Dagon (film)
| Dagon | |
|---|---|
 Spanish theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stuart Gordon |
| Produced by |
Carlos Fernández Julio Fernández Miguel Torrente Brian Yuzna |
| Screenplay by | Dennis Paoli |
| Based on | The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft |
| Starring |
Ezra Godden Francisco Rabal Raquel Meroño |
| Music by | Carles Cases |
| Editing by | Jaume Vilalta |
| Studio |
Castelao Producciones Estudios Picasso Fantastic Factory ICCA Generalitat de Catalunya, Institut Català de Finances Televisió de Catalunya Televisión de Galicia S.A. Vía Digital Xunta de Galicia |
| Distributed by |
Filmax International (Spain) Lions Gate Entertainment (United States) |
| Release dates | 12 October 2001 (Sitges Film Festival) |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language |
English Galician Spanish |
| Box office | EUR €212,699 (Spain) |
Dagon is a 2001 Spanish horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Dennis Paoli. Despite the title, the plot is actually based on H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow Over Innsmouth rather than on his earlier short story "Dagon" (1919). In fact, the setting takes place in 'Inboca' is a Spanish adaption of 'Innsmouth'.
Plot
Paul Marsh is a stock market tycoon vacationing off the shores of Spain with his girlfriend, Barbara, and their friends Vicki and Howard. A storm blows the friends' boat against some hidden rocks. Vicki is trapped below deck, and Howard stays with her while Paul and Barbara take a lifeboat to the little fishing village of Imbocca.
At shore, Barbara and Paul find no one about, and venture into town until they eventually reach the church, where they find a priest. Barbara convinces him to help them, and the priest comes to speak with two fishermen at the docks, who volunteer to take either Paul or Barbara to the wreck. Despite Paul's misgivings, Barbara stays to try to find a phone in order to call a doctor while Paul goes to help their friends.
Vicki and Howard are mysteriously missing, however, and Paul is brought back to Imboca, where he is sent to a hotel that Barbara was supposed to have ended up in. But she is missing as well, and Paul is left to wait for her in an old, filthy room. His fitful rest is disturbed by a large gathering of strange people approaching the hotel, and Paul is forced to flee. He ends up in a macabre tannery full of human skins, where he discovers Howard's skinned face. He ends up fighting off several of the villagers by starting a fire, and finds momentary safety with an old drunkard named Ezequiel, the last human in Imboca.
Ezequiel explains how the worship of Dagon brought incredible wealth in the form of fish and gold to Imboca, but also terror when Dagon demanded live sacrifices and human women to breed with. Paul realizes his friends are in danger, and begs Ezequiel to help him save Barbara and Vicki. Ezequiel relents and takes Paul to the Mayor's manor, distracting some Imbocans long enough for Paul to slip inside. There, Paul finds a beautiful woman named Uxia, who looks just like a mermaid Paul has dreamed of. She saves him from discovery, but when Paul finds she isn't human either, flees again in horror, despite Uxia's pleas to stay.
Paul narrowly escapes a horde of more villagers by stealing an old car, but ends up crashing, and is caught and thrown into a barn, where he is reunited with Vicki, Ezequiel, and Barbara. The three plan to escape, but the attempt comes to naught when they are discovered. Having been raped and impregnated, Vicki kills herself, and Paul and Ezequiel manage to kill one guard and subdue another before being recaptured by the guards' backup. Barbara is taken away, and Paul and Ezequiel end up in a butchery, where they are chained and given a chance to join the worship of Dagon. When they both refuse, Ezequiel is killed before Paul's eyes while they both recite Psalm 23.
Paul is saved by the appearance of Uxia, who informs Paul that he has no choice but to join them. When he seems to concede, Uxia tells the priest to make arrangements for their marriage. After Uxia leaves, Paul escapes, killing the guards and the priest, and starts desperately looking for Barbara, collecting a can of kerosene on the way. His search brings him to the empty church and a hidden passage that takes him below ground, where a congregation of Imbocans are watching Uxia torture Barbara before the human woman is chained and lowered into a deep, water-filled pit. While the Imbocan congregation and Uxia call to Dagon, Paul attacks, dousing several villagers in kerosene and lighting them on fire before pulling Barbara out of the pit. However, it is too late to save her. The monstrous Dagon himself grabs Barbara and drags her back down.
The uninjured Imbocans surround Paul, but are stayed by one man who is revealed to be Paul's father- and Uxia's as well. Uxia explains that Paul's human mother escaped from Imboca years ago, but now that Paul has returned, he will be her lover, and they will go to dwell with Dagon forever, thanks to the Imbocans' immortality. Trapped, Paul pours the last of the kerosene over his body and lights himself on fire. Uxia grabs him and sends them both into the water, where Paul sprouts gills. With no choice left, he follows Uxia down into a pit he has also dreamed of.
Cast
- Ezra Godden as Paul Marsh
- Francisco Rabal as Ezequiel
- Raquel Meroño as Barbara
- Macarena Gómez as Uxía Cambarro
- Brendan Price as Howard
- Birgit Bofarull as Vicki
- Uxía Blanco as Ezequiel's Mother
- Ferran Lahoz as Priest
- Joan Minguell as Xavier Cambarro
- Alfredo Villa as Captain Orpheus Cambarro
- José Lifante as Desk Clerk
- Javier Sandoval as Ezequiel's Father
- Victor Barreira as Young Ezequiel
- Fernando Gil as Catholic Priest
- Jorge Luis Pérez as Boy
Production
Dennis Paoli wrote the screenplay back in the 1980s, but he and Stuart Gordon were unable to get the movie off the ground.[citation needed] In early 2000, Brian Yuzna founded the Fantastic Factory division of Filmax and called them back to finally shoot the movie.[citation needed] The original draft was more faithful to Lovecraft's short story, being based in New England.[citation needed] The movie was shot at Combarro, a small fishing village near Pontevedra in Galicia.[citation needed] The film is dedicated to actor Francisco Rabal immediately before the credits.
Reception
Critical response to the film was mixed. The film has a 56% 'rotten' rating on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews, and is certified "rotten".[1] Austin Chronicle's review was mixed, calling the film "horror so extreme that it borders on camp" that is "hampered by some clunky scripting [...] and middling performances."[2] AllMovie wrote of the film, "Though it's not perfect, Lovecraft fans will most likely be willing to forgive Dagon's shortcomings in favor of a film that obviously shows great respect and appreciation for its source materials."[3] Film Threat wrote, "While not a perfect movie, Dagon crams its wild, over-the-top concepts down our throats with so much conviction that we can't help but get swept along for the ride."[4]
References
- ↑ "Dagon - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ↑ Baumgarten, Marjorie (28 June 2002). "Dagon". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ↑ Buchanan, Jason. "Dagon (2001) - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ↑ Doughten, K. J. (13 July 2002). "Dagon". filmthreat.com. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
External links
- Dagon at the Internet Movie Database
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