Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) pops over to the Arkham Miskatonic University to borrow the legendary Necronomicon and Sandra Dee. But little does anyone know, Whateley is not quite human...
Peter Fonda was apparently considered for the role of Wilbur. I wish that would have happened! I mean, Stockwell does a great job and has an incredible mustache (and Mike Mayo calls his performance "appropriately hammy"), but Fonda is one creepy dude! There is much to be marveled at here, even just in the making. The script was co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This is also Ed Begley's final film.
Most importantly, the film is one of the earliest adaptations of Lovecraft's work (the fourth film) and one of the first to attempt exploring the Cthulhu mythos in cinema. American International Pictures really cornered this market early on, first with "The Haunted Palace" and then "Die Monster Die" before this one...
Peter Fonda was apparently considered for the role of Wilbur. I wish that would have happened! I mean, Stockwell does a great job and has an incredible mustache (and Mike Mayo calls his performance "appropriately hammy"), but Fonda is one creepy dude! There is much to be marveled at here, even just in the making. The script was co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This is also Ed Begley's final film.
Most importantly, the film is one of the earliest adaptations of Lovecraft's work (the fourth film) and one of the first to attempt exploring the Cthulhu mythos in cinema. American International Pictures really cornered this market early on, first with "The Haunted Palace" and then "Die Monster Die" before this one...