The Lurking Fear (film)

Plot

Ex-con John Martense (Blake Adams) returns to his childhood home of Lefferts Corner after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Martense visits family friend Knaggs (Vincent Schiavelli), a mortician who has been holding half of a map for him. The map leads to a graveyard where Martense's father hid the money from his last heist. Arriving at an abandoned church, Martense is confronted by Cathryn (Ashley Laurence), a young woman seeking revenge for the murder of her sister, and town doctor Dr. Haggis (Jeffrey Combs). This group is quickly joined by a trio of criminals who are looking to find the money John's father stole from them. What everyone is not aware of are the humanoid creatures lurking underneath the holy grounds.

Release

Lurking Fear was released on DVD by Wizard on Oct 23, 2012.

Critical reaction

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. TV Guide awarded the film a negative 1 out of 4 stars, criticizing the film's execution, and the one-note performances by the film's actors. Film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars calling the film "seedy", and "more derived from Key Largo than H.P. Lovecraft's story". In their book Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft, Andrew Migliore and John Strysik write: "As with many Full Moon films, Lurking Fear's trailer is better than the feature it promotes. That's unfortunate because Joyner had a wonderful professional cast who, with a cleaned-up script and a hands-on producer, could have made the film a standout among [Lovecraft] adaptations."