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The Dunwich Horror

Play trailer Poster for The Dunwich Horror R Released Jan 14, 1970 1h 30m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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29% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 29% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert in the occult, goes to the old Whateley manor in Dunwich looking for Nancy Wagner (Sandra Dee), a student who went missing the previous night. He and Elizabeth, a friend and classmate of Nancy's, are turned away by Wilbur (Dean Stockwell), the family's insidious heir, who has plans for the young girl. But Armitage won't be deterred. Through conversations with the locals, he soon unearths the Whateleys' darkest secret -- as well as a great evil.

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The Dunwich Horror

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Budd Wilkins Slant Magazine Groovy and grotesque in equal measure. Jan 12, 2023 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A leadenly paced picture that grows less gripping as it moseys along. Rated: 2/4 Feb 8, 2023 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) Rated: 3/5 Jun 12, 2005 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Pretty much botched Lovecraft adaptation. Rated: 2/5 Aug 21, 2003 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 2/5 Dec 29, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Justin T Whilst this is flawed it is still worth watching even fifty years later. It is a slow brooding Lovecraft mystery. It feels very seventies in style and tone. The fight scene is absolutely terrible, the lack of music, the bad fight cinematography and bad fight choreography really destroy this scene and make it unwatchable. Other than that the film has no real major issues but some might argue it is a little dated. It is a pretty abstract interpretation of Lovecraft which is probably the most correct and it also feels accurate to the original lore. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/02/24 Full Review Ranjit S When a strange man shows up to Miskatonic University asking to study the Necronomicon, or "Book of the Dead", a strange and terrible sequence of events is unfurled. A must-watch for fans of Lovecraft and/or of 1970s horror movies. Dean Stockwell offers an appropriately enigmatic portrayal of the main character, Wilbur Whateley. The psychedelic opening credit sequence is noteworthy. This movie moves slowly but builds to a horrific climax. Overall, I view this movie as a classic of 1970s horror. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/02/24 Full Review Steve D Some decent ideas but it doesn't come together. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Well it's not great. I watched it for the first time all the way through last night, and found it mildly entertaining although I fell asleep part way through. And somehow I feel that a movie about the necronomicon, inbreeding and otherwordly gods and monsters should not help facilitate a long nap right in the middle of the goings-on. The problem is, the movie is too long for its own britches. It doesn't have that much of a plot, so scenes are stretched out interminably as when Sandra Dee is strapped to the rock in the devil's hop yard. Apparently naked and sexually charged up, but all Dean Stockwell's character can think of to do is use her groin as a book stand. Yawn. Then the endless scenes of his silly incantations. And the endless scenes of reverse-negative colored images cycling through every color of the rainbow. Sheesh - about the 40th time we see the patches of dirt and trees going by as a deranged monster ranges about in the woods, I was reaching for the fast-forward button. Then the ending is wildly outrageous - for about five seconds. Then it's over. I think the potential was there for a pretty good cult movie, but it was just stretched on too thin of a frame. Still I might it again some night - when I have 14 cups of coffee standing by. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review dave s The Dunwich Horror, based on the H.P. Lovecraft novella, is an unimaginably bad movie. The virtually incomprehensible plot centers around the much-hated Whately family from Dunwich, Massachusetts, who are despised due to their dabblings in the supernatural, a hatred that is only intensified when a monster of some sort is unleashed on the villagers. The acting is consistently brutal, highlighted by a seemingly Quaalude-induced performance by Dean Stockwell. The direction is horrible (pointless close-ups, equally pointless flashbacks), the editing is seizure-inducing at times, and the psychedelic visual effects used when the monster is doing its killing is simply laughable. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Se me hizo muy larga y ya al final aburrida, y no vi como se supone que se moría el tipo o qué. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Dunwich Horror

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Movie Info

Synopsis Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert in the occult, goes to the old Whateley manor in Dunwich looking for Nancy Wagner (Sandra Dee), a student who went missing the previous night. He and Elizabeth, a friend and classmate of Nancy's, are turned away by Wilbur (Dean Stockwell), the family's insidious heir, who has plans for the young girl. But Armitage won't be deterred. Through conversations with the locals, he soon unearths the Whateleys' darkest secret -- as well as a great evil.
Director
Daniel Haller
Producer
Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
Screenwriter
Curtis Hanson, Henry Rosenbaum, Ronald Silkosky
Production Co
American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 14, 1970, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 4, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
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