The Thing on the Doorstep

The Thing on the Doorstep

Starring David Bunce, Rob Dalton, Susan Cicarelli-Caputo, Mary Jane Hansen

Directed by Tom Gliserman

The Story:
Lifelong friends Daniel (David Bunce) and Edward (Rob Dalton) have had their ups and downs, but now Edward has seemingly fallen in love with the mysterious Asenath Waite (Mary Jane Hansen), who's supposed to be a necromancer and witch.  After a surprise wedding, Edward starts acting stranger, to the dismay of Daniel and his wife Marion (Susan Cicarelli-Caputo).  Edward seems convinced Asenath is controlling his mind and taking over his body, but Daniel is unsure if this is actually true, or Edward is loosing his mind.

The Synopsis:
There's a quote that goes something like this: people won't appreciate your true genius until after you're dead.  For author H.P. Lovecraft, that quote rings true, as now he's celebrated as a genius horror writer who introduced the world to the evil god Cthulhu, and there's even religions that follow this creation as an actual being.  "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story Lovecraft wrote and incorporated it in his anthology book "Weird Tales" in 1937, and it's not as celebrated as his other work, due to an overly dry story, in comparison to his other work.  This short story was adapted into a low-budget movie, and much like the short story, it's rather dry and devoid of actual scares.

After his best friend Edward quickly marries Asenath, a mysterious woman thought to be a necromancer, Daniel investigates the marriage after Edward seemingly changes.  He believes Asenath is taking over his body, and fears for his life.  Daniel investigates to find whether Edward is right, or if he's loosing his mind.

The writing of Lovecraft is somewhat difficult to put to screen, and "The Thing on the Doorstep" is no different.  The monologue from Daniel throughout is monotone and lackluster, especially since he's basically narrating what we're seeing on screen.  The performances are weak and unmemorable, and the cinematography is rather awful - the entire film has a sepia-style tone to it that makes it almost totally unappealing to watch.  The story meanders to repetitiveness, and even when we get to the ending, we're still left wondering what the heck was going on in the first place.  Maybe if the film had a bigger budget, or a better way to make it more modernized, it could've been decent.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and all we got was another disappointing outing from the superior mind of H.P. Lovecraft.

The Summary:
There's not a whole lot to say about "The Thing on the Doorstep," except that it's another mediocre film adaptation from the late, great H.P. Lovecraft - it doesn't offer anything of substance, and would've been easily forgotten if I could get the awful cinematography out of my mind.

The Score: D-