The Tomb (2007 film)
| HP Lovecraft's The Tomb (a.k.a. The Tomb) | |
|---|---|
_-_DVD_cover.jpg) DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Ulli Lommel |
| Produced by |
Ulli Lommel Nola Roeper Jeff Frentzen |
| Written by | Ulli Lommel |
| Starring |
Victoria Ullmann Christian Behm Gerard Griesbaum Michael Barbour |
| Cinematography | Bianco Pacelli |
| Edited by | Christian Behm (as XGIN) |
Production company |
The Shadow Factory Boogeyman Movies International |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
HP Lovecraft's The Tomb is a 2007 United States production horror film that is supposedly based on H.P. Lovecraft's 1917 story, "The Tomb". However, many reviewers have noted that the plot of this film is completely unrelated to the Lovecraft short story.[1][2][3]
The film, in fact, has no single element whatsoever in common with the short story, save for the title. The film is often compared to the 2004 movie, Saw, going as far as having that series mentioned on the box art. The film is also known simply as The Tomb, but the title on the DVD case is HP Lovecraft's The Tomb. However, on the film itself the title is "H.P. Lovecraft [sic] The Tomb" with no apostrophe + s. The movie was directed by Ulli Lommel.
Plot
Tara (Victoria Ullmann) and Billy (Christian Behm) awake in a dark basement or warehouse, bloodied and covered with wounds. As they explore the empty surroundings, they find other wounded people who die in horrible ways at the hands of "The Puppetmaster," a sinister villain who plays a deadly game with them in which there will be only one survivor. H.P. Lovecraft is mentioned several times during the course of the film by some characters, and the 'Puppetmaster' is referred to as 'Charles Dexter Ward' and one of his victims as 'Pickman' (a reference to Lovecraft's story Pickman's Model). However these passing references to Lovecraftian characters (and a quote from one of Lovecraft's stories about going "beyond ye spheres") are largely irrelevant to the serial killer plot played out on screen.
Filming
Production of HP Lovecraft's The Tomb took place during August 2005 in Marina Del Rey, California, at a warehouse on Princeton Drive that has since been demolished. The scenes at the "Palm Desert Motel" were shot on an indoor set at the same warehouse. Exteriors were shot in the high desert near Palmdale, California.
Co-executive producer Jeff Frentzen is wearing the black gloves of the killer throughout the film.