Cast a Deadly Spell
| Cast a Deadly Spell | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Produced by | Gale Anne Hurd |
| Written by | Joseph Dougherty |
| Starring | Fred Ward Julianne Moore Clancy Brown David Warner Charles Hallahan |
| Music by | Curt Sobel |
| Editing by | Dan Rae |
| Distributed by | HBO |
| Release date(s) | September 7, 1991 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) is a Horror/Detective HBO movie with Fred Ward, Julianne Moore, David Warner and Clancy Brown. It was directed by Martin Campbell and written by Joseph Dougherty.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Ward stars as 1940s hardboiled private detective Phillip Lovecraft, in a fictional universe where magic is real, monsters and mythical beasts stalk the back alleys, zombies are used as cheap labor, and everyone — except Lovecraft — uses magic every day. Yet, cars, telephones and other modern technology also exist in this world.
[edit] H.P. Lovecraft influence
The movie is very much an homage to the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Though not based on any one particular story by Lovecraft, the film features many Lovecraftian tropes, and can be considered to take place against the unified backdrop which has come to be known as the Cthulhu Mythos. The nightclub is called Harry Bordon's Dunwich Room. Frequent references are made to the Necronomicon, the Great Old Ones, Cthulhu and Yog Sothoth throughout the film.
While the film clearly does not take place in Lovecraft's world, it does reference Lovecraft extensively (including the name of the main character), though there are many obvious differences. The most obvious difference is that in Cast a Deadly Spell, magic is omnipresent – everybody uses it. In Lovecraft's stories magic is almost unknown, except to a select few.
[edit] Sequel
HBO produced a quasi-sequel, Witch Hunt. Witch Hunt takes place in the 1950s during the red scare, in which magic is substituted for communism. Dennis Hopper played Lovecraft in place of Fred Ward. Additionally, many characters have different background stories then Cast a Deadly Spell. For example, Lovecraft refuses to use magic in Cast a Deadly Spell on principle, and because of a bad experience in Witch Hunt.
[edit] Cast
- Fred Ward – Harry Philip Lovecraft
- Julianne Moore – Connie Stone
- David Warner – Amos Hackshaw
- Alexandra Powers – Olivia Hackshaw
- Clancy Brown – Harry Bordon
- Charles Hallahan - Det. Morris Bradbury
[edit] External links
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