Dagon (2001)

“Dagon” was the feature film at the Lovecraft Film Festival in 2001. I loved watching it on the big screen for the first time and then realizing the joy that I was about to see it again on the Sci-Fi channel a week later. “Dagon” is a fun but loose adaptation of one of Lovecraft’s best known stories, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. It was directed by the one and only Gordon Stuart, produced by Brian Yuzna, and introduces Lovecraft movie fans to actor Ezra Godden, who would end up working with Stuart again in the production of “Dreams in the Witch House”. Just like “From Beyond”, “Dagon” was filmed and produced in Spain in order to make most of their budget.

Paul and his girlfriend Barbara are out boating with another couple when the boat hits a reef and becomes stuck far off shore. Paul and Barbara take a life raft to find help at a small fishing village within sight. When they arrive, they find that the town is empty but eventually find help at the local church. Barbara stays behind to find more help while Paul returns to the boat with two fishermen. His two friends are gone so Paul returns to the fishing village but is unable to find Barbara. He rents a room in the rundown hotel. Paul is woken up from a fitful sleep by a mob of odd looking villagers in the middle of the night. This mob enters the hotel and Paul barely escapes and realizes that these fish-like people are hunting him down, for whatever reason. He eventually finds the local crazy drunkard who tells him what has happened to the little fishing village and the evil that has come. Paul is now faced with trying to find his way out before it’s too late….

Favorite moment – The mob attacking Paul in the hotel. It’s intense and well paced and watching the actor play Paul, you can see how he is a lot like a young Jeffrey Combs while being himself.