Review: DAGON
 

just got my copy today, thought i share it with ya'll...

the disc was... umm.. ok. not much of extra contain in it. there's no behind the scene documentary (what's up with that?)

the movie it self is ok... not great, but ok. it does kind of feel like direct-to-video kind of movie. not scary but kind of creepy...
acting was... "direct-to-video" kind of style... not much to brag about
my only complain is Gordon need to put more GORE in it instead of CGI

picture:
nice deep black, debris & flicker free, deep color... overall it's an OK transfer. most (90%) scenes were taken in the dark & rain

sound:
5.1 DD is considered good. specially at the opening storm scene & some whispering here & there...

extra:
a couple trailers from Lion Gate's movies... Crocodile 2 & Fraulty (spelling?) with both U-571 dudes, Mathew & Paxton
director, actor commentary... story bord & art stuffs... not much to brag about

overall?
it's an ok movie for Gordon's fans...
but it still way far from his greatest art: "Re-Animator"

hope it helps

:)

I hate to disagree with you, BlackBeauty, but.......

I thought Dagon was one of the finest horror films I've seen in recent years. I love Re-Animator, but this one really captures the Lovecraftian vibe very well.

Personally, I was happy with the two Stuart Gordon commentaries, and I thought they both complimented each other very well.

Couldn't agree more. It sounds to me that 12Monkey is just not a big horror fan, & reviewing this from just a casual perspective. Because this is without a doubt one of if not THE best horror movie to come out in a very long time. I would go as far to say that this movie is a modern classic. The performances were actually very good. The lead was obviously modeled after Ash form Evil Dead & it is flat out amazing the atmosphere Gordon was able to create on such a modest budget. Gordon is absolutely great, the commentaries were very enjoyable, & saying this movies is O.K. just does not do it justice.

maybe i was expecting too much when i got the disc

i hate their CGI work... R-A didn't even use CGI & yet can provided better f/x

i don't read novels, maybe that's why i don't have much 'connection' to the movie compare with you or any HP's fans

it's still an ok disc/movie

:)

If you like real horror, you should go to the library and get a copy of Lovecraft's Dagon and The Shadow Over Innsmouth (the two stories which Dagon is based). Gordon and Dennis Paoli did an excellent job on the adaptation.

Actually any Lovecraft collection will do... Scary stuff.

You've got that right....

allright I can't wait to pick this up

Re: Review: DAGON
 

I agree with you BlackBeauty.

I'll side with those who loved the movie, although the script isn't without its flaws...

One thing it does very well--one could almost say uncompromisingly well--is staying true to the Lovecraft spirit and vibe (I'm not sure what else to call it...)

Still, there are lengthy stretches--if you're not identifying 100% with the struggling lead--where things could seem extremely repetitive and silly. And it's got a terminal case of "hell-my-grandmother-could-outrun-these-zombies" disease...

But the flaws are far outweighed by the stuff it gets exactly right. I'd put it on a level with Jeepers Creepers as one of the purest horror films of the decade so far...

talk about jeepr creeper, i never really like the movie until the end...

the ending part was kind of classic.... i call it "bad/sad ending" just like the original Night of the Living dead...

what's the moral of the story? have no clue... all i know monsetr attack people in random, good guy got kidnapped & skinned alive... that's it. but at lest they didn't follow most Hollywood "happy ending" type of movies these days...

my only complain for Dagon is the actors... the movie is basicly character driven. not much gore or effect through out the movie (only on certain scenes)... the rest was just showing how this dude stugle with everything around him.

the women played their part pretty good, specially the spanish actress (what's her name)

but the main actor just plain... kind of dummy in my opinion.

i'm not saying the movie is bad or anything... it is creepy i admit.
like i said, maybe i was expecting too much since i put Re-ANimator as my standard comparison

:)

Very apt comparison :thumbsup:
Couldn't agree more...

I'm a pretty big fan of Lovecraft and I think that Dagon is without a doubt the best ever adaptation of his work. Any horror fan should do themselves a favor and see this film at least once, if for nothing else than to at least experience the magnificant production and set design of the town. The rainy, grey, and creepy feeling one gets while watching the film matches the feel of Lovecraft's work perfectly.

Watched this last night and was very disappointed. Anyone who has read Lovecraft will bemoan the outright gore but it’s not this which is the film’s main flaw. There’s no real sense of dread or menace.

Additionally the placing of the story in Spain robs the story of much of it’s weirdness. I found it frustrating not knowing what was being said sometimes and when the Spanish actors did speak English I couldn’t clearly understand what they were saying - particularly the old man, Ezequiel. Gordon has managed to make one of the most disturbing of all Lovecraft stories into just another "wacko isolated town" movie where the inhabitants just want to kill the outsiders. They’re more akin to zombies or plague victims than disciples of the old ones. Add to that some painfully obvious and cheapjack CG work along with a ridiculous contrived ending and I’d put this down as a big mis-fire.

Opening scenes were good establishing a reason for them being there but then we had over an hour of him being chased around this town until it became the sole focus of the film! The lengthy build up to revealing Dagon did not pay off in the final scenes either, being sabotaged by not more than 2 seconds of screen time and some very poor CG work. Don’t even get me started on that crappy ending either.

One thing I will say is that it’s a good disc - Nice transfer, production and storyboard galleries and two commentaries are a very decent set of extras. Can‘t believe people are complaining that there’s nothing on there: What more could you want for $15?

I thought the town conveyed a real sense of foreboding, and added much to the creepy tone of the film.

As for the non-English, that too added to the weird, uneasy vibe for me that made Dagon such an enjoyable horror film.

hopefully Dagon is better than Necronimicon which I saw 3/4's of the way through and promptly got rid of. It was HORRIBLE! Made by Stuart Gordon also and I believe based on HP Lovecraft. I'm trying to get a copy of Dagon right now, sounds interesting.

Necronomicon wasn't directed by Gordon, but was (in part) by Gordon collaborator Brian Yuzna, and stars Re-Animator's Jeff Coombs.

And, yes, it too was based on Lovecraft.