Trailer Probe reviews nerd-related movie trailers. Geek explosion content is the good parts, dork disengagement level is the bad parts. Geek parts per billion is the total quality rating, with one billion being the super-nerdiest.

The Whisperer in Darkness

Dork disengagement level: The movie is black and white, befitting its old-timey style. So if you prefer color television above all else, you will not be happy.

The trailer is more than three minutes long, which is pretty huge for a trailer. You may not appreciate this if you wish to get back to work or otherwise are opposed to slackerism or lolly-gagging.

Geek explosion content: "Even now I cannot repeat the terrible things I heard that evening."

This is a feature length movie based on the 1931 H.P. Lovecraft story. It looks like a loving rendition, which I expect from its makers, by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. Their site is crammed with audio performances and Cthulhu-related nerdiness. These folks are hardcore.

The music is a re-creation of the Universal monster movie style, with the build-up to the big scare, and the horn that sounds like a scream.

The movie looks like an old-timey movie preview, but it goes easy on the onscreen titles that tell you to "Thrill!"

Instead, it focuses on the suspense. What it shows is actors looking appropriately desperate, sweaty, and terrified. I hope they told them it's just a movie.

Geek parts per billion: 900,000.