Lovecraftian Films and TV series
From Oxford Languages:
Which popular film or TV series seemingly inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's work is your favorite?
Discuss here
Lovecraftian /ˈləvˌkraftēən,ˌləvˈkraftēən/ adjective relating to or reminiscent of the work of the US fantasy and horror writer H. P. Lovecraft (Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1890–1937), especially in depicting monstrous, misshapen beings from another dimension or universe, often in sinister, antiquated New England settings.
Which popular film or TV series seemingly inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's work is your favorite?
Discuss here
List activity
102 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
32 titles
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.Cosmic horror.
An alien creature / monstrosity completely unlike anything ever seen on Earth. Brought to life by some incredible practical effects. Excellent film. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Cosmic horror.
A nightmarish alien being beyond anything humanity has encountered before is discovered on a crashed, alien spaceship. A lot of Lovecraft in this film. Visually striking and very tense viewing. - DirectorAlex GarlandStarsNatalie PortmanJennifer Jason LeighTessa ThompsonA biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.Cosmic horror.
Very similar to the 'Colour out of Space' story - if Lovecraft were alive he would have sued! Stunning film though, really incredible. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellSarah BerryDan HicksAsh Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.Inter-dimensional (fun) horror.
A very tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Lovecraft! Very fun film with bucketful's of blood, demons from beyond, the Necronomicon and madness. - DirectorRobert EggersStarsRobert PattinsonWillem DafoeValeriia KaramanTwo lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.Madness.
Slow, psychological horror with some really heavy Lovecraftian overtones. Excellent. - DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.Ancient beings, paranoia, alternate realities.
More sci-fi and less horror-focussed than most films with Lovecraftian elements, it nonetheless deserves a place on any Lovecraft-themed list. - DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Comic horror.
Nightmarish alien creatures and body horror. Epic! - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.Body-horror and mad science.
Brutal sci-fi horror about a scientist experimenting on himself and things going very, very wrong. - DirectorNeil MarshallStarsShauna MacdonaldNatalie MendozaAlex ReidA caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.Loose Lovecraft adaption - Erdrich underground creatures.
Hideous, sub-human creatures that live beneath the earth. Based on a very early Lovecraft short story. Superb horror film! - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.Surreal sci-fi
Very far-out film that is as much Phillip K Dick as Lovecraft. It's very slow moving, so be prepared. - CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.Strange goings on in a small town
Very odd TV series that has that hallmark Lovecraft premise of 'an outsider encounters strange, dark secrets being harboured in a small town' - DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsLaurence FishburneSam NeillKathleen QuinlanA rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.Inter dimensional horror, cosmic horror, mad science and people driven to madness by entities beyond human comprehension.
Yep, this ticks every single Lovecraft box! 100% Lovecraft - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsRon PerlmanSelma BlairDoug JonesA prince of the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth. Hellboy and his team must fight to stop him from locating the all-powerful Golden Army.Strange fantasy and Elder Gods.
Family friendly Lovecraft. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Inter-dimensional (fun) horror.
A very tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Lovecraft! Very fun film with the Necronomicon, demons from beyond, and bucketful's of blood and madness.
I slightly prefer the sequel (Evil Dead II) but other folks prefer the original - you can't go wrong with either. - CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.Lovecraftian themes - season one
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.Other worldly creatures.
A thick mist descends on a small town in which strange, malevolent creatures reside. - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.Strange fantasy, eldritch creatures, alternate reality.
A few Lovecrafian nods here and there. Excellent film! - DirectorChristophe GansStarsRadha MitchellLaurie HoldenSean BeanA woman, Rose, goes in search for her adopted daughter within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill.Eldritch monstrosities and alternate dimensions.
It's not "pure" Lovecraft, especially plot-wise, but there's enough elements here to satisfy and it's a wonderfully creepy film. Loads of twisting reality and otherworldly, grotesque creatures.
Critics got this one wrong, it's a decent flick. - DirectorSusanne BierStarsSandra BullockTrevante RhodesJohn MalkovichFive years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.Madness and other worldly creatures.
Strange creatures overrun the world that, if seen, cause insanity. Very Lovecraft. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsNoomi RapaceLogan Marshall-GreenMichael FassbenderFollowing clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.Cosmic horror.
Flawed but very interesting prequel to the 'Alien' films. - DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.Elder Gods.
This just kinda pays lip service to Lovecraft, but it's a fun film so makes the list mainly for that reason. - DirectorDan TrachtenbergStarsJohn GoodmanMary Elizabeth WinsteadJohn Gallagher Jr.A young woman is held in an underground bunker by a man who insists that a hostile event has left the surface of the Earth uninhabitable....no spoilers!
Good film. Not hugely Lovecraftian, but there's just enough here to make it on the list. - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsRon PerlmanDoug JonesSelma BlairA demon raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.Strange fantasy, hell portal, demons and monsters.
Family friendly Lovecraft fantasy. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEmbeth DavidtzMarcus GilbertWhen Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.Inter-dimensional (fun) horror.
A very tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Lovecraft. Leans a bit too far into comedy for my taste, personally speaking, but it's still a fun watch. - DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsSigourney WeaverWinona RyderDominique PinonTwo centuries after her death, a powerful human/alien hybrid clone of Ellen Ripley aids a crew of space pirates in stopping the aliens from reaching Earth.Cosmic horror
Kinda disappointing instalment in the Alien franchise. It looks beautiful tho, and is far from the worst film ever made. - DirectorFede AlvarezStarsJane LevyShiloh FernandezJessica LucasFive friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.Necronomicon, demons from beyond.
A decent enough reboot of the classic franchise. - DirectorMatt ReevesStarsMike VogelJessica LucasLizzy CaplanA group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.Giant extra-terrestrial creatures.
Pretty good film, not all that Lovecraftian aside from the main creatures tho. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael FassbenderKatherine WaterstonBilly CrudupThe crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.Cosmic horror
Pretty decent entry into the Alien franchise. Follows on from Prometheus. - DirectorDavid FincherStarsSigourney WeaverCharles S. DuttonCharles DanceReturning from LV-426, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on the maximum-security prison Fiorina 161, where she discovers that she has unwittingly brought along an unwelcome visitor.Cosmic horror / body-horror.
Not as good as the first two Alien films, but it's not as bad as people say, it's still a good horror movie. - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJohnny DeppFrank LangellaLena OlinA book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.A demon book, secret sects and unknown forces.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsVinnie JonesBradley CooperLeslie BibbA photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.
- DirectorTony GiglioStarsAmy MansonDominic MafhamLuke Allen-GaleA group of UAC Marines respond to a distress call from a top secret scientific base on Phobos, a moon around Mars, only to discover it's been overrun by demons who seek to create Hell on Earth.