The Stone Tape

[Eric Lofgren]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veGrGk0uBd4 I seem to be on a bit of a Nigel Kneale kick these days. And as such I came across a reference to The Stone Tape. Another of Kneale's BBC teleplays broadcast in 1972. If Kneale wasn't at least influenced by Lovecraft, he was certainly channeling him. This show is spectacular even by today's standards. When you get to the end you'll be raising an eyebrow and nodding your head sagely

[T. Kelly Lee]

No spoilers, but the Lovecraftian ending is...RIGHT THERE!  Kneale was specifically asked in an interview if he was influenced by HPL and he said he never read his works.  But he had read pulps.  I cannot believe he missed HPL.  It seems so unlikely. 

[Eric Lofgren]

I know, right? I was completely sold on the scientific premise of the "stone tape" medium, but we get to the end and whammo! I love it It is possible that Kneale and Lovecraft might have just been tapping into the same source. But it's probably more likely he Kneale was influenced by tropes that Lovecraft began, with Kneale just not acknowledging or making the connection. 

[T. Kelly Lee]

my other favorite Brit flick from this era is called "Children of the Stones."  Again, quite Lovecraftian and just, really, creepy as hell.  It's filmed in Avebury and the weird hills around that stone circle combined with the bizarre sound track are just wonderful.

I don't know what it was about that era of tv filmmaking but they did some truly great stuff: even the last Quatermass film in 1979 is creepy as hell.  And, on the ligther end The Box of Delights and the Witches and the Grinnygog are just weird supernatural fun.  For the most part, the look and feel of films from that era are as much a character as any actor portrayal. 

This is why I think the 1973 Wicker Man remains one of the greatest horror films ever done.  It's got a post-modern feel to it that started to errupt in the 70's which blends psychological terror with on the nebulous possible threat of the supernatural. 

[DustyTome]

my other favorite Brit flick from this era is called "Children of the Stones."  Again, quite Lovecraftian and just, really, creepy as hell.  It's filmed in Avebury and the weird hills around that stone circle combined with the bizarre sound track are just wonderful.

I don't know what it was about that era of tv filmmaking but they did some truly great stuff: even the last Quatermass film in 1979 is creepy as hell.  And, on the ligther end The Box of Delights and the Witches and the Grinnygog are just weird supernatural fun.  For the most part, the look and feel of films from that era are as much a character as any actor portrayal. 

This is why I think the 1973 Wicker Man remains one of the greatest horror films ever done.  It's got a post-modern feel to it that started to errupt in the 70's which blends psychological terror with on the nebulous possible threat of the supernatural. 

I totally agree about The Wicker Man. I watched it when it on television late one night, missing the first bit of it. I decided to watch when I found out Christopher Lee was in it. It is scary and creepy as hell.

[old book]

I happened to catch one of the last shows John PEEL did for BBC and he quoted from Strange High House in the Mist, right before he died on a mountain in Bolivia.

I saw Wicker Man in Albuquerque once with a bunch of pagans, VHS era. One of them subsequently relocated to Ireland or something. Great snuff film.

[catamount]

Thanks for posting that link, Eric. That was an excellent, creepy little teleplay. Plus, I love those disco era outfits:)

Hey, how about a new gaming scenario: Cthulhu by Disco Ball! My character would be intrepid Afro-American reporter/disco diva Coffee Brown who discovers a Cthulhu cult among the wealthy, upper class WASPs (aka The Man) in the city. Their sinister plan involves using the blood of the Deep Ones to flood the ghetto with a new type of street drug which will further enslave minorities.

[Ferox13]

Children of the Stones was creepy as hell for a kids show.

Quatermass and the Pit has a very Lovecraftian feel to it too.

[Jape]

Stone Tapes is excellent. I also agree the 1970s produced a very interesting flavour of horror and weirdness, mixing in elements of folk-horror and postmodern ideals with Cold War fears and a collapsing conservative status quo.

There's a teleplay called Penda's Fen on you tube. I wouldn't call it horror but it is certainly a weird tale involving golden angels, black daemons, hints of military experimentation, strange imagery, pagan history and all in all oddness. Hell even the director's short little introduction is creepy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-YCj8OnEMo&feature=related

[Eric Lofgren]

Quatermass and the Pit has a very Lovecraftian feel to it too.

I've read recently (probably on Wikipedia) that the original BBC teleplay of Quatermass and the Pit is still considered one of the BBC's finest moments. I would have to agree. And the themes it shares with Prometheus are startling similar.