The Mountains of Madness

 When one thinks of the phrase "Cosmic Horror" the first thing that comes to mind is Cthulu, the monstrous creation of H.P. Lovecraft. Even those such as myself that have never read any of his works, his name and monsters hold great meaning, showing influence in all sorts of media throughout the last century, horror or not. One of the features of his work that stands out is of course, the monsters and visual descriptions of unfathomable design. Reading a visual adaption of one of Lovecraft's work certainly created an interesting opportunity to see an artist's interpretation of his visual design. The Mountains of Madness reflects various factors clearly influencing future media, showing how ahead of it's time this book was. The theme of an arctic expedition resulting in alien catastrophe can be seen in the 1982 film, The Thing. A more modern parallel can be seen with the 2011 film Prometheus. A prequel of sorts to the cult classic Alien, one of the common themes between Prometheus and The Mountains of Madness is the setting. Scientists exploring on an expedition find more than they bargain for, and their thirst for further knowledge becomes their undoing. Lake is killed by the awoken creatures he uncovers, and the monsters mutate and kill the crew of the ship that rediscovered them. Humanity learns that they were created from an alien species, and ends with the acknowledgement that the knowledge and location of discovery must be avoided at all costs. Themes of intelligent extraterrestrial life beyond our comprehension is a theme I've admired, and would have never expected from the works as early as the 1930s. To me it shows Lovecraft's work is remembered for good reason, it was remarkably ahead of it's time and continues to influence media even today.