The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft
by Andrew H. Leman
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DVD details
Actor: David Mersault, Matt Foyer, Noah WagnerDirector: Andrew H. Leman
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); German (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Swedish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 72 minutes
Published: 2005
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Microcinema DVD
DVD Reviews of The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft
DVD Review: Finally, An Adaptation for Lovecraftians!
Summary: 5 Stars
I do not want to rehash all the excellent things in the reviews of my fellows. But I too exult that we finally have an adaptation of a Lovecraft story that cleaves almost precisely to the story. (The only major changes in the story being making Thurston, the narrator, an inmate of an insame asylum, and his uncle dying in bed rather than from what is probably an assassin in the form of a "Lascar" bumping him on the street.)
For having been made on so small a budget, its realization of the more fantastic elements in the story-- the risen city of R'lyeh, and Great Cthulhu him(it?)self, are splendid. The expressionistic geometries of R'lyeh are admirably brought out. And as an added bonus, the filmakers actually went to Providence and filmed at the real Fleur-de-Lis Building, so vividly described in the story (and one can see how true Lovecraft's judgment of its style is!).
In my opinion, the many previous "adaptations" from Lovecraft have ranged from abysmal to fair; the best, perhaps, though again not being totally true to the stories, being two segments on NIGHT GALLERY-- their rendition of "Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air". Among film adaptations, many have been wretched. In fact, some of the most Lovecraftian films have been only just that-- "Lovecraftian" rather an an adaption of a specific story; a good example being GHOSTBUSTERS, minus the broad comedy elements. Another is THE THING, adapyted from a story ("Who Goes There?") itself inspired and party adapted from what is arguably one of Lovecraft's greatest, "At the Mountains of Madness". Even AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON was extremely Lovecraftian, more so than actual film adaptations of his work (till now, at least!).
Anyhow: HIGHLY recommended even to real aficionadoes of the master; we can only wait with baited breath for the release of the HPLHS's next work, said to be an adaptation of "The Whisperer in Darkness", done in the style of a 1930s Universal horror film. Hope it's released soon!
DVD Review: Answer the Call
Summary: 5 Stars
THE CALL OF CTHULHU is that long dreamed of but seemingly impossible feat--a film that is absolutely true to the work of author H.P. Lovecraft! Financed and filmed by members of the HPL Historical Society, this black & white silent film was wisely designed to appear as if it had been filmed during Lovecraft's lifetime and this decision is undoubtedly the biggest factor in its success. There aren't any high tech CGI monsters here either, just good old fashioned stop-motion animation which is extremely well done which also adds to the film's appeal and its feeling of authenticity. The film clocks in at a brief 45 minutes or so, but there are at least that many minutes of special features which are just as much fun to watch as the movie is. The story concerns a young man who is called upon to manage his dying uncle's estate and in the course of discharging his duties he comes across some mysterious papers detailing his uncle's lifelong obsession with the bizarre and secretive Cthulhu Cult. Before he knows it the young man is drawn into the mystery himself and his uncle's obsession becomes his own. THE CALL OF CTHULHU is a well-crafted work of love that should be seen by every fan of the genre. On second thought, don't just rent it--BUY it!
DVD Review: Labor of Love
Summary: 5 Stars
Generally speaking, Lovecraft has been done and immense disservice by the film industry. B-rated films based on his weaker stories (Reanimator) have been tasteless, objectionable, and certain to prejudice the intelligent viewer against the eldritch author.
Praise be the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (HPLHS), the group of talented aficionados who produced this film. This Call of Cthulhu is the closest any film has come to true Lovecraft, and is a must for any Lovecraft fan. I also highly recommend visiting the society's website http://www.cthulhulives.org/toc.html for other tasteful tributes to the mythos.
DVD Review: Saturday Night With Cthulhu
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always loved scary stories. One of the few positive memories I have from my childhood was staying up with my father and watching classic Universal monster movies in a rocking chair. I loved scary comics like CREEPY and EERIE and monster comics like Marvel's WEREWOLF BY NIGHT (I remember, when I was about 9 or so, scrambling around the desolation of our suburban neighborhood by moonlight in a torn shirt pretending I was the werewolf). I could quote Edgar Allen Poe, and read all the horror I could get hands on from DRACULA to "The Monkey's Paw" to SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. Well, I read most things I could get my hands on. But horror was among my favorites.
The first fiction I ever read that actually scared me, though, was H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Dunwich Horror." This tale offered up an unspeakable invisible horror terrorizing a New England landscape that took root in my imagination with such force that I remember laying in my dark room at night, wanting to sleep, but watching the window waiting to see a thing I could not see...which of course doesn't make sense, but to my kid's mind it sure did.
That tale, I found out, was just one in Lovecraft's cycle of stories that are known as the Cthulhu Mythos. These stories tell us that beyond our ken, out in the darkness of space or in the depths of the sea or in other dimensions, ancient gods older than time are hungrily waiting to get back to our world and destroy our reality. Chief among them is the sleeping god Cthulhu...
Lovecraft's work has been highly influential, and Cthulhu and other elements from the mythos have appeared widely in other creator's work. Neil Gaiman and Stephen King have written tales involving these ancient evils, as have Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, and Ramsey Campbell. Rod Serling's NIGHT GALLERY adapted some of Lovecraft's work, the creators of the film ALIEN cited Lovecraft as an influence, and The Simpsons and Jon Stewart have made Cthulhu references. A huge library of Lovecraftian material for roleplaying games (traditional face-to-face games, not video) exists, springing from Chaosium's classic CALL OF CTHULHU (titled after one of the original stories). Lovecraft allusions pop up in the songs of Black Sabbath and Metallica. There have been Cthulhu video games, like "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth", and many, many bits of lore and homage in games from "Alone in the Dark" to "World of Warcraft." Mike Mignola's Hellboy, both in comics and in film, draws heavily on the Cthulhu Mythos.
