And so we once again venture into Lovecraft country for the Summer of Love(craft). This, the third and final adaptation of the Lurking Fear, was a standout for me, although that had more to do with the VHS box cover than the story. The cover was pretty much what I posted here, but it was three dimensional, with a clear plastic cover and thick red slime on the inside, so the monsters would look nice and bloody when you picked it up.
We open with some background, namely a group of Dutch nobility fleeing their country and heading for what would become Maine. They are fleeing because they wish to be free....well, no, they're fleeing because they really want to have sex with their siblings. While this was a fairly common practice among the upper crust back in ye olden days, this particular group is so into it they creep out everyone.
In the now present days on the late 90's, John Strauss (Roy Dupuis) and his wife Kathleen (Kristen Lehmn) arrive at the same island those Dutch folk landed on, although their intentions are less incest and more research. John is suffering from a particular malady that no doctor can diagnose and it is getting worse. They have managed to trace John's family to this island, where the couple hope to find someone can give them a clue to help John.
They get something, but they're not sure if it helps. Local old woman Lexie (Jackie Burroughs) tells John that she was one who snatched him away from his family sent him to the mainland. Why? Because he's actually a Van Daam, and too normal for the freaks.
Yes, the freaks. It seems the Van Daam family grew up and weird, taking to living down in the tunnels that crisscross the island. Their diet is restricted to the embalmed bodies that litter the island's surprisingly large graveyard, but that source is being cut off as the bodies are being shipped off to the mainland...leaving them hungry. They prefer the taste of formaldehyde, but they're not opposed to fresh meat.
To test this, John goes to Dr. Marlowe (Rutger Hauer), but the only help the drunk medic can provide is a pickled fetus on his shelf. John chows down and feels revitalized. Which is good for him, as his family is coming for a reunion. Can John and Kathleen survive this family drama?
Not the worst film I've seen, but Hauer manages to save the film.
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