The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter is a 1992 horror film and the sequel to the 1988 film The Unnamable. As the subtitle indicates, the sequel is a loose adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Statement of Randolph Carter", although it also incorporates elements from elsewhere in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Cast and crew[]
Like its predecessor, The Unnamable II is written, directed and co-produced by Jean-Paul Ouellette, and stars Mark Kinsey Stephenson and Charles King as Randolph Carter and Howard Damon, respectively (although King is credited as Charles Klausmeyer this time). The character Tanya from the first film returns only for a brief cameo in the beginning, although her actress, Alexandra Durrell, serves as co-producer. Likewise, Laura Albert technically reprises her role as Wendy Barnes, albeit only as Wendy's corpse for a small cameo. The characters Joshua and Alyda Winthrop are recast, with Alyda now played by two different actresses, as her human half (Maria Ford) is separated from her monster half (Julie Strain). New roles notably include Prof. Warren and Chancellor Thayer (head of Miskatonic University), played by John Rhys-Davies and David Warner, respectively.
Synopsis[]
At the graveyard in front of the Winthrop House in Arkham, the police finds several bodies torn apart by a mysterious creature. The medical team takes Tanya, who is in shock, and Howard, who is injured, while Randolph entrusts the latter to care for the Necronomicon. Later on, Randolph visits Howard in the hospital to see how he's doing and to retrieve the book, as he intends to go back and continue to explore the tunnels. Parts of the book are written in symbols, which Randolph's physicist friend, Barger, recognizes as forming equations related to quantum mechanics.
In the hospital, Howard dreams of Alyda Winthrop, the gargoyle-like monster who was the daughter of the 17th century wizard Joshua Winthrop, and who was responsible for the massacre. After he wakes up, he sees Joshua's ghost, who confesses that he was the one who summoned the demon that inhabits his daughter's body, and that he could never bring himself to destroy it, as it would kill her too. Nevertheless, he warns Howard that the demon seeks to destroy the world, and must be stopped no matter the cost.
After a talk with the chancellor of Miskatonic University, who is aware of the supernatural occurrences in the town, but believes that such forces shouldn't be meddled with, Randolph seeks help from Prof. Warren, who is surprised to see the Necronomicon that Randolph took from the Winthrop House. Warren agrees with Randolph's hypothesis that the creature that massacred the other students was an extradimensional being summoned by Joshua Winthrop, but convinces Randolph not to get the police involved without evidence.
That night, Warren, Randolph and Howard head to the graveyard. Warren and Randolph descend into the tomb that leads to the tunnels, taking wire with them to communicate with Howard, who waits outside. Down there, they find half-eaten corpses, including Wendy, who had been killed by Alyda. They also locate a stone marked with ancient symbols, which Warren identifies as R'lyehian, the language of Cthulhu. Finally, they come across a screaming Alyda, immobilized by the tree roots, and Warren takes a blood sample from her. Howard urges them to kill the creature, but Randolph is reluctant, knowing that Alyda is Winthrop's daughter and therefore at least partially human. This is confirmed by the blood sample, which shows human cells intertwined with the grey cells of some unknown life form. Warren and Randolph conclude that the creature summoned by Winthrop has the ability to manipulate quantum physics and occupy the same space as another being, so it merged itself with Winthrop's daughter and has kept its host alive for over 300 years in a form of symbiosis.
Warren injects Alyda's body with insulin to force the creature to leave its host behind and return to its native realm. Afterwards, they're left with a fully human Alyda, whose insulin poisoning is rapidly countered with some sugar. Despite being over 300 years old, Alyda looks about 25, and seems to have an innocent, child-like mindset. Still bound by the roots, even though there's nothing holding her physically, she is freed by a spell recited by Warren.
Randolph accompanies Alyda to the surface, while Warren stays in the tunnel to take some photos. He talks to Randolph and Howard over the wire and informs them that the creature is still there, still able to manifest itself physically, and will probably try to merge back with Alyda, as it won't survive for long without the symbiosis. As the creature kills Warren, Randolph and Howard flee in the car, taking Alyda with them. The three stop by the dorm to give Alyda some clothes, and meet with Barger and two other students, Jack and Mary.
Ultimately, they decide that their best course of action is to take Alyda to be examined by a medical professional, in order to get proof that her body is over 300 years old, or that there are still traces of the creature's molecules within her. Either way, the authorities would be forced to believe their claims and help them. Meanwhile, the creature brutally kills two policemen and tracks down Alyda, just as Warren had predicted it would. It also kills Jack and Mary as it invades the campus. The remaining police officers examine the bodies and conclude that the marks are the same as the ones found on the victims at Winthrop House.
Randolph and Alyda try to evade the monster, while Howard and Barger meet with Prof. Thurber and are intercepted by the policemen. The creature follows Randolph and Alyda into a library, where they hide while looking for the Necronomicon pages that are missing from Winthrop's copy. When they do find the pages, Alyda reveals that she can speak R'lyehian, as her father taught it to her, but since she's still illiterate, Randolph must read it aloud while she corrects his pronunciation. The creature attacks them at this point and tries to merge back with Alyda, but Randolph manages to interrupt the process, and the monster finally dies, unable to get back to its host. Unfortunately, the end of the symbiosis also means that Alyda's body starts to show signs of her real age, and she dies in Randolph's arms, to his dismay.
Behind the Mythos[]
In the beginning of the film, as the police examines the crime scene, they recall a previous case they refer to as "the Dunwich thing", and wonder if "this may be something similar". The implied connection is reinforced during the ending, as the Necronomicon spell that Carter reads mentions Yog-Sothoth, among other names.
The spell that Prof. Warren uses to free Alyda from the roots also mentions Cthulhu and Yig.
Gallery[]