And there have been movies. Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND are popular adaptations of Lovecraft's work, though they supply an over-the-top gore and campiness that are a far cry from the humorless, dark terror of the original tales. Gordon's DAGON, an adaptation of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," was far more effective, and creepy, telling the tale of a coastal village overrun by the cult of Dagon, one of the ancient gods who turns his followers into mutated fish-folk.
"The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is one of my favorite Lovecraft stories, and DAGON is my favorite Lovecraft film. I like the Dagon stuff so much, in fact, that the evil threat in my novel DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM is an in-the-face homage to the fish god and his followers. The book's as much a love letter to Lovecraft as it is to Doc Savage.
Tonight, I watched one of the more recent films based on Lovecraft's work, 2005's THE CALL OF CTHULHU, based directly on H.P. Lovecraft's 1926 short story. This flick, a selection at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, was produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. It's not just a perfect rendition of Lovecraft's tale, it's brilliantly made in the style of a 1920s black and white silent film, the basic conceit seeming to be "what would a film of the story be like if it had been made when the story was published?" The conceit works not just for novelty's sake and atmosphere, it allows the low budget special effects to shine, resulting in a stylistic, almost German Expressionistic, feel that really suits the story.
This movie works perfectly. I can't recommend it highly enough, both as a Lovecraft adaptation and a work of film art. Apparently the filmmakers are currently at work on a followup, THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS, based on Lovecraft's 1931 story. The producers are continuing their strategy of filming according to the style of the time the story was published, so this one will also be in black and white, but will be a talkie. It's supposed to be out some time this year. In the meantime, get your hands on THE CALL OF CTHULHU, it's a treat.
DVD Review: A key to the doorway of your imagination
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first discovered H.P.Lovecraft in my early teens, I was ambushed - I'd not known such writing even existed - and before the night was through, not only had I finished the slim collection of stories, but I sat, bolt upright in the middle of bed, laughing at myself but not yet daring to stick so much as a toe out from under the covers on the slight chance some tentacled Eldritch creature lay beneath me, fetally curled and waiting. That was the power of Lovecraft.
Sadly it is true that all things pass away, and though I still remember fondly the nauseous horror and gangrene infested foetid smelling tales of the Old Ones, those stories just don't hold the charm for me that they once did. I don't think the rigid grooves of my older brain are capable of projecting that kind of visceral imagery anymore. Maybe that's why, over the years, I've never stopped hoping for a faithul adaptation of Lovecraft's works on film, something to compare to even a fraction of what my mind's eye saw at thirteen.
How excrutiatingly long that wait has been (Beyond the Wall of Sleep, anyone?). And even those filmmakers that attempted it, no matter whether a direct translation or an homage, the film always suffered from at least one of two things, if not both - either the adaptation was poor, or, in the end, they had to show the monster. And what studio, what creator could possibly portray these monstrosities and infuse them with the shattering effect Lovecraft was able to tease out of my imagination? None. No one can. But 'Call of Cthulhu' is as close as I'll probably ever see in my lifetime.
In the end, horror as a genre is a partnership between creator and viewer. A commitment. Usually, as I sit down to watch a movie, the director has my initial investment up front - it's up to him to lose me, and make me forget I'm supposed to be suspending my belief. The creators of 'Cthulhu' must have been aware of that, or lucked into it by budget constraints, because as a silent film, the viewer must invest even more heavily right from the beginning. From that point, though, they skillfully leap over the first hurdle in filming Lovecraft's work - the adaptation. Faithfully, they follow the strange story of a man obsessed with a shadowy cult that his great uncle had been tracking for years prior to his death. Strange events are collated and pieced together by the nephew (executor of his great uncle's estate) until a frightful picture emerges of an alien god who once walked the Earth, and the cultists' efforts to raise him again.
This is where the creators face the second problem - how to show the monster. There are fans and casual watchers of this film who will not like the way that Cthulhu was created for the screen. In my mind, it was maybe one of the only ways *to* do it. The more real filmmakers have tried to make their images of the 'Old Ones', the less believable they are. By use of the stop motion techniques, once again, I was required to lend a hand with my own imagination, which is where the true picture (or sensation perhaps) of dead Cthulhu really dreams in his sunken city of R'lyeh. Does the technique make it believable? Of course not. That would be one hell of a movie to convince me of a 25 ft tentacle-faced alien nightmare rising out of the sea. I'd pay good money for that.
But what the creators have done is set up the possibility - if the viewer allows it and, more importantly, wants it - where one's imagination can go hand in hand with the film, complementing it and bringing the tension and creepiness to a higher level than just film alone. That's the true success of this film - whether intentional or not. It's as though the filmmakers fell into a perfect storm of budget constraints and dedicated people - the making of feature is one of the most interesting I've ever watched. From the musical score (fantastic) to the acting (mostly excellent) to the adaptation (only purists will find fault here), this group of enthusiasts have accomplished what no one else (from what I've seen) has been able to - a credible tribute to Lovecraft's work.
A quick note to those unfamiliar with Lovecraft - though you may not have the background to appreciate this film on the level some of his fans might, this is still a highly enjoyable film. Yes, it's in black and white, and yes, it's silent. It was also filmed with almost no money, so the effects will reflect that too. But if you have a little patience, and let yourself go, this is a simple treat of a movie, one that engages the viewer instead of bombarding him with sound and flashing lights, and one who's payoff is directly proportional to your investment.
Description of The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft
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