Synopsis
A Japanese adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", directed by Konaka Chiaki (Marebito, The Big O) and starring Sano Shiro (Infection, Violent Cop)
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
1992 ‘インスマスを覆う影’ Directed by Chiaki J. Konaka
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First, I’d be remiss not to mention my gratitude for the chance to see this at all! Writer/director Chiaki Konaka and the translator accompanying him as guest of honor at the HPL Film Festival created English subtitles of the film exclusively for this one-time showing, which is extremely generous of their time and effort.
This adaptation of the Lovecraft story is a made-for-TV movie, and the production value bears that out — though we were told upfront that the only copy they could source now, 20+ years on, was a low-res tape version, so it’s hard to be sure what the film itself looks like underneath all the VHS fuzz.
Ultimately, what makes this retelling interesting are its deviations from…
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Never Trust a Man Who Walks With Wet Shoes
A Japanese version of HP Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Translating HP Lovecraft’s prose to the screen is a tricky thing to do mostly because his horror is the horror of the unknown. You never see the horror which makes putting it on film a challenge. This made for TV movie from Japan does a great job because low budgets pair well with Lovecraft because they don’t have the budget to show the horror that Lovecraft doesn’t want you to see. They do a good job with the make up effects which are even more unsettling because of how waxy they look. The real winner for the creep factor is the…
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Made for TV J-Horror Lovecraft is about as esoterically niche you can get when deep diving for adaptations of the works of one of your favorite authors, and in spite of it's low budget it's so completely committed to it to translating Innsmouth (though by no means a 1 to 1 adaptation) it's earnestness can't be faulted. No subtitled version is widely available but if you're familiar with the original prose, you can get the gist easily.
Mad to think Konaka would return to the Cthulhu mythos multiple times during his tenure as head writer for Ultraman in the mid to late 90's. All roads lead to Lovecraft.