The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (2003)

Director:

Edward Martin III

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (short story)
Edward Martin III (screenplay)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Fantasy

Plot:

"Three times Randolph Carter dreamed of the marvelous city, and three times was he snatched away while...

Plot Keywords:

H.P. Lovecraft | Based On Novel

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Toren Atkinson	...	Randolph Carter / Bragging Ghoul / Dylath-Leen Bar Mate #3 / Oriab Villager #3 (voice)
Raymond Beckett	...	Dylath-Leen Bar Mate #1 / Ghoul #4 / Inganok Tavern Goer #4 / Lava Gatherer #1 (voice)
Jason Brooks	...	Black Galley Cook / Hungry Ghoul / Inganok Navigator / Nasht / Oriab Lookout (voice)
Andrew Hamlin	...	Inganok Villager / Kaman-Thah / Quarry Man #2 / Scared Bar Mate #2 / Thran Sailor #3 / Vivisectionist Victim (voice)
Sheri Hinshaw	...	Grandson Kitty / Inganok Sailor #1 / Inganok Singer / Thran Cat (voice)
Marky Kelly	...	Inganok Sailor #2 / Old Zoog / Ruby Guilder #3 / Zoog Rabblerouser / Inganok Tavern Goer #1 / Curious Ghoul / Chief Ghoul (voice)
Lev Koszegi	...	Inganok Sailor #4 / King Kuranes / Ruby Guilder #2 / Third Ghoul / Warning Ghoul (voice)
Leopoldo Marino	...	Dylath-Leen Innkeeper / Inganok Captain (voice)
Edward Martin III	...	Oriab Innkeeper / Second Ghoul (voice)
Katrina Martin	...	Hostage-Minded Cat / Inganok Sailor #3 / Kind Farmer / Zoog #3 (voice)
Martin McClure	...	Wine Ghoul / Inganok Tavern Goer 2 (voice)
Enrika Newbury	...	Celephais Chief Cat / Inganok Tavern Goer 3 / Zoog 2 (voice)
Andrew Nicoll	...	Atal / Oriab Sailor / Ruby Ghoul #1 / Thran Sailor #1 (voice)
David Palmer	...	Dylath-Leen Bar Mate #5 / First Ghoul / Oriab Merchant (voice)
Michael Pearce	...	Richard Upton Pickman / Old Lava Gatherer / Ruby Guilder #1 / Thran Sailor #2 (voice)
Piph	...	Cat Leader (voice)
Rand	...	Celephais High Priest / Celephais Soldier / Dylath-Leen Bar Mate 2 / Oriab Villager 1 / Ruby Ghoul #2 (voice)
Silven Read	...	Zoog 1 (voice)
Tinessa Russell	...	Thran Sailor 4 (voice)
Eric Stenson	...	Narrator / Quarryman #1 / Dylath Leen barmate #4 / Scared Barmate #1 (voice)
Dwight Stone	...	Merchant (voice)
Jeffery Tubbs	...	Dylath-Leen Barbarian / Ghoul#5 / Quarry Man 4 / Thran Sentry (voice)
Kate Webb	...	Nyarlathotep (voice)
Marc Wells	...	Caravan Master / Oriab Captain / Oriab Villager 2 / Quarry Man 3 (voice)

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

Guerrilla Productions

Quotes:

Nyarlathotep: Shun, then, the outer hells and stick to the things of your youth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Other Gods (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

And If I Fall

One of the best Lovecraft adaptations

As a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft, and the story upon which this film is based in particular, I sat down to watch this quite skeptical that it would be well done. I've seen a lot of Lovecraft adaptations, and they are usually quite a bit worse than bad.

What I got was a real treat. The creators did an excellent job of not only capturing the story, but changing it from an unfilmable, dialogue-free narrative to something more engaging. It looks like a lot of good effort was put into making it as good as it could be on what appears to be a budget of about a couple of hundred dollars.

About the budget, it is quite evident that the creators had a minuscule one. The film is mostly still pictures, with some very minimal animation, and it is all black and white. My one real gripe with it is the quality of the voice recordings. The character voices are too dynamic - sometimes too loud, sometimes, too soft to hear over the music or other sounds. It gets a bit annoying at times in that regard.

Overall, though, this captures the spirit of the original story better than any Lovecraft adaptation I've seen. It speaks volumes about how a good story told well is preferable to a mundane big budget flick any day.