First of all, I must make it clear that there are in fact two versions of this animated short out there. When the film makers first put their animation onto the web a number of people complained about issues with the sound quality and in particular the narration. So, the makers rectified those problems and re-posted a version with a 'cleaned-up' audio track.
It is this improved version that I am reviewing here.
Sean Kearney and Doug Simon of Eldritch Animation have created a very compact and neat version of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Terrible Old Man". They have taken the original story and squeezed it into a tiny running time and some may feel that the story moves a little bit too rapidly for their liking.
However, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the original story. Sean Kearney's narration tells us of the strange old man living in the town of Kingsport. Of the rumours surrounding him and the locals dislike of him. Three criminals plan to rob him of the gold he is rumoured to keep hidden away in his old house. Two of the men enter his house while the third waits for them in the getaway car. He hears screams from the house and is mildly upset that his partners have injured the old man despite their assurances that they would not. He is in for a shock when the gate to the house opens though.
There is no dialogue from any of the characters in the film only Kearney's narration. That narration is very closely based on the original text of Lovecraft's story, with entire passages read verbatim. Kearney proves an adequate narrator, though with the short running time his reading of the text is a little rapid in a couple of places.
Doug Simon's backgrounds in this short are excellent - in particular the exterior scenes of the old man's house on Water Street. The mist shrouded old house, surrounded by gnarled trees is extremely atmospheric. The later scenes of the strange stone idols in the grounds of the house are equally well done. The style of the backgrounds in this reminds me of the backgrounds in the LucasFilms computer game titles like the 'Monkey Island' series of games.
The animated characters in the film are reasonably well done, if a little 'rough around the edges', and in particular The Terrible Old Man himself looks completely bonkers! Eric Wang provides a pleasing, musical score in the background throughout the film that adds atmosphere. Importantly, this music is never allowed to drown out the narration and one can be surprised when the end credits roll and you hear the music - before remembering that yes it was there in the background throughout the film.
The cleaned-up audio track on the film is a big improvement upon that of the original release. However, frustratingly there are still a couple of occasions where it is difficult to catch what Kearney is saying - in particular when the dead bodies are found on the beach (when the cries of sea birds overlap the dialogue for a moment).
All in all I would recommend this short film to anyone who is a fan of the original story and of Lovecraft in general.
It is this improved version that I am reviewing here.
Sean Kearney and Doug Simon of Eldritch Animation have created a very compact and neat version of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Terrible Old Man". They have taken the original story and squeezed it into a tiny running time and some may feel that the story moves a little bit too rapidly for their liking.
However, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the original story. Sean Kearney's narration tells us of the strange old man living in the town of Kingsport. Of the rumours surrounding him and the locals dislike of him. Three criminals plan to rob him of the gold he is rumoured to keep hidden away in his old house. Two of the men enter his house while the third waits for them in the getaway car. He hears screams from the house and is mildly upset that his partners have injured the old man despite their assurances that they would not. He is in for a shock when the gate to the house opens though.
There is no dialogue from any of the characters in the film only Kearney's narration. That narration is very closely based on the original text of Lovecraft's story, with entire passages read verbatim. Kearney proves an adequate narrator, though with the short running time his reading of the text is a little rapid in a couple of places.
Doug Simon's backgrounds in this short are excellent - in particular the exterior scenes of the old man's house on Water Street. The mist shrouded old house, surrounded by gnarled trees is extremely atmospheric. The later scenes of the strange stone idols in the grounds of the house are equally well done. The style of the backgrounds in this reminds me of the backgrounds in the LucasFilms computer game titles like the 'Monkey Island' series of games.
The animated characters in the film are reasonably well done, if a little 'rough around the edges', and in particular The Terrible Old Man himself looks completely bonkers! Eric Wang provides a pleasing, musical score in the background throughout the film that adds atmosphere. Importantly, this music is never allowed to drown out the narration and one can be surprised when the end credits roll and you hear the music - before remembering that yes it was there in the background throughout the film.
The cleaned-up audio track on the film is a big improvement upon that of the original release. However, frustratingly there are still a couple of occasions where it is difficult to catch what Kearney is saying - in particular when the dead bodies are found on the beach (when the cries of sea birds overlap the dialogue for a moment).
All in all I would recommend this short film to anyone who is a fan of the original story and of Lovecraft in general.
