The film's ensemble cast includes stars Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Payne, Richard Lynch, Belinda Bauer, Maria Ford, Dennis Christopher, Gary Graham and David Warner.

The extensive special makeup and animatronic effects were supervised by Tom Savini[1] and were created by John Carl Buechler,[2] Christopher Nelson and Screaming Mad George.

Taking offense when the head monk calls his work "fiction", Lovecraft insists that all his writings are true.

Unlocking the vault where the book is held, the door closes behind Lovecraft unexpectedly, making him drop the key down a grating and into the water below.

Distraught, Jethro picked up a copy of the Holy Bible in front of several funeral mourners, tossed it into the fireplace and announced that any god who would take from him is not welcome in his home.

Edward, distraught over a car accident years before which killed his wife, Clara, finds the Necronomicon and performs the ritual to revive her.

Drawn underground from the injury, the creature below destroys the main floor and rises, a gigantic monster with tentacles, one eye and a large mouth.

Edward pushes the chandelier rope free from the pulley, the pointed bottom piercing the monster in the eye, presumably killing it.

Reporter Dale Porkel is suspicious of a string of strange murders in Boston over the past several decades.

The woman he has confronted claims to suffer a rare skin condition which has left her sensitive to heat and light.

Emily had supposedly taken residence in the apartment building, and was told by Lena, the owner, not to disturb the other tenant, Dr. Richard Madden, a scientist.

The next day while job hunting, Emily sees two cops with flyers asking for information about the murder of Sam.

In the greenhouse, Dr. Madden proves this by injecting a wilted rose with a compound to revive it, claiming that as long as it is kept out of the sun, it will never die.

The resulting fire injures Dr. Madden severely, and without his fresh injection of pure spinal fluid, he feels no pain as his body disintegrates before he dies.

During a pursuit of a suspect known as "the Butcher", two Philadelphia police officers, Paul and Sarah, are arguing over their failed relationship and the coming baby.

Sarah was forced to have an abortion as a result of the car accident earlier, but her mother insists that she will be forgiven if she forgives herself.

With the conclusion of the third tale, Lovecraft is confronted by the head monk, who assures him that all will be fine if he opens the door.

Furious, the monk warns Lovecraft to replace the book, but the author is attacked by a monster in the water beneath him, and the last of the seals opens up.

The head monk reveals himself to not be human at all, as he begins stretching his body through the bars to enter the room, and Lovecraft uses a sword in his cane to defeat the monster in the water.

Gathering his things and grabbing the book, Lovecraft begins to depart, being caught by one of the monks who warns him of the foolishness of his actions, telling him he will pay for his misdeeds.

[8] With regard to the acting, Iain McLachlan of SFFWorld commented in 2004 that "Payne is especially effective because of his suppression of his tortured grief, adding considerable power to his scenes".

[9] In their 2006 book Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft, Andrew Migliore and John Strysik opined that the film "does not deliver on what should have been a great idea.

In fact the film loses focus, speed, and atmosphere after the first segment, 'The Drowned', almost as though the production had run out of money and time.