minutes of runtime left. Still, another worthwhile Gordon/Yuzna collab.

Pretty terrible overall, although there is a memorable moment when Uxia talks about the forever and forever without end.

57.125

good movie

Severe minus points for the male lead - decent paranoia. Meh.

A disappointment, but not entirely worthless. Could have been an episode in the earlier Lovecraft anthology Necronomicon.