Dan O'Bannon RIP and Alien as Lovecraftian Film

Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon passed away this past December 17. This is a notable name in the memory hole of fledgling H.P. Lovecraft inspired cinema. O'Bannon was, after all, a noteworthy cog in the great production machines that drove movies like The Resurrected, Bleeders, and, most famously, Alien. All of these sci-fi and horror extravaganzas owe a debt to HPL's dark fiction for their hideous monsters and cosmic themes. Twitchfilm.net has the full scoop on O'Bannon's lengthy and involved career in film making.

Speaking of Alien, an excellent article on the movie and its elegant Lovecraftian facets appeared on the Grognardia blog last week. James Maliszewski traces the shadow of Lovecraft in what remains, arguably, science fiction's dreariest film to date. The failure of science, the indifference of the creatures (and by extension the universe itself) to mankind, and the stark realism previously mirrored in stories like "At the Mountains of Madness" are identified by Maliszewski with precision. Although, somewhat curiously, no mention is made of the blatantly Lovecraftian artist H.R. Giger, who was heavily involved with design for the first film. Check out this post for an updated look at what may have been HPL's biggest cinematic transmission to date.

-Grim Blogger