The Whisperer in Darkness (2011)

The Whisperer in Darkness: Directed by Sean Branney. With Stephen Blackehart, P.J. King, Annie Abrams, Zack Gold. Based on the H. P. Lovecraft story of the same name, a folklorist investigates reports of unusual creatures in Vermont only to uncover more than he bargained for

“u0026quot;The Call of Cthulhuu0026quot; by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society was an absolutely sublime film. Making it a black-and-white silent film to appear as though it were made in the u0026#39;20s-u0026#39;30s was a stroke of genius, and the film stays very close to the source material without being boring. So when it was announced that they were doing a follow-up film, adapting Lovecraft u0026quot;The Whisperer in Darkness,u0026quot; I was beside myself with joy to the point of being giddy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, u0026quot;The Whisperer in Darknessu0026quot; fails to live up to the high water mark left by u0026quot;The Call of Cthulhu.u0026quot; Instead of a silent film, this one is done more in the style of a u0026#39;50s black-and-white horror film. While I donu0026#39;t take issue with the style they chose, they still make some very odd choices that left me feeling a little cold and at times saying, u0026quot;Huh?u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, where does the problem arise? I started to wonder if I remembered the original story correctly. Then realized that I had. They not only make adjustments to the story, but treat the story as only acts one and two, creating a completely original third act. While I understand the adaptation aspect of movies and am more tolerant than many seem to be because I understand that a direct one-to-one translation of most literary works to the screen would, well, suck, the change in tone in the third act is enough to give the audience whiplash. The final act goes straight into traditional horror and action that seems like something more out of the Call of Cthulhu RPG as opposed to the slow-burning weird fiction of the unknowable that Lovecraft is most well known for.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis leaves us with one of the most inconsistent movies Iu0026#39;ve seen in recent memory. The tonal change is so drastic that itu0026#39;s clear the different parts of the film were written in two completely disparate time periods. As such, this film is kind of a let down after u0026quot;The Call of Cthulhu.u0026quot; I strongly recommend seeing that one over u0026quot;The Whisperer in Darknessu0026quot; and only recommend this one for hardcore Lovecraft fans.”