Review - Dagon

Fishtales gone amuck . . .

Dagon - the film adaptation of two H.P. Lovecraft short stories - was better than I expected. It still wasn't a "great" movie by any stretch of the imagination - but it was at the very least entertaining.

The film starts out in a dream sequence where our Woody Allen-like hero, Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) is underwater and finds himself face to face with what we are led to believe is a mermaid. That is, of course, until she opens her mouth and we see a face full of sharp razor-like teeth! Paul wakes up next to his beautiful Spanish eyed girlfriend Barbara (Raquel Moreno - she kept reminding me of a young Tawny Kitaen). She tries to console him but he busily attends to his laptop checking their stock options - until Barbara throws the computer overboard that is. Howard (Brendan Price) and Vicki (Birgit Bofarull) the older couple they are boating with a just laugh as the young couple remind them so much of themselves when they were younger.

They are anchored off the coast of the small fishing village of Imboca when all of a sudden a freak storm rolls in and smashes their little boat. Vicki is hurt and can't be moved so Barbara and Paul go to shore to get help. When they get to shore, things just don't seem right in this little fishing town.

They follow the sounds of singing which lead them to a church that has strange images on the walls. Finally they meet up with the town's priest who seems like he wants to help them. Things go from bad to worse when Paul leaves Barbara on shore to search for the police and he goes to rescue Vicki and Howard from their sinking vessel. Barbara realizes there is something really wrong in Imboca when the priest that was helping them points her to the local hotel - with webbed hands. As she struggles with the front desk clerk to use the phone, Barbara is overtaken by both the clerk and the priest. Flash back to Paul - it turns out something has already gotten to Vicki and Howard on the boat and when Paul comes back to shore Barbara is nowhere to be found. He is led to the very same hotel that Barbara was overtaken at and finds himself being chased by the townspeople who happen to also be mutated fish-people. While running from the townspeople, Paul meets up with Ezequiel (Francisco Rabal) who seems to be the last man standing in a town full of mutant fish-people. He tells Paul the story of Imboca's worship of Dagon - a monstrous sea God - and of the horrible mutations of the children of Dagon.

Paul also meets (literally) the girl of his dreams as he tries to find his way out of Imboca. She is beautiful and pleads for Paul to stay with her and live out his destiny. Paul seems at least partially for this until he discovers her tentacles! It turns out she is the high priestess of Dagon Uxia (Macarena Gomez) and she has been waiting for Paul. The balance of the film deals with Paul's struggle to both leave and destroy Imboca, and Uxia's struggle to keep him there to fulfill his destiny as her lover.

The mood of this film is totally dark, dank and dreary. It really works toward making you believe that you are in a town full of mutated fish-people. Having said that, the mutated fish-people themselves were extremely well done. They just scared the ever loving life out of me with their strange dolphin-like communications and odd mutations. There is this scene where Paul is hiding in a house that is about mid-calf full of water. He doesn't think much of it until a creature that looks part human, part octopus pops out of the water and shoves his face into a filthy toilet bowl (which looks like it is in the middle of the living room - very strange indeed). The acting was so-so, but the story was strong. I haven't read the H.P. Lovecraft stories associated with this movie ("Dagon" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth") but after seeing Dagon, I will be sure to check them out.

I definitely recommend Dagon - especially if freaky mutant fish-people are your sort of thing.

Dagon Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Stuart Gordon

Writing credits
H.P. Lovecraft (short stories "Dagon" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth")


Dennis Paoli (screenplay)


Cast (in credits order)
Ezra Godden .... Paul Marsh
Francisco Rabal .... Ezequiel
Raquel Meroño .... Bárbara
Macarena Gómez .... Uxía Cambarro
Brendan Price .... Howard
Birgit Bofarull .... Vicki
Uxía Blanco .... Madre Ezequiel/Ezequiel's Mother
Ferrán Lahoz .... Sacerdote/Priest
Joan Minguell .... Xavier Cambarro
Alfredo Villa .... Capitán Orfeo Cambarro/Captain Orpheus Cambarro
José Lifante .... Recepcionista Hotel/Desk Clerk
Javier Sandoval .... Padre Ezequiel/Ezequiel's Father
Victor Barreira .... Ezequiel Joven/Young Ezequiel
Fernando Gil .... Sacerdote Católico/Catholic Priest
Jorge Luis Pérez .... Chico/Boy
Ignacio Carreño .... Tanner 1
Diego Herberg .... Chofer/Chauffeur
Óscar García .... Imbocan 1
José Manuel Torres .... Imbocan 2
Lydia González .... Imbocan 3
Lydia Bosse .... Imbocan 4
Joan Manel Vadell .... Imbocan 5 & Tanner 2