Paul and his girlfriend Barbara are on holiday in Spain with their friends Howard and Vicki. Paul and Barbara bicker incessantly, providing plenty of entertainment for their friends as they relax on the boat. However, their trip takes a dark turn when a violent storm catches them off guard, causing their boat to crash into a reef. Vicki is injured, unable to move, and Howard stays behind to look after her while Paul and Barbara head to a nearby, shadowy Spanish village for help.
The town they encounter is eerie and almost deserted. After some time, they manage to find assistance, and Paul returns to the boat to rescue his friends. But when he arrives, there’s hardly anything left of them, and he assumes they’re dead. Upon returning to the village, Paul discovers things have taken a sinister turn—Barbara is missing, and the villagers are suddenly after him.
Stuart Gordon’s adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft’s works have delighted fans of underground horror before, and once again, he delivers. The film draws inspiration from several of Lovecraft’s stories, most notably The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Dagon.
There’s no doubt that Stuart Gordon has an incredible knack for imaginative and compelling storytelling. He proved this with his debut film, Re-Animator, and later demonstrated his commercial versatility by penning the story for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Longtime collaborator Brian Yuzna, who also produced Re-Animator, takes on the producer role here as well.
H.P. Lovecraft had a well-known hatred of fish, which inspired several of his stories. In Dagon, religious elements are woven in as well, with references to the ancient god Dagon, worshipped by the Philistines. Those familiar with the Bible will recognize Dagon as a figure mentioned multiple times. While the film’s faithfulness to the myth of the fish god is unclear, the inspiration is unmistakable.
While Dagon isn’t as hysterically funny as Re-Animator, it’s likely to appeal to the same audience that loved Gordon’s cult classic. Much like Re-Animator, the story escalates wildly as the secrets of the mysterious village are unveiled.
The film’s budget, produced by the smaller studio Fantastic Factory, may not be grand, but it doesn’t matter. Gordon achieves exactly what he sets out to do, with top-notch effects, performances, and direction. While it may not reach the heights of Gordon’s debut film, it’s not far off.
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