The Call of Cthulhu (2005)
October 26, 2022 10:18 AM - Subscribe
A dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own.
This is a silent movie, and is as much a homage to the German Expressionist films of the 1920s as it is to the original source material. I saw a wag refer to as the "Cabinet of Dr. Cthulhu," and they aren't wrong. It's an inspired choice, driven in part by the miniscule budget, but perhaps the best possible approach to the movie. The language of those films--where internal horror and instability is reflected externally--is perfect for a Lovecraft movie.
This was a production of the HP Lovecraft Historical society; it did the convention and festival circuit but had its time on Netflix (which is where I first saw it). Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be streaming available at the moment; the DVD is available for any old timers who do the Netflix rental.
This is a silent movie, and is as much a homage to the German Expressionist films of the 1920s as it is to the original source material. I saw a wag refer to as the "Cabinet of Dr. Cthulhu," and they aren't wrong. It's an inspired choice, driven in part by the miniscule budget, but perhaps the best possible approach to the movie. The language of those films--where internal horror and instability is reflected externally--is perfect for a Lovecraft movie.
This was a production of the HP Lovecraft Historical society; it did the convention and festival circuit but had its time on Netflix (which is where I first saw it). Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be streaming available at the moment; the DVD is available for any old timers who do the Netflix rental.
I bought this DVD, though I think I lost it in a move. Really well done! One bit I especially enjoyed was a bit where someone scaling the bizarre geometry of R’lyeh falls and is swallowed up by a corner—it must have been a lowest-tech-possible trick with a forced perspective set, but it worked extremely well.
posted by ejs at 12:32 PM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by ejs at 12:32 PM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm a big fan of the HPLHS and of early horror film, so this is right up my alley. I bought the dvd when it first came out and was likewise really impressed by how well they both emulated the feel of a silent horror film and managed the impossible geometry. I also enjoyed their Whisperer in Darkness, but I feel like this one better captured the period of film they were trying to emulate.)
I should dig the dvd out and rewatch it.
posted by darchildre at 1:45 PM on October 26, 2022
I should dig the dvd out and rewatch it.
posted by darchildre at 1:45 PM on October 26, 2022
I remember this one! I think we bought the DVD at GenCon one year. Nice guys, fun movie. It's definitely worth a watch, for those who haven't seen it.
posted by daikaisho at 3:00 PM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by daikaisho at 3:00 PM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
One bit I especially enjoyed was a bit where someone scaling the bizarre geometry of R’lyeh falls and is swallowed up by a corner—it must have been a lowest-tech-possible trick with a forced perspective set, but it worked extremely well.
And as a bonus, it was a direct reference to a line in the original story!
I still have the DVD, though I haven't watched it in a while, though the film is extremely well done.
It's an inspired choice, driven in part by the miniscule budget, but perhaps the best possible approach to the movie.
If memory serves me correctly, either from the DVD extras or talking with people at the booth where I bought the DVD at GenCon, but the concept was "What if someone had made a movie of CoC just after it was published in the '20s?" Which, I agree, was inspired.
posted by Gelatin at 4:44 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
And as a bonus, it was a direct reference to a line in the original story!
I still have the DVD, though I haven't watched it in a while, though the film is extremely well done.
It's an inspired choice, driven in part by the miniscule budget, but perhaps the best possible approach to the movie.
If memory serves me correctly, either from the DVD extras or talking with people at the booth where I bought the DVD at GenCon, but the concept was "What if someone had made a movie of CoC just after it was published in the '20s?" Which, I agree, was inspired.
posted by Gelatin at 4:44 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh hey, my former roommate Chris Lackey (of the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast) is in this as the sailor who falls into a strange angle in R'lyeh as is my former neighbor Chad Fifer (of same) as Wilcox the artist!
Fun factoid: All of the scenes aboard the ship were filmed in Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman's back yard.
If you have the DVD the making-of extras are a lot of fun, especially the scene where Chad Fifer improvises some wild ranting that doesn't have to match the script at all because it's a silent film.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:57 AM on October 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Fun factoid: All of the scenes aboard the ship were filmed in Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman's back yard.
If you have the DVD the making-of extras are a lot of fun, especially the scene where Chad Fifer improvises some wild ranting that doesn't have to match the script at all because it's a silent film.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:57 AM on October 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Fifer and Lackey are great! I subscribed to the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast for a while, but let it lapse long ago. I see it's now called Strange Studies of Strange Stories! I wish I had time to resubscribe and listen but I have so many unlistened-to podcasts sadly.
posted by JHarris at 5:19 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 5:19 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh also, I bought this DVD, and confirm it's terrific!
posted by JHarris at 5:20 PM on October 27, 2022
posted by JHarris at 5:20 PM on October 27, 2022
That's pretty cool, Parasite Unseen! I've listened to Fifer and Lackey for years now, though this rewatch was the first time I noticed they were directly connected to the movie. (I knew Andrew Leman from their podcast, of course.)
I bought the DVD for this year so need to check out the extras!
posted by mark k at 9:23 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
I bought the DVD for this year so need to check out the extras!
posted by mark k at 9:23 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
the scene where Chad Fifer improvises some wild ranting
"All I wanted were some Sun Chips, but all I got were the black skies of R'lyeh!"
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:39 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
"All I wanted were some Sun Chips, but all I got were the black skies of R'lyeh!"
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:39 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
I also enjoyed their Whisperer in Darkness, but I feel like this one better captured the period of film they were trying to emulate.)
I think both movies are pretty great in their own ways, but while I feel like COC captures the Lovecraft flavor better I think WID departs from Lovecraft in valid, interesting ways. Lovecraft is always bombarding you with this hysterical stuff about cosmic evil and it's spooky and fun but I don't know if anyone is really all that disturbed by it. WID gets authentically, hauntingly dark. When I think of COC I think of the ingenuity and loving fidelity of it all, but when I think of WID I think of the doomed protagonist trying to care for that poor little orphan girl while all this madness is going on around them. The first movie is the best fan film I've ever seen, but the second is just really great as its own thing.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:56 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think both movies are pretty great in their own ways, but while I feel like COC captures the Lovecraft flavor better I think WID departs from Lovecraft in valid, interesting ways. Lovecraft is always bombarding you with this hysterical stuff about cosmic evil and it's spooky and fun but I don't know if anyone is really all that disturbed by it. WID gets authentically, hauntingly dark. When I think of COC I think of the ingenuity and loving fidelity of it all, but when I think of WID I think of the doomed protagonist trying to care for that poor little orphan girl while all this madness is going on around them. The first movie is the best fan film I've ever seen, but the second is just really great as its own thing.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:56 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
It amuses the hell out of me that the Sun Chips line is the one that actually appeared in the movie because it was the best-looking take.
posted by Scattercat at 3:46 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by Scattercat at 3:46 AM on October 29, 2022
My thanks to DirtyOldTown for the YouTube link. That was very entertaining.
posted by wittgenstein at 7:16 PM on October 29, 2022
posted by wittgenstein at 7:16 PM on October 29, 2022
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:56 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]