''HP Lovecraft's The Tomb'' is a 2005 American
horror film directed by
Ulli Lommel
Ulli Lommel (21 December 1944 – 2 December 2017) was a German actor and director, noted for his many collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his association with the New German Cinema movement. Lommel spent time at The Factory and ...
and starring Victoria Ullmann, Christian Behm, Gerard Griesbaum, and
Michael Barbour
Michael G. Barbour (born 1942, died 7 January 2021) was a Californian botanist and ecologist.''Dedication: Michael G. Barbour Dedication'', Todd Keeler-Wolf, Madroño 57(4):281-282. 2010, California Botanical Society pub. He was a Professor Emer ...
. It is supposedly based on
H.P. Lovecraft's 1917 story,
"The Tomb".
However, the plot of the film is completely unrelated to the Lovecraft short story.
[H.P. Lovecraft’s The Tomb reviewed by Steve Anderson](_blank)
/ref>[Dread Central review](_blank)
/ref>[DVD Verdict review](_blank)
The film was compared to the 2004 film, ''Saw
A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...
'', and the series was mentioned on the box art. The film is also known simply as ''The Tomb'', but the title on the DVD case is ''HP Lovecraft's The Tomb''. However, on the film itself, the title is given as "H.P. Lovecraft The Tomb", with no apostrophe or 's'.
Plot
Tara (Victoria Ullmann) and Billy (Christian Behm) awake in a dark basement or warehouse, bloodied and covered with wounds. As they explore the empty surroundings, they find other wounded people who die in horrible ways at the hands of "The Puppetmaster," a sinister villain who plays a deadly game with them in which there will be only one survivor. H.P. Lovecraft is mentioned several times during the course of the film by some characters, and the 'Puppetmaster' is referred to as 'Charles Dexter Ward
''The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' is a short horror novel (51,500 words) by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's lifetime. Set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, it w ...
' and one of his victims as 'Pickman' (a reference to Lovecraft's story Pickman's Model). However these passing references to Lovecraftian characters (and a quote from one of Lovecraft's stories about going "beyond ye spheres") are largely irrelevant to the serial killer plot played out on screen.
Filming
Production of ''HP Lovecraft's The Tomb'' took place during August 2005 in Marina Del Rey, California, at a warehouse on Princeton Drive that has since been demolished. The scenes at the "Palm Desert Motel" were shot on an indoor set at the same warehouse. Exteriors were shot in the high desert near Palmdale, California.
Co-executive producer Jeff Frentzen is wearing the black gloves of the killer throughout the film.
References
External links
*
Movie trailer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomb, The
2007 direct-to-video films
2007 horror films
Films directed by Ulli Lommel
2007 films
Films shot in California
Films scored by Robert J. Walsh
2000s English-language films