Bruce Payne, Denice D. Lewis, Jeffrey Combs

H.P. Lovecraft, the well-known horror writer, is looking in the late thirties after the book 'Necronomicon'. He finds it guarded by monks in an old library. He then copies some stories from it, which ...( read more  read more... )unfold for our eyes- and his...

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44% liked it

976 ratings

R, 96 min.

Directed by: Christophe Gans, Shusuke Kaneko

Release Date: February 1, 1994

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Flixster Reviews (75)


  • October 27, 2009
    This movie is full of great special effects and awesome stories. The gore and slime flow like wine and the characters are insanely weird. Must see for horror fans but i could see how Lovecraft fans dont like it
  • August 4, 2009
    "The Necronomicon" is another contender for the allegedly "good" and "faithful" adaptation of Lovecraft we've all been waiting for, but I'm afraid that, like "Dagon", it fails to deliver and remains in the lower strata of B-movies.

    An anthology, it is composed of three segment...( read more)s directed by Christophe Gans, Shusuke Kaneko and Brian Yuzna, who are respectively French, Japanese and American, and well steeped in the horror genre (I used to read Gans's movie reviews back in the eighties.)

    Quite inconsistently, the wraparound, which involves Lovecraft himself gaining access to the Necronomicon, is set "in the Fall of 1932", while the tales he reads in the book (itself supposed to have been produced my "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred in the VIIIth century but shown here in a King James English edition made to look like a medieval manuscript, go figure) are set in the 1960s and the 90s, with flashbacks to previous centuries or decades (the XVIIIth century for the first story, and the 1960s for the second.) So is the Necronomicon a "prophetic" book, like an anthology of horror stories set in its own future? And since it appears in the stories itself, does it mean that the characters in those stories could have read what was to happen to them in it? And if so, why isn't there any reference to that in the film?

    For me, this misfire had two qualities: the presence of Jeffrey Combs, although his fake nose and chin made him look more like Bruce Campbell or David Patrick Kelly than Lovecraft himself; and the lush score for the first segment (The Drowned), written by Joseph Lo Duca (a composer I have known for years but had never particularly appreciated; actually, I thought his soundtrack was closer in style to the other composer for the film, Daniel Licht, whom I discovered recently with "Bad Moon.") This score carries the segment the way music used to do in the 1930s and 40s, and contributes to making "The Drowned" the best (or least worst) of the lot.

    It was also nice to have Richard Lynch and David Warner in lead roles. But because the screenplays are so mediocre, neither of them particularly shines. The dialogues are often atrocious, and when it gets to the third segment, which is set in the modern world, the F-word makes a rather unpleasant intrusion (the film is rated R for horror violence and gore, and for language, and there is also a short and rather gratuitous shower scene that shows some nudity.)

    So not only is this not the fabled adaptation of Lovecraft we have all been waiting for, but it still remains to be shown whether Lovecraft is adaptable (I think he is, but not by anyone in the B-movie industry; it would probably take someone like David Lynch, Guy Maddin or the Brothers Quay to pull it off.)
  • April 18, 2009
    well this have somethings goods but anothers are really boring i like the blood and how the pieces of meat go away from the face of man but well is a good anthology of horror gener
  • June 2, 2008
    Three differnt HP Lovecraft stories directed by different moviemakers all conected by the necronomicon. Although kinda true to the whole kuthulu/lovecraft mythos this film aint particulary good. Its more like some old tales from the crypt episodes. The stories portrayed are almos...( read more)t as sick and twisted as would have wished from mr lovecraft.
  • March 26, 2008
    Though not as good as it could have been, there are some very good scenes to be had. The marrow suckers, now that is a twist that tingles most ppls sensations lol.
  • November 22, 2007
    The rest of this movie is pretty forgettable, save for the last story....which MESSES with me to this day.
  • September 14, 2007
    This is really scary. But not because of the monsters or insanity in it, but the fact that it might be the worst movie I've ever seen.

    It shows some promise until the first monster shows up, and after that it gets worse.

    Titty/shower scene saves this from 1/2 star.

    HP Lovecraf...( read more)t writhes in his crypt, I'm sure.
  • July 28, 2007
    some really disturbing lovecraft shit here folks
  • April 11, 2007
    Disappointing, even with JCombs.

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Necronomicon Trivia


  • In the movie ARMY OF DARKNESS, which were the magical words that Ash had to say to retrieve the necronomicon?  Answer »
  • What was Ash[Army Of Darkness]suppose to retrieve to dispell the evil ?  Answer »
  • The three words that Ash must say to retrieve the Necronomicon in "Army of Darkness" were originally featured in what movie?  Answer »
  • In Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness, Ash has to say "Klaatu birata nikto" to safely retrieve the Necronomicon. From which movie is this phrase originally from?  Answer »

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