The Call of Cthulhu – Classic Lovecraft Done In A Style He Would Have Appreciated

By Dark Starr

When I heard that a movie adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” was in the works I was excited. Lovecraft is my favorite author and (while there are stories of his that I like better” COC is in many ways the biggie – the one that comes in heads above so many more – one might say that based on the presence of the big tentacle headed one himself, alone even. Still, the story itself derives a lot of its power and energy from the atmosphere and themes – as is the case with a lot of Lovecraft. That aspect would be seem hard to produce in film format. Add to that the truth that most films based on the work of the old gentleman from Providence essentially borrowed his name and not much more. While films like “Reanimator” and “From Beyond” were often entertaining, they seldom had more of a link to the original work than a few character names or a locale. So, looking at all these facts, I had mixed expectations of “The Call of Cthulhu” – and that’s without knowing the real kickers.

The first key point in my pre-knowledge of the film is concerned was finding out that the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society was the group producing the movie. I was familiar with them through their musical tributes to Lovecraft “A Shoggoth on the Roof” and “A Very Scary Solstice.” Both of those show both a definite tongue in cheek sense of humor and a undeniable respect and love for the source material – H.P.L.’s work. This made me exceptionally hopeful for the outcome. However, then I found out that the film was going to be done in the style that it would have been filmed in had they done it at the time Lovecraft wrote it – black and white and silent! As one who has occasionally quipped – probably unfunnily – that I paid for a color TV and I’m not going to watch black and white movies, this fact hit me rather hard. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen more than a couple full silent movies – “Metropolis” and Mel Brooks’ send up of that genre being the two exceptions that spring to mind – so you can well imagine that my enthusiasm had by this point turned to mild trepidation.

The day finally arrived when the DVD was in my mailbox, so the anticipation would be over. My first viewing left me a bit un-impressed, though. Frankly, my distaste for the movie style – while fully appreciating the artistic brilliance of doing it in that mode – made me feel a bit lost in watching. Undeterred, though, I made my way through some of the behind the scenes footage that is included on the disc. This stuff is great, and really gives an appreciation for all that goes on in making a low budget film. There is some definite hilarity in there as well. That making of featurette also gave me the understanding I needed to sit down and really enjoy the film itself on the subsequent viewings. So, my review of the movie is based on seeing it after those bonus features, when I could truly savor it.

First off, it’s obvious in looking at this film just how hard they worked at achieving a legitimate retro texture. The makeup, lighting, costumes and sets are exactly what one would expect from a film of that period. They even went so far as to put scratches, blemishes and the occasional errant hair into the mix to give that “old movie” feel. The music is very well done – but considering the strength of the HPLHS in creating sounds that part didn’t surprise me. What they created for a soundtrack is something, which upon intent listening reveals itself to be modern, but which in simply letting the film play out feels completely in keeping with the period intent of the production. The point that in many ways is important, though this film stays very true to the spirit and the essence of the original story. This in itself makes the movie a monster of a success, but that’s far from the only thing that this has going for it.

For Cthulhu himself they used stop action filming and a model. Now know doubt a modern movie production would have created a good-looking creature with cgi – and made the whole film around that creation without regard to the story. While in some ways I would have preferred a tastefully executed and sparingly used (the Old One himself only features a tiny bit in the story – although the tale centers around his existence) cgi version, this stop action rendering is in keeping with the genre of the film and recalls a simpler film monster era. That said, the movement of Cthulhu seems a bit fast and choppy – he almost looks like a cartoon animation at times. While this is a bit disconcerting, in some ways it seems appropriate that an ultra-powerful and completely alien behemoth like Cthulhu would move in ways that look very different to us. Plus, it seems more frightening that something that big can move so quickly.

There are those who might have issues with the way the sky looks in Cthulhu’s home city of R'lyeh (seeming very “fake”), but Lovecraft in the story makes mention of the fact that the sky even seemed artificial or constructed – therefore making this factor a plus rather than a detriment. All in all, these guys have turned in a classy, and certainly the most accurate adaptation of Lovecraft’s work. I would love to see them take on some other of his stories – if you’re listening “Pickman’s Model” has always been a favorite of mine. If you are fan of old horror films in general or just a Lovecraft aficionado, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It’s obvious that it doesn’t have anything near the budget one sees in Hollywood films these days, but they really put a lot of heart, soul, love of the story and ingenuity into this one – and that along with the strength of the source material really makes this one a winner!

Some related links: www.cthulhulives.org/CoC/movieinfo.html and www.cthulhulives.org/toc.html