Dagon Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Vacationers, sailing off the coast of Spain, find themselves stranded by a storm and seek help at a weird town inhabited by aquatic mutants.

Review: A few things to clear up first: Lovecraft did write a story called "Dagon," but this movie is oddly not based on it. Instead, this is a loose retelling of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Then why isn't that the name of this movie? Well, because the movie doesn't take place at Innsmouth either. You love it, right? Besides, I'm sure they figured "Dagon" sounds like a scarier movie title. Regardless of all the title shenanigans, this isn't the worst adaptation of Lovecraft's work, but it certainly isn't the best. The core of the story remains intact, but there are drastic changes throughout the entirety of the film. For me, this is another guilty pleasure. The look of the film reminds me of a higher end made for TV movie, but there is something so relaxing about a film with the sound of rain falling for a soundtrack. Maybe it's something primal--I don't know--but the abundance of rain in this movie lulls me into a watery slumber. Ehhh, it's hard to explain.

The story focuses on a guy named Paul as he is vacationing with his girlfriend, business partner, and the partner's wife; they are sailing off the coast of Spain. Paul is having strange visions of a mermaid version of the wife from "Witching and Bitching." You know, she was rather cute in this movie--in a creepy kind of way--and you get to see what she's working with...if you know what I mean. In fact, Paul's girlfriend is cute too and also gives us quite a show of her--ahem--assets. Anyway, a storm suddenly rolls in and their boat crashes onto a rock pile. Paul and the girlfriend, Barbara, seek help at a town nearby that just happens to be full of mutant freaks. To make a long story short, the town was dependent on fishing during a time when the supply was dwindling. A man came along and managed to sway the townspeople to pledge themselves to the god-like being, Dagon, in exchange for fish, gold, etc. As time went on, the people grew crazy and began to make sacrifices to Dagon. As a result of this pact with Dagon, the people slowly turned into fish/human hybrids that could live forever; this actually goes along with a Lovecraft race known as the Deep Ones.

As you may have guessed, these people don't take kindly to outsiders and start to kill everyone. Paul is a bit annoying since he runs away like a bitch a lot. The townspeople are weak as fuck since they're in a state of transformation; many can't even run or walk. Paul should have been like, "Hey, I'm in Spain...time to go Leon Kennedy on their asses!" I know I would have. Eventually Paul comes across the girl from his dreams but is unnerved by the realization that she is also a mutant. After finally killing a few bitches, with a ton of help mind you, Paul finds Barbara being sacrificed to Dagon. Unfortunately for poor Barbara, Dagon wants his women when he wants them and rips her body from her bound arms just when Paul thought he saved her. The dream girl begs Paul to stay with the townspeople since it is revealed he is one of them, and the dream girl is his half-sister and destined lover. Umm, thanks, but no thanks! Paul tries to burn himself alive, but the dream girl intervenes--throwing the two of them into the water. Able to breathe through gills he's sprouted, Paul suddenly embraces his destiny and swims toward Dagon's lair with his dream girl as the film ends suddenly. Well, I guess there wasn't any other way to wrap this up.

Overall, this isn't that bad of a movie. It has its moments, the pacing is solid, the girls are cute, the makeup effects can be good at times, and I absolutely love the rainy scenery; it's raining during, roughly, 80% of the film's running time. On the other hand, there is a cheap feel to the production, the acting is questionable at times, and this telling deviates quite a bit from the source material. If you're a fan of Lovecraft, I think you can still appreciate the effort that was put forth, but don't expect it to be a direct presentation of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth;" and it certainly has nothing to do with the real "Dagon" story. As for casual viewers, this will probably come off as a forgettable monster movie with a few silver linings strewn about. This used to air on TV all the time, but I would recommend tracking down the unedited version if you're feeling so inclined to watch it.

Notable Moment: When Barbara throws Paul's laptop into the ocean. Bitch, you wouldn't have survived long enough to be eaten by Dagon if that were my laptop!

Final Rating: 5.5/10