Summary
An upcomingLovecraftianmovie seems incredibly exciting, but I am disappointed that it is not a TV series instead. While every horror subgenre has its own distinctive strengths and weaknesses, I am particularly fascinated by cosmic horror because of how it attempts to capture intangible terrors and ideas through fictional storytelling. AsHP Lovecraft’s storiessuggest, written storytelling is usually better at capturing the existential dread that comes with cosmic horror because it relies heavily on the power of suggestion and leaves a lot to a reader’s imagination.
Movies, video games, and TV shows, in contrast, always have to stimulate the viewer’s senses by directly presenting visual and auditory cues. This leaves little room for audiovisual storytelling to fully embrace the ineffable elements that come with Lovecraftian narratives. However, every once in a while, a movie, show, or video game comes along and manages to capture Lovecraftian horror despite the limitations of its medium. One of thesebrilliant Lovecraftian horror video gamesis now getting a movie adaptation, but it would have worked better as a TV show.
10 Best H.P. Lovecraft Movie Adaptations
The work of legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft is notoriously difficult to translate to the big screen, here are the best adaptations.
Dredge Would Work Better As A Miniseries, Not A Movie
The Game’s Slow-Burn Approach Would Translate Well To The TV Format
The indie Lovecraftian gameDredgeis getting a live-action movie adaptation, which is exciting because the game does an incredible job of merging Lovecraftian lore with its fishing game setup. However, I cannot help but believe it would have worked way better as a miniseries. The reason being thatit is a slow-burn game that initially disguises itself as a regularfishing simulation video game. It only gradually unveils its cosmic elements and gets creepier when the player notices something wrong with the fish they are catching and the mysterious ship they discover.
While the movie would risk being too rushed, a TV adaptation’s episodic format would allow the story to unfold at a more deliberate pace like original game.
What begins as a quest to catch more fish eventually takes a grim turn as the game manifests more Lovecraftian aspects as the player progresses. Even during its creepy moments,Dredgeis oddly relaxing because it slowly immerses the player into the chilling atmosphere by introducing bizarre fishermen’s stories and strange fish mutations. A movie adaptation would struggle to achieve something similar due to its limited runtime. While the movie would risk being too rushed, a TV adaptation’s episodic format would allow the story to unfold at a more deliberate pace like the original game.
One Dredge Movie May Not Be Enough To Explore The Game’s Extensive Lore
The Dredge Movie Would Need More Sequels
Now that a movie adaptation ofDredgehas already been confirmed, it must tread carefully and avoid stuffing its narrative with too much lore. Instead of jam-packing all plot developments from the game’s story into its limited runtime,the movie can adapt only a segment of the game while paving the way for more installments. If all works well,Dredgecould be turned into a full-fledged movie series that not only stays true to theLovecraftianelements of the original game but also expands its universe in more ways than one. Hopefully, the movie will live up to the high standards set by its source material.
Dredge
Dredge is a single-player adventure simulation game from Black Salt Games. Players will head into a mysterious archipelago known as ‘The Marrows’ to fish and salvage fish and treasure to fund their expeditions - but the deeper they go, the more the dark secrets of the deep are revealed, some more strange or terrifying than the last.
