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Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) is a Horror/Detective HBO movie with Fred Ward, Julianne Moore and Clancy Brown. It was directed by Martin Campbell and written by Joseph Dougherty.

Plot

Ward stars as 1940s hardboiled private detective Phillip Lovecraft, in a fictional universe where magic is real, monsters and mythical beasts stalk the back alleys, zombies are used as cheap labor, and everyone — except Lovecraft — uses magic every day. Yet, cars, telephones and other modern technology also exist in this world.

H.P. Lovecraft Influence

The movie is very much an homage to the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Though not based on any one particular story by Lovecraft, the film features many Lovecraftian tropes, and can be considered to take place against the unified backdrop which has come to be known as the Cthulhu Mythos. Frequent references are made to the Necronomicon, the Old Ones, and Yog Sothoth throughout the film.

While the film clearly does not take place in Lovecraft's world, it does reference Lovecraft extensively (including the name of the main character), though there are many obvious differences. The most obvious difference is that in Cast a Deadly Spell, magic is omnipresent – everybody uses it. In Lovecraft's stories magic is almost unknown, except to a select few.

There are also references to other authors in the genre. One of the police detectives is named Bradbury. The nightclub is called Harry Bordon's Dunwich Room.

Sequel

HBO produced a quasi-sequel, "Witch Hunt." "Witch Hunt" takes place in the 1950s during the Red Scare, with magic substituted for communism. Dennis Hopper, instead of Fred Ward played Lovecraft. Additionally, many characters have the same names, but different background stories from "Cast a Deadly Spell," including the main character Lovecraft (refusal to use magic in "Cast a Deadly Spell" is on principle, and because of a bad experience in "Witch Hunt").

Cast

• Julianne Moore – Connie Stone
• David Warner – Amos Hackshaw
• Alexandra Powers – Olivia Hackshaw
• Fred Ward – Harry Philip Lovecraft
• Clancy Brown – Harry Bordon

External links

• Cast A Deadly Spell at the Internet Movie Database