Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

At a Massachusetts University, Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) searches out for the mysterious Necronomicon book. Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley) is unwilling to lend it to him. Student Nancy Wagner (Sandra Dee) gives him a ride back to Dunwich. He lives with his grandfather Old Whateley (Sam Jaffe). He keeps her at the house through drug-induced hallucinatory visions. Armitage and her friend Elizabeth Hamilton come looking for her.This is a lower grade slow-moving B-horror. There is nothing scary. Stockwell does his best creep but there isn't much else. The hippie old visual effects saps any horror from the movie. This is based on a H.P. Lovecraft story but it really doesn't deserve the name. The snakes-headed figure is only in the film for a seconds and is a disappointing stiff static thing.

Weirdo student of the occult Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) tries to get his hands on a copy of the Necronomicon in order to perform a ritual that will open an inter-dimensional portal and free 'the old ones'. For his ceremony, he also needs a virgin: cue cinematic goody goody Sandra Dee as librarian Nancy Wagner, the actress ultimately shaking off her wholesome screen image by baring some flesh during the film's climactic ritual.Based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror is an undeniably atmospheric movie, with a great sense of foreboding helped in no small part by a sinister score, but director Daniel Haller's best efforts are undone by a script that treads water until the finale, a plodding pace and an over-reliance on groovy psychedelic visuals, the image becoming negative and changing colours during key scenes: what may have seemed cool to the hippy generation now looks horribly cheesy and incredibly dated.And, of course, anyone looking forward to the arrival of the 'old ones' is heading for disappointment: all the budget can stretch to are some rubbery snake heads, their awfulness partially disguised by one of Haller's crappy visual effects.

To judge from the poster of the 1970 version of "The Dunwich Horror", you would think this must be one of the most kickass horror movies of all time. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, you soon realise that a lot of artistic licence was taken with that poster - a lot.Sandra Dee plays Nancy Wagner, a research assistant to Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert on the occult. When she encounters Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell), she ends up at the Whateley mansion and falls under his spell - she keeps on drinking those cups of tea. Wilbur believes that a combination of rituals, incantations and sacrifice of the 'right girl' will allow an ancient race of superior beings, the Old Ones, to be brought back.The story involves twins, mating with dark forces and a room at the top of stairs that hides an evil entity. That room generates a lot of tension, until it's opened that is, then the limitations of the special effects are revealed. It needed something like the monster out of John Carpenter's "In The Mouth of Madness", but got strobe lighting instead.The best effect in the film is the altar on the headland. When Nancy innocently asks Wilbur what it was used for, he gives her a rundown on the program of events.It entailed selecting a beautiful girl, just like Nancy strangely enough, who would be placed on the altar naked to the elements while black robed figures gathered round to observe and 'relish' her, "and then they waited for the moment when she would allow the power of darkness to enter; the moment when the gate would open and the Old Ones would come through." Sandra Dee wasn't someone you automatically associated with sexy roles, but she has her moments in "The Dunwich Horror", especially when she ends up on the altar with a fair amount of thigh and hip exposed to relishing.Less appealing is Lex Baxter's score; he needed a safety catch on that theremin - his music makes the film seem more cheesy than it actually is.The film was remade in 2009, but it was a cheap looking effort with even worse special effects than the original. However there was homage for Dean Stockwell who played the role of Dr. Armitage.The stars of the 1970 version generate a certain level of interest, although I think disappointment over the depiction of the Old Ones is unavoidable.

Remember that they attempted to do a Lovecraft Story about the 'Old Ones' back in 1970. And when you see that the movie was made in 1970, you are really talking about late 60's cinematic techniques. So yes, they were limited by what they could do-- plus Lovecraftian monsters cannot really be passed off as a man in a rubbersuit or anything else within the means of 1968-69 technology. Another misreading I see from some reviewers is the assumption that this was a Devil Movie. It isn't. This is Lovecraft. God, Jesus & Satan have nothing to do with the story. Yog-Sothoth does not care about Judeo-Christianity.Dean Stockwell is wooden as heck, but it can come at you as creepy: He is supposed to be a practitioner of the dark arts, not Don Juan. And the rest of the cast are your frightened stock little village characters plus a learned Doctor or two.I was surprised by the lite sexual content--for 1970, that is. Back then, this movie, if it had been in a theatre in my town would have been rated a solid 'R' back when 'R' meant NO CHILDREN PERIOD. And No Teenager would have even been allowed to buy a ticket!!! And that was why I never saw this as even a Late night Re-Run on Poor People TV. (Today, we'd call it Free OTA TV)Today-- it might make NC-17. And current teens would probably continue to phone Text out of boredom and lack of interest. Their Video games are way scarier anyways. Ah. . .for the good ole days. . .Beyond that, if you rent or stream this little gem, be prepared for a laugh or two at the ridiculous personal predicaments. Especially as 'Gigdet' does EVERYTHING a smart young lady is NOT SUPPOSED TO DO when she meets creepazoid Wilbur. Like Drive him halfway across the county in the dark. Like walk with a complete stranger into a totally wacked-out decrepit mansion. And good Lord, I only smiled as I said: "Oh you silly girl, you're gonna drink the Tea AGAIN?!? Didn't your momma teach you ANYTHING?!?"The monster is a disappointment when it finally emerges, but the growling/howling noise it made until it does was neat. Though the men hollering and rolling through the bushes in the psychedelic light was hilarious!No, this movie isn't GREAT by today's standards. And it was probably more 'shocking' in its time. But if you are a Lovecraft fan, this one bears a critical viewing-- with a good sense of humor.