If you think of this as a SyFy movie of the week, then you are entering into it in the right state of mind. I would not call it cheesy, but it has that low budget feel. The script and dialog could be better, along with some of the acting. It is VERY loosely based in the Lovecraft mythos, but does hit some of the basics. Tori Spelling is mediocre in this role, however she does pull off some of her scenes rather well in the middle of the movie. I have to say her acting at the end of the movie was very over- acted and almost laughable. Luckily, she is not the lead in this movie and the lead did a fairly good job(not great, but decent). If you are looking for strict adherence to the mythos or style of Lovecraft this movie is not for you, but if you like B movies you are surely going to enjoy this movie. This move felt like a fan fiction with higher quality production than usually seen, but that is part of the charm in my opinion.

this was a pretty good version of Shadow Over Innsmouth, right down to several of the same characters from the original, such as a young liquor store clerk. i find it embarrassing that so many fellow Lovecraft fans seem to have sexual hangups, complaining about the gay element of the story. who cares? it completely works for the character and the store (adding to his outsider mentality) and is *not a big deal*. geeze! grow up! the general mood and atmosphere was completely Lovecraftian. uneasiness. not quite seeing things clearly... dread, gloom. these things the film did perfectly.

This movie has nothing to do with any printed reference to Cthulhu written by H.P. Lovecraft. It is not a Lovecraft film, doesn't even come close to wanting to be one & has no business referencing Lovecraft in any way, shape or form.It is H O M O S E X U A L P R O P A G A N D A. Yep. It's totally gay. I strongly suspect the writer believes the director should be shot. This is a story about gay lovers. It has an Innsmouth plot thrown in there, and the name Marsh figures in prominently, but one could just as easily take all that out and it wouldn't make a bit of difference whatsoever.This is a chick-flick for gay men. Period. It's completely disgusting. The director *should* be shot.

Point-- For those of you who are wanting to see a modern FX crack at Cthulhu himself. That does NOT happen here. Nor does it happen in the Lovecraft Story this movie is based on. The movie does not go this route-- and rightly so. To even do so, in my opinion, would be to destroy the dark shadowy allure of this Monster God.The point of this movie is Strangeness, paranoia, isolation and fear with something sick & occult happening at the edges as it draws the main character 'Russ' back into the clutches of his strange family and it's dark hold on an isolated Oregon fishing town.In the Lovecraft stories, the story of this character is told second hand by the narrator who draws his own assumptions from fragmented letters from his 'Friend' who had reluctantly returned to Innsmouth and his strange family. And in the story-- we never see or hear of an end: the 'Friend' disappears and no more letters are sent.Here, we are seeing the man's struggles firsthand. The fact that he is gay is an interesting side-twist.The tone is well-tuned, growing desperation as you head towards the climax. And the sparsely applied FX are well done. I urge viewers to let the sequences in question fly past at normal speed. That's what makes it work. Good Stagecraft/FX rarely withstand the Slow-Motion acid test-- so be fair to this movie and keep your finger OFF the Pause button.And for those of you who have a problem with the Ending: Remember that there are really NO Happy Endings or Narrow Escapes in the Lovecraft Universe. And yes, for you purists-- this is a story about DAGON, NOT really Cthulhu. . .but hey! It's all the same Elder God Pantheon anyways.By the way-- I consider this movie a BETTER version of the movie "Dagon"I am keeping my fingers crossed for "Mountains of Madness"!