Curtis Hanson adapted H.P. Lovecraft's short story about a modern-day warlock living as an outsider in the East Coast town of Dunwich, where a relative of his was once hanged for believing in a race "superior to man"; robbing the local university library of its Necronomicon, he uses a pretty blonde to complete an occult fertility ritual (he props the book up between her legs!). Murky, muddled thriller further hampered by director Daniel Haller's penchant for peek-a-boo eroticism (probably eyebrow-raising for its time). Sandra Dee (miscast, but not bad) writhes and undulates under Dean Stockwell's spells, but only in the film's opening scenes is she allowed to act. Stockwell, rubbing his temples with the sides of his hands, looks like a misplaced beatnik from Castro Street. The rest of the players (including Ed Begley, Lloyd Bochner, and Talia Coppola/Shire) try very hard to make sense of this thing, which has a distinctive (if low-rent) look but never comes up with anything exciting except for a hidden monster in the manor. * from ****