''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 2011

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

horror film directed and produced by Sean Branney, Andrew Leman, and David Robertson and distributed by the

H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society or HPLHS is the organization that hosts Cthulhu Lives!, a group of live-action roleplayers for the ''Cthulhu Live'' version of '' Call of Cthulhu''. Founded in Colorado in 1984, it is now based in Glendale, ...

. Based on the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, it was shot using Mythoscope, a blend of vintage and modern filming techniques intended to produce the look of a 1930s-era film. According to the film's website, the filmmakers intended to capture the look of "classic horror films of the 1930s like '' Dracula'', ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

'' and ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''".Official Site

Plot

For the first two acts, the plot largely follows the short story. The third act consists of entirely new material in which the Mi-Go are revealed to worship

Shub-Niggurath Shub-Niggurath is a fictional deity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. She is often associated with the phrase "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young". The only other name by which Lovecraft referred to her was "Lord of the Wood" in ...

, and the protagonist, Wilmarth, uncovers an attempt by cultists to open a gateway between

Yuggoth ''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to '' The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a ble ...

and Earth. He foils the plot with the help of Hannah, the child of one of the collaborators. His escape is unsuccessful and at the end of the film the audience discovers that Wilmarth has been narrating from a machine attached to the cylinder in which his brain now resides. This differs from the original story in which Wilmarth flees in the middle of the night and safely returns to Arkham. According to Sean Branney on the making-of featurette "The Whisperer Behind the Scenes," Lovecraft was better at set-ups than endings. From a dramatic standpoint, Lovecraft's story brought the writers through what would be "Act Two" of a standard movie structure and felt incomplete. The character of Hannah and opening of gate to Yuggoth were introduced in order to " ake ita good movie". Branney and Leman intended to make Wilmarth's world "more emotionally complicated" because Hannah's future caused him to be "invested in more than just himself". The characters of Wilmarth's three friends at Miskatonic University were developed from ''Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing characters created years before by Branney, Leman, and a friend. Regarding the introduction of a biplane, Leman commented, "If you have monsters that fly, you have to have a dogfight with a biplane."''The Whisperer in Darkness.'' Dir. Sean Branney. 2011. DVD. Fungi, LLC, 2012. Special Features disc. "The Whisperer Behind the Scenes."

Cast

In order of appearance: * Paul Ita as Farmer * Matt Foyer as Albert Wilmarth * Matt Lagan as Nathaniel Ward * Lance J. Holt as Davis Bradbury * Andrew Leman as

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...

* Stephen Blackehart as Charlie Tower * David Pavao as Jordan Lowell * Don Martin as Dean Hayes * Joe Sofranko as George Akeley *

Barry Lynch Barry J. Lynch (born June 10, 1951, in Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-m ...

as Henry Akeley * Martin Wately as Walter Brown * Daniel Kaemon as P.F. Noyes * Caspar Marsh as Will Masterson * Autumn Wendel as Hannah Masterson * Sean Branney as B-67 * Annie Abrams as Aviatrix * Zack Gold as Astronomer * John Jabaley as Superintendent

Production

The filmmakers used Mount Holyoke College to represent

Miskatonic University Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham, a fictional town in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River (also fictional). After first appearing in H. P. Lovecraft's 1922 story " Herbert West–Re ...

. Pasadena City College is used for interior scenes of the school.

Sandy Petersen Carl Sanford Joslyn "Sandy" Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is an American game designer. He worked at Chaosium, contributing to the development of ''RuneQuest'' and later creating the acclaimed and influential horror role-playing game ''Call ...

, author of the '' Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game, contributed financially to the film in order to finish its production.

Release

''The Whisperer in Darkness'' did not have a theatrical release but appeared at dozens of film festivals in over a dozen countries. It was then released on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2012.

Reception

''The Whisperer in Darkness'' received highly positive reviews. It holds 86% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. On the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

it has 6.6 out of 10 stars. John J. Puccio of ''Movie Metropolis'' said "The atmospherics are in place, and the filmmakers catch the essence of Lovecraft's expansive horror with efficiency. The film is entertaining without attaining greatness." Andrew O'Hehir of

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

said "'Whisperer in Darkness' has a chiller-diller conclusion and some moments of real terror."

Awards

''The Whisperer in Darkness'' was nominated at

Oaxaca Film Fest Oaxaca FilmFest was an eight-day long international film festival that was permanently cancelled in 2022 without taking place, once it could no longer hide the fact that it devolved into a calculated scam to prey on unknowing filmmakers. At its st ...

. * Gold Hugo—Nominated * Free Spirit Award—Nominated

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whisperer In Darkness 2011 films 2010s supernatural horror films American supernatural horror films American black-and-white films Cthulhu Mythos films Direct-to-video horror films 2010s English-language films Films set in 1931 Films set in Massachusetts Films set in Vermont Films shot in California Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New Hampshire Films shot in Vermont 2010s American films