Hello Ladies and Gents

This week on the Tombstone Review, we are covering a movie recommended by @Hoppyhead . A movie based on a story by author H.P. Lovecraft that also inspired the Elder Scrolls Oblivion quest "Shadow over Hack Dirt". Today we are covering Stuart Gordon's 2001 movie "Dagon".  For any and all Lovecraft fans out there, I will start us all in welcoming the dark lord Dagon by saying "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!".


Genre: This movie is inspired by the works of Horror Writer H.P. Lovecraft, and like many of his writings, its genre is Supernatural. However, Lovecraftian horror is a subgenre of horror that emphasizes cosmic horror more than gore or shock. Cosmic horror is the fear of the unknown or that which we cannot understand completely. With this in mind, the movie is actually pretty good at exploring the body horror element that comes with the subject matter. While the effects are not amazing, the makeup is what really got my attention in this movie, as it is very impressive in some cases, but not in all.

Basic Plot: After what can only be assumed was a boating accident during a storm near the coast of an unknown Spanish town, a young man and woman come ashore in search for help. Here in this strange and decaying Spanish fishing town, they find themselves in the grips of a cult that worships an ancient and powerful sea god, and its horrific half human offspring. Can they survive and get away from the villagers before the ritual? Or are they doomed to become two more victims of the villagers and their strange and mysterious sea god?

Level of Blood and Gore: Despite what I thought in this first 20 minutes of the film, this actually has some good blood and gore in it. No shots of organs of anything like that, but we do see skin peeled off a man’s face, and faces hanging from the walls of one building. There is a couple of stabbings as well, and someone being gutted like a fish. (This was actually a happy accident that I refuse to take out).
If you are a Splatter fan, you may find enjoyment with some parts of this movie, but by no means is it “Hellraiser”, or a Croneberg movie. If you enjoy cosmic horror, you will enjoy this movie however.

Kills: Without spoiling too much of this movie for you, I will tell you that the body count is low. But that is to be expected in a movie like this. However, these deaths vary from being gutted, to being flayed. While there isn’t much variety, some of these victims actually show relief upon their death that gives the viewers a bit of uneasiness. You find yourself asking, what has happened to these people? What have they seen? That resulted in their complete relief upon dying.

Setting: The movie takes place primarily in the village or the town, which is populated by strange and off putting villagers, some of which are the offspring of the Sea God. The atmosphere is tense and dark, but also uses blue lighting and rain to give it an almost wet atmosphere. I found you could get a real damp feeling from watching this movie, but also felt like the stench of fish was in the air during the initial arrival scene for the couple. Something that I noticed that impressed me was the fact that during the movie, the main character finds himself surrounded by water almost constantly through his escape.

How it racks up: Upon watching this film the first time, I found that this film was a rather fun and interesting approach to the topic of cosmic horror. There is a kind of Frankenstein’s monster vibe to how the villagers chase the man through his hotel, but also an ironic feeling in the sense that he is a human being chased by monsters. Its CGI is what you can expect from a movie that was made in 2001, but there isn’t a lot of it so you won’t have to worry about seeing too much of that. That is to say, that the CGI is by no means as bad as it could have been, but still noticeable. This should not steer you away from the movie however, since it does get rather enjoyable as it goes on. However, I don’t think that it racks up really well with the cosmic horror movies of Today. Having just seen the 2016 movie “The Void”, before watching Dagon, I found myself saying that this doesn’t really hold up too well. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is both enjoyable and fascinating, but the sense of dread doesn’t really appear until part way through the movie. Would I still recommend watching it? Yes, because while it is with its flaws, there is good in its depiction of the story it and Oblivion’s “Shadow over Hack dirt” is based on. If you enjoyed that Quest, and like the sound of a movie version, be sure to check this movie out.

OverMark: 6/10
This movie is rather enjoyable, but still has its faults. If your looking for a movie thats pretty simple to follow, and one where you can admire the color and the story than this is for you. Add to the fact the make up, costumes, and some of story is fascinating then you have a pretty watchable movie. The best part about this move is that the atmosphere itself draws you in and intrigues you as the story progresses. A good cosmic horror movie, we are given just the right amount of mystery and uneasiness that keep us interested, however the interest only really begins to occur once things start to get tense.

I watched this one on Youtube a couple years back expecting a total shitshow, but man was I pleasantly surprised. The face scene was incredible.

@botanicbubbles That it was and rather surprising in my opinion, was not expecting that level of make up for this movie.

Yes! Thanks for reviewing Dagon. So happy you enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading your review!

@Hoppyhead Happy to do it Hoppy. I was very pleased to get a recommendation, and did enjoy the film more so than I believed I would.