Tim Waggoner writes fantasy and horror for both adults and young readers. He also teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. Tim is also giving away two signed copies of his latest novel, Dead Streets so make sure you enter at the end of this post.
Please give a warm welcome to Tim…
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Murder and Magic
Since this is Men of Urban Fantasy Week here at Book Chick City, I thought I’d take this opportunity to celebrate one of the truly great men of urban fantasy – and an influence on my own series of Nekropolis novels – private detective Phillip Lovecraft.
In 1991, long before there was a publishing category called urban fantasy and three years before the release of Laurel K. Hamilton’s first Anita Blake novel Guilty Pleasures, an HBO movie called Cast a Deadly Spell debuted. Written by Joseph Dougherty, directed by Martin Campbell, and starring Fred Ward, Julianne Moore, Clancy Brown, and David Warner, Cast a Deadly Spell is the story of Phillip Lovecraft, a private investigator working the mean streets of 1940′s Los Angeles. Lovecraft’s world is very much like our own, but with one notable difference: magic exists alongside technology, and everybody uses the mystic arts in ways both grand and small to make their lives easier. Everyone, that is, except Lovecraft. In P.I. tradition, Lovecraft is determined to be his own man and live by his own principles, even if it means doing his job the old-fashioned way – without magic. When asked by a former flame why he doesn’t just go along with everyone else and accept magic, Lovecraft says, “Nobody’s got a lien on my soul.”
The plot is a fun and effective blend of hardboiled mystery and dark fantasy. Lovecraft – the name is a nod to horror author H.P. Lovecraft – is hired by a wealthy scholar to recover a rare book that’s been stolen from his library, an innocuous little volume called the Necronomicon. While searching for the mystic tome, Lovecraft has to deal with threats both magical and mundane if he hopes to prevent the Necronomicon from being used to release the great Old Ones and bring about the destruction of the world – and in the process, hopefully make enough money to pay the overdue rent on his office.
There are a number of things that make Cast a Deadly Spell a delight to watch. The performances are top-notch, and Fred Ward is particularly effective as the wise-cracking, world-weary detective. The story does a good job of blending elements from what at the time were considered two very disparate genres, and doing so with mordantly whimsical humor. The classic P.I, character is a knight errant standing resolute against a corrupt world, and in Cast a Deadly Spell, magic use makes an effective thematic metaphor for moral corruption. But perhaps the best part of watching the movie is experiencing the details of Lovecraft’s alternate Los Angeles. Cocktails that mix and pour themselves, a car engine sabotaged by gremlins, zombie construction crews, officers conducting séances in the police station . . .
And of course there’s romance as well. Lovecraft catches the eye of his employer’s young daughter, a unicorn-hunting virgin who’s determined to remedy her state of chastity at the first opportunity. To further complicate matters, an old flame comes back into Lovecraft’s life, a night-club singer and prototypical “bad girl” who may or may not have reformed and who has more to do with the central mystery than she lets on.
In 1994, HBO released a quasi-sequel to Cast a Deadly Spell called Witch Hunt. Witch Hunt takes place during the 1950′s, with magic this time standing as a metaphor for the communist threat, and starring Dennis Hopper as Lovecraft. While this isn’t a bad film, I don’t like it as well as the first. Hopper seems to lack energy as Lovecraft, the humor of the original is missing, and there’s less emphasis on the urban fantasy milieu this time around.
While Cast a Deadly Spell was released on VHS some years back, sadly there’s never been a DVD release. You find the film in its entirety on YouTube, though, and if you’ve never seen it, I urge you to log on and make the acquaintance of Phillip Lovecraft, a private investigator who battles the forces of darkness armed only with a gun, a strong right hook, an endless supply of snappy comebacks, and a hell of a lot of chutzpah. You’ll be glad you did.
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CONTEST!
Courtesy of Tim, you have the chance to win one of two signed copies of Dead Streets just by filling out this form – how easy is that?! There will be two winners: one from the UK and one International.
Good Luck!
13 Comments
After reading this article, I feel quite cheated that I have never had the opportunity to view this movie. However, I plan to put watching it on youtube as a high priority on my list of things I must do today. Thanks so much for the heads up. Still rather shocked that I missed this one somehow. Better late than never, as they say. *grins, winks*
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Great post! I haven't watched it, but I will! Thanks for the recommendation!
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Great post! and thanks for the givawaY!
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I've never heard of this author (sorry!) but now I'm going to try and find his books.
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Love this guest post I so wanna read this thanks for the great contest.
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I frickin' love that movie and the sequel! Genius.
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Re-posted your contest at: http://contests-freebies.blogs.....-city.html
Twitted: http://twitter.com/cherrymisch.....1112052983
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Interesting post. I'm going to have to check out Tim's books. If his novels are anything like the the movie he described, I'll enjoy them.
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I loved that movie! You just reminded me how much. I went to look it up on B&N, no joy. I'm going to look for it on Amazon.. I think I need it for the collection.
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I haven't heard of that movie before, though I can't imagine why. YouTube here I come! I have Time Waggoner on my tbr list, but I haven't read any of his books as of yet.
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I've never heard of Tim Waggoner before but this book looks interesting. I'll have to check it out. I also never heard of the movie you mentioned, and while I usually don't like fantasy movies, with such a strong recommendation I now really want to watch it.
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Really sounds like a great book.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
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Now I know why I need HBO. Darn it! I need to see if I can find the show now.
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