Stockwell makes for a mighty fine lead here, creeping out in a pretty big way in some of the scenes he shares with captive Sandra Dee. It might not play everything exactly by the book but it’s well paced and incredibly atmospheric, making great use of the main mansion location and turning the creepy old house into a kaleidoscope of insanity by the time it’s all over and done with. Bad move, Nancy – before you know it he’s drugged her and intending to use her in an ancient ritual, the kind that the townsfolk only whisper about but that his descendants are all too familiar with!įrom the weird animated opening titles through to the film’s almost surreal conclusion, The Dunwich Horror may be very obviously a product of the early seventies but for a movie made on a modest budget fast and cheap, it does a pretty respectful job of capturing the Lovecraft vibe. She clearly falls for him, and fast, offering him a lift back into town once they’re down on the campus.

Henry Armitage (Ed Begley) – who is aware of the Whateley family’s past - makes it clear in no uncertain terms that the book cannot leave the campus library.Īs Wilbur goes about his business, he meets a pretty student named Nancy (Sandra Dee). When Wilbur arrives at Miskatonic University in search of The Necronomicon, Dr. His mother, Lavinia (Joanna Moore Jordan), was tossed into a mental hospital after he was born and his family has a strange relationship with the town’s past, especially his weird grandfather (Sam Jaffe). Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) is, in the eyes of the population of the titular town he calls home, from bad stock. Cast: Dean Stockwell, Joanna Moore Jordan, Sam Jaffe, Ed Begley, Sandra Deeĭirector Daniel Haller (who previously made Die Monster Die for AIP, taking on Lovecraft’s The Color Out Of Space) returns Lovecraftian lore with 1970’s atmospheric and creepy feature, The Dunwich Horror for AIP.

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