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DVD Review: The H. P. Lovecraft Collection : Volume 1 (Cool Air)
By James VanFleet
Mar 13, 2006, 23:16

The H. P. Lovecraft Collection - Volume 1 - Cool Air

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The Feature

“Cool Air”:  Each DVD has a centerpiece film, and this is the centerpiece for the first volume.

Randolph Carter moves into an out-of-the-way hotel, where he runs into an aging fellow named Dr. Munoz, a man who must keep his apartment very cool, or else . . . well, something icky might happen.

“Cool Air” certainly looks remarkable.  Moore filmed the short with black and white 16mm film.  This style, along with the decision to stay in Lovecraft's time period, gives everything a sense of authenticity.  The contraption that keeps Munoz’s apartment cool looks like the bastard offspring of an old radio and a car engine.  It’s wise to keep this story in a time before air conditioners and refridgeration were commonplace.  “Cool Air” in modern times wouldn't really work that well.

Randolph Carter is played by Bryan Moore, who is also the director and adapted the story. His role is the standard Lovecraft role - skeptical, learned observer.  Moore does a fine job with this role.  I grew wary when he started referring to his work as an author of “weird stories.”  One thing I don’t think this adaptation needs is coy self-reference.  No matter.  Carter is essentially a vessel that takes us to Dr. Munoz.

As played by Jack Donner (“Star Trek,” Stigmata), Dr. Munoz halts, hitches, and breathes like every moment is an agony he must bear.  His work is spectacular and compelling.  There's a monologue where he relates his past love that achieves a bizarre sort of perfection. Donner takes the movie from stylish into borderline masterful.

The film itself is only forty minutes or so, but it feels full and rich and, thanks to Donner, personal.  The sense of tragedy that encompasses the short gives it legitimacy as more than just genre work.  Lovecraft was never one for relating deep human connections in his stories, but Moore and Donner take “Cool Air” and give it a real sense of life.

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The Shorts

“Nyarlathotep”:  “Nyarlathotep” was filmed in a similar style to “Cool Air”, but it lacks that film’s warmth and humanity.  Of course, with only twelve minutes, what is there to do besides capturing some style and atmosphere? For what it is, Nyarlathotep is solid, but it's also pretty shallow. Good for a viewing.

“The Hound”:  Also in black and white, this one's video style hurts its attempts at atmosphere.  Is there anything more damaging to a period piece than being shot with cameras bought at Target? The story is solid, and Lovecraft's narration in the story is followed faithfully – I’m always impressed when people make his arcane language seem realistic. But it feels more like a demo reel than an actual movie in its own right - "See, I can work with cameras and lighting, now give me a real chance."

“An Imperfect Solution”:  The acting is bland, the dialogue isn’t all that inspired, and they’re adapting “Herbert West: Re-animator.”  Kinda hard to do that after Gordon did it so well.  So much that most people consider it the best Lovecraft adaptation, uh, ever.  One thing that is kinda neat is the use of color.  The video has a washed-out, not-quite black and white look to it.  Some colors pop out, albeit in a muted way.  This one is probably worth a view, but not much more.  Kudos to the filmmakers for trying to recreate the time period as well as they could.

“The Hapless Antiquarian”:  A poetic narrative about a doomed researcher set to the alphabet (A is for . . ., B is for . . . ). Uhm, I guess it’s cute.

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The Extras: 

“Behind the Machine”:  This feature is a well-fleshed out look at how “Cool Air” came to be produced.  Most of the story sounds familiar: a ragtag, crazy production full of fresh anecdotes, love of the source material, and a race against time to finish the film in time.  Bryan Moore comes off as an informed filmmaker with a genuine love for the form.  Jack Donner manages a strong virility and eagerness to talk, despite his age.  However, it’s the bit player Dukey Flyswatter (an electrician in the film) who deflates all the intelligence and respect for Lovecraft with a few well-chosen words: “Oooh!  It’s so scary, I can’t tell you what it looked like – it’s so scaaaaary!  Ooooh!  And Cthulhu came and put his tentacle-thing around my gonads!  And it was so scary I can’t tell you what it looked like!”

 “S. T. Joshi Interview”:  S. T. Joshi is a well-informed Lovecraft historian with all the charisma of a brick wall.  It doesn’t help that his interviews are filmed in a very stripped-down manner, with long boring takes and moments where we watch as . . . Joshi tries to find a passage from one of the books he wrote.  There are interesting tidbits here for people curious about Lovecraft’s life and ethos, but those people would be better off reading Michel Houellebecq’s fabulous, concise book, “H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life.”

 “Dunwich 1927”:  Just a trailer for the HPL Festivals that produced this series of DVD releases.  Well produced for what it is – too bad it’s just a glorified self-advertisement.

 “The Scroll”:  Another trailer for the HPL Festival.  Bo-ring.

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Overall, the DVD is pretty solid.  “Cool Air” easily bests anything else on the DVD, but that may not be enough for people unfamiliar with Lovecraft.  For those people, I’d give this one a mild recommendation.