The Call of Cthulhu

This is my first review on IMDb. I was so pleasantly surprised (in such a twisted way) by this film that I felt almost obligated to comment on it.

I've always loved H. P. Lovecraft's stories and have read pretty much everything he produced. Unfortunately, his work must not translate well to film because most movies based on his stories are pretty regrettable. Many excellent and unique movies have incorporated elements and themes from his stories (The Ninth Gate, Cast a Deadly Spell, The Evil Dead movies, In The Mouth of Madness etc.), but many of those taken literally from his writings (The Dunwich Horror, Beyond The Wall of Sleep, The Curse, etc.) just don't work.

This film contains many elements that also generally don't work, at least for modern audiences. It's a silent movie filmed in black and white. The acting is consistent with old silent films or stage, with exaggerated expressions and movements and is even comical at times. It is clearly a very low budget affair with outmoded special effects. The strange thing is that all of this works very well with the story, making it perhaps the best screen adaptation of a Lovecraft story that I've seen to date.

Because of its format, TCOC takes a little patience but overall it's a lot of fun to watch and manages to build a fair amount of suspense and tension even as it amuses.

Making a story by H.P. Lovecraft into a silent film in 2005 may not have been the most obvious move, but it turned out to be a major artistic success. I was a little skeptic myself about this weird approach, but I have to say that Andrew Leman's "The Call Of Cthulhu" is the best Lovecraft adaptation I've seen so far.

The beautiful, dark pictures and the old-fashioned score along with the over the top acting and the make-up of clown-proportions - the whole ancient feel of a silent movie - create a haunting atmosphere. Not only does the viewer feel as if he himself was in the dark about the spooky ongoings, he seems to be taken back to an early age long before mankind could rely on science.

If you're familiar with Lovecraft's novella, you might think that it's impossible to make this rather complicated and possibly special effects demanding story into a silent movie with only 45 minutes running time. Leman somehow pulls it off, though, and proves that less is more. His characters only "say" the most important things we need to know to follow the storyline. A lot of it is explained by facial expressions, newspaper clippings or diary entries. Special effects wise, Leman stays true to the silent film genre without making Cthulhu look ridiculous. The monster is only hinted at in shadows and quick cuts. This may sound weird again, but you have to watch the movie to see how it works.

"The Call Of Cthulhu" remains faithful to both, the original Lovecraft story and the silent movie genre (one little complaint I have would be that the camera-work on the first boat scene looks a little too improved for a silent movie, but that's really being nitpicky). As old-fashioned and reduced as this movie might be, it's still spooky as hell and more effective than most modern popcorn horror flicks.

This film was a great filler for the afternoon. It's the sort of thing that only fans of Lovecraft would actually enjoy. It's black and white and silent, the way a film actually would have been made at the time Lovecraft published his first work featuring Cthulu. The effects are done in a similar manner, looking old fashioned. They're not embarrassingly bad, though. You see no strings or unintentional shadows from off stage. It's not quite an hour long, so don't plan an evening around it. Also, there's no nudity, foul language or awful gore, so if you want, you can watch it with your kids and explain to them the mythology of Lovecraft's Old Ones.

A man inherits his great-uncle's papers and finds that his uncle had been investigating some strange occurrences surrounding a lost ship at sea and a man's exotic dreams. The nephew picks up the investigation where his uncle left off and is soon driven quite mad.

Let me say the obvious: this film is artistically a masterpiece beyond a doubt. The way the director decided to give it a 1920s feel with the picture quality (to match the time period) as well as making it something like a silent movie (none of the dialog is heard and only some of it appears written on a frame by itself) is awesome. Some people might rag on the picture for this technique or perhaps because it's not exactly like a 1920s picture, but I think it turned out well. Who wants an exact copy of the 1920s style? I'd just watch an older film then (like "Metropolis").

The story is also quite good, even if it is really simple and open-ended. I've heard people complain about plot holes, but I didn't notice any of that. I found a man who dreamed of Cthulhu and carved tablets, and another man who landed on an island with a Cthulhu cult actively trying to raise him. They interconnect, and if the viewer doesn't catch this they aren't paying attention (which is crucial when there's no words spoken).

I also felt the people behind this had a deep love and admiration for Lovecraft, which is essential. They nailed the outfits and the relics -- I couldn't imagine them any better than they appear in this film. I would have liked to see Miskatonic University rather than the university they chose, but I suppose there's the chance of overdoing it.

Really, if you like Lovecraft or artsy films, do check this one out. It's very short (less than an hour) so if you end up not liking it you're not really wasting time. I'm not sure how easy it is to come by; my source of videos is pretty impressive with the independent and rare films. But if you should come across this one, grab it. Definitely worth a watch.

The story is classic Lovecraft, a man recounts how his discovery of secret knowledge has driven him over the edge and brought him close to death. Its the framework that Lovecraft used again and again to tell his stories of horror. Here the story is that of the cult of Cthulhu which he discovers upon the death of his Great Uncle, a man who was himself driven to the edge of madness and to death by the secrets he uncovered. Essentially a series of flashbacks and narratives this film builds a great deal of unease as bits of story and coincidence create an a narrative that has unpleasant implications. Its not the kind of think that will make you jump out of your seat, but it will make you want to turn the light back on.

Shot now (2005) but in the style of a 1926 silent film this movie manages to make what could be very silly seem very real and menacing. There is something about the black and white imagery that makes it all seem very possible. Many people have said the story was un-filmable because of its structure of multiple tales and because if not handled correctly the hysteria felt by some characters would just be silly, this film however has proved it can be done and in a very satisfying manner.

The film's flaws are mostly technical and except in one case minor. The film, which appears to have been shot on digital video for the most part looks good, though in sequence where fire is seen the film takes on an odd appearance. The films budget also has a some stark sets that seem more like a set than place. Still they are minor complaints. The one major complaint is Cthulhu himself, which is clearly a stop motion model. While its understandable that because of the nature of the beast this was probably the way to go (and probably close to how he might have looked in 1926 had he been put on screen back then), it still removes some degree of the horror that had been created prior to this point. Ultimately its a minor quibble because whats goes before and after makes up for it.

If you like classic horror and the writing of HP Lovecraft see this movie.(just remember its suppose to have been made in 1926, not now). 8 out of 10, one of the best Lovecraft films to get Lovecraft right.