The Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft

by Andrew Migliore, John Strysik, Bernie Wrightson

The definitive guide to film and television influenced by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. From Alien to Hellboy to Rough Magik it's all here. Coverage of feature films, television shows, independent films, interviews with Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter and more.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Film, Lovecraftian, Speculative Fiction, Media Tie In

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Peter]

The ultimate book on films inspired directly or indirectly by Lovecraft. Here you are at the movies of madness. Alien, The Beyond, Dagon, The Call of the Cthulhu, The Fog, Lifeforce, The Thing... the list seems endless. You'll also see excellent movie stills, photos and illustrations. Later on we find Lovecraft on Television, some galleries, and many interviews with directors, actors, screenwriters. At the end you'll find the shortfilms, an index of films and the films by year. What a Lovecraft fest. This is the book to read on the topic. Highly recommended!

[By Crom!]

It's my goal to see every movie in this book.

[Jeb Card]

Catalog of Lovecraft film and television adaptations and works with some Lovecraftian influence. The text is at times overwhelmed by the enthusiastic or dismissive emotion of the authors. Some of the real treats here are interviews with professionals in the film industry, including many of the directors most influenced by HPL. Given the explosion in Lovecraft cinema in the last few years, and especially if del Toro's At The Mountains of Madness really happens, this will need another edition soon.

[The Smoog]

Although I didn't get much out of the interviews (which aren’t really my thing, I’m afraid) there are a few bits in that section that I found interesting. The real treasure here, for me at least, was in the film, TV, and shorts overviews, which gave a wealth of info on Lovecraftian screen productions. It could obviously benefit from an update, being 20 years old now, but as it stands it’s a great resource for pre-mid 2000s content related to HPL.

[Stormcrow Hayes]

2.5 stars. A kind of fun reference guide that I felt could have gone into greater depth on many of the feature films. The end feels padded with descriptions about short films that felt completely unnecessary. Still, I read it cover to cover and enjoyed it enough that I'd recommend it for any hardcore Lovecraft fan.

The book was published in 2000 so there are many films made since that aren't included. Perhaps it's time the authors come out with an updated version.

[Stephen Theaker]

A good overview of Lovecraftian influences in cinema. At first I was a bit disappointed by how many works of very marginal relevance to Lovecraft are included - Alien, for example - but once you get past that you see that there are a surprising number of direct adaptations. The interviews at the back of the book are fascinating.

[Ryan]

I've browsed it and I can verify it is amazing.

[Squire]

Informative and thorough. And already 7 years out-of-date. Still very useful.

[Daniel DeLappe]

A fun little read with great interviews and pictures