REVIEW: The Whisperer In Darkness (Book to Film)

The Whisperer in Darkness: Book to Film comparison

Book by H.P. Lovecraft, first published in 1930

Film created in 2011

The Whisperer in Darkness: Book to Film adaptation

·         The film is in black and white despite this being a modern movie.

·         Characters that served little purpose like Akeley’s son have more for the plot of the film.

·         The characters interact around the time of the letter exchanges as opposed to the interaction being close to the end of the tale. The letters between the Professor and Akeley were most of the parts of the book whereas the film deviates greatly.

·         The son leaves for San Diego in the beginning of the film as opposed to his leaving being already established in the book.

·         They added a character named Hannah in the film that deviate the plot in the third act.

·         The tale ends differently in the film as the Professor’s brain is taken from his body and placed in a jar as opposed to the book’s ending where it is implied that the Professor made it out safely but could still be hunted by the cultists.

·         The letters were not even narrated in the film save for the last one with the lack of paranoia. The growing madness of Akeley is disregarded in the film for the sake of narrative.

·         Despite this title being called “The Whisperer in Darkness” the film only takes the beginning part of the book as the foundation of the film and then changes the plot as the Professor attempts to fight off the cultists.

·         The DVD notably breaks off into its own fit of madness when I was trying to watch it on my laptop. Fitting given that this film is an adaptation of the Cthulhu Mythos.

·         Akeley being an alien was shown as too obvious given his change in dialogue tone as he sounds more aquatic in the film as opposed to an implied natural tone in the book.

·         They add science to the distortion of the creatures in that they finally are able to see the creatures on film as they use fancy star charting technology and tricks to see the dead carcass of one, an anticlimactic part of the mystery whether the Professor believes or not as he seems more in denial than doubtful after all the evidence until the audio recording.

·         The Professor seemed too submissive in the end to the creatures in his ending narrative given the horror of trying to leave and the implied death of Hannah.

·         Given that the film outright gives the concrete and objective details of the creatures, it is not as suspenseful as that of the subjective and flaws of the narrative of the Professor in the book.

·         The fact that the other scientists grew famous despite the efforts of the Professor seemed more spiteful.

·         The proactive nature of the characters doesn’t match the bleak inevitability of Lovecraft’s original tales.

·         The creatures look too CGI in the film t be considered scary and the effects seem too goofy, but the latter can be forgiven given the 1930’s feel of the film.

·         Overall, it was a thrilling and excellent film, even with its deviation from the source books. The fact that it was by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society gave it faith to the works of Lovecraft but the film adaptation itself is inferior to the source material in suspense.

Bibliography

Lovecraft, H. P. The Whisperer in Darkness. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 2007. Print.

 The Whisperer in Darkness. Dir. Sean Branney. H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, 2011.