In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.
- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHBO produced a sequel, entitled Witch Hunt (1994), which takes place in the 1950s during the red scare (magic is substituted for communism). Dennis Hopper played Lovecraft, in place of Fred Ward. Many characters reappear from this film, though some have different backstories.
- Goofs(Possibly intentional?) The handwritten spell (that leads to the creation of the oatmeal monster), written by Tugwell, varies every time it is shown. Even the kind of paper seems to be different in some shots. Most strikingly, it varies in handwriting style, boldness of the ink and the nature of the characters. In some shots, the third character looks like a Greek delta while in other shots it looks like a D. Another letter shifts from a [ to a C to an E and back again. The character named Lovecraft calls them runes, but generously speaking no more than half of the characters could possibly be runes.
- Crazy creditsUnicorn Wrangler: Hollywood Animals
- ConnectionsFollowed by Witch Hunt (1994)
Featured review
A classic B movie
Just watched this on the recommendation of a friend, and was very pleasantly surprised. It's not High Cinematic Art by any means, but it's entertaining and funny, the acting is very competent indeed, the effects, although not exactly convincing, work well with the overall theme of the piece, and the plot is coherent and credible (unusual both for mainstream comedy and mainstream horror).
I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.
Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)
I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.
Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)
Helpful•00
- the_tevildo
- Sep 8, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 大魔法書
- Filming locations
- Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA(night club scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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