MY CALL: For fans of Lovecraft adaptations, this is a “bad movie” that’s actually pretty good. It boasts way more special effects that the budget would suggest and really swings for the fences! MORE MOVIES LIKE Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep: There are Lovecraftian movies to be taken much more seriously. For more recent Lovecraft-adapted fare, consider Dagon (2001), Dreams in the Witch-House (2005), Cold Skin (2017), The Color Out of Space (2019) and Suitable Flesh (2023). For some clearly Lovecraft-inspired movies, move on to The Shrine (2010), Black Mountain Side (2014), Harbinger Down (2015), Baskin (2015), The Void (2016), The Beach House (2019), The Superdeep (2020), Glorious (2022), and Deus Irae (2023).
Upon his placement in Arkham Asylum in 1998, new inmate James Fhelleps (Robert Miano) hits it off immediately with his cellmate, who finds himself mutilated and separated from his manhood in a most grotesque manner by a seemingly possessed Fhelleps.
25 years later, oneirologist Ambrose London (Edward Furlong; Brainscan, Night of the Demons) is summoned to Arkham Asylum by Dr. Barnard (Susan Priver) to study the strange case of dissociative identity disorder in the patient James Fhelleps, or more so his murderous alter ego Joe Slater. Like a high priest of Cthulhu, Slater preaches Lovecraftian prose of madness beyond great oceans of space and beyond the wall of sleep.
The imagery is often as graphic (and quite provocative) as the limited budget permits. There is some very low budget CGI—like, laughably silly low budget. But this CGI is complemented by maximum effort latex monster makeup, like when Slater’s neck monstrously elongates and he eats an orderly’s face. Likewise, some of the writing (e.g., Slater’s monologues) is most thoughtful, whereas the execution of other scenes (e.g., possessed mobs of patients) is forgettable B-movie fodder. This movie is clearly self-aware of exactly what it is. But, at times, it still aims a good bit higher and, frankly, pleasantly hits above its weight class at times.
PSA: I rented this on Amazon and was most enraged by the large black box censoring out images from the opening scenes. Don’t worry. It’s just this one scene. But again—in the moment—enraging!
Director Chad Ferrin (HP Lovecraft’s The Old Ones, The Deep Ones) had fun with this one. He toys with us with dreams within dreams within dreams, and bizarre macabre imagery. But things elevate to the next level when Ambrose hooks himself and patient Fhelleps (and Slater) up to his dream analysis machine to connect with his mind. This dream sequence explains the origin of Jim Slater (a Color Out of Space-corrupted peasant who lived over 100 years ago), his exposure to a meteorite that corrupted him, and some mutant alien “manhoods.”
More ultra-low budgetiness is observed when the Arkham patients touched by madness behave like manic zombies, but are only recognizable by behavior—some bags under their eyes or blood smears around their mouths. But hey, at least they are eating coils of rubber guts! We also see someone’s face pulled off by a garbage disposal. A high point for sure! And for those who like padded casts, additional small roles are played by Bai Ling (Crank: High Voltage, Samurai Cop 2, Sharknado 5), Ginger Lynn (New York Ninja, 31, The Devil’s Rejects, Buried Alive) and Steve Railsback (Alligator II, Lifeforce).
For being of such low budget, this was a pretty fun bad movie. Worth it if you know what you’re getting into, and more so if you’re a fan of Lovecraft adaptations. This makes me curious to see more of Ferrin’s movies. Although I’m told this one is the best by far, I liked this enough to take the leap.