The Call of Cthulhu (film)

The Call of Cthulhu is a 2005 independent silent film adaptation of the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu", produced by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman and distributed by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. It is the first film adaptation of the famous Lovecraft story, and uses Mythoscope, a blend of vintage and modern filming techniques intended to produce the look of a 1920s-era film. The film is the length of a featurette.

The Call of Cthulhu
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrew Leman
Produced bySean Branney
Andrew Leman
Screenplay bySean Branney
Based on"The Call of Cthulhu"
by H. P. Lovecraft
StarringJohn Bolen
Ralph Lucas
Chad Fifer
John Klemantaski
Jason Owens
D. Grigsby Poland
David Mersault
Narrated byMatt Foyer
Music byTroy Sterling Nies
Ben Holbrook
Nicholas Pavkovic
Chad Fifer
CinematographyDavid Robertson
Edited byDavid Robertson
Distributed byH. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
Release date
  • June 6, 2005 (2005-06-06)
Running time
47 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film begins with a dying professor who leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew (Matt Foyer) 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. Sailors aboard the Emma encounter the Alert abandoned at sea. The nephew notes that Inspector Legrasse, who had directed the raid on cultists in backwoods Louisiana, died before the nephew's investigation began. As he pieces together the dreadful and disturbing reality of the situation, his own sanity begins to crumble. In the end, he passes the torch to his psychiatrist, who in turn hears Cthulhu's call.

Cast
  • Matt Foyer as Francis Wayland Thurston
  • John Bolen as The Listener
  • Ralph Lucas as Professor Angell
  • Chad Fifer as Henry Wilcox
  • David Mersault as Inspector Legrasse
  • Barry Lynch as Professor Webb

Release

The Call of Cthulhu was selected to appear at numerous film festivals,[1] including the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival and North America's largest, the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, where it sold out both screenings thanks in part to a glowing review from The Stranger, a local paper.[2]

Reception

Despite the long-standing conventional wisdom that the story was inherently "unfilmable",[3] The Call of Cthulhu garnered mostly positive reception from critics. It holds 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.1/10 based on 6 reviews.[4]

Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews rated the film a grade B, writing, "[a] haunting labor of love tribute", praising the film's style, and score.[5] Paul di Filippo of Science Fiction Weekly called it "the best HPL adaptation to date", labeling the decision to adapt it as a silent film "a brilliant conceit".[6] Daniel Siwek from DVD Talk gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "very eerie and enjoyable", and A true testament to what can be accomplished with a lot of work and passion, but with limited funds."[7] DW Bostaph Jr from Dread Central awarded the film a score of 4/5, writing, "Ambitious in its own right, The Call of Cthulhu is indeed a step forward for the world of H. P. Lovecraft cinema. It is one of a handful of new films made by fans of the late great authors work, who not only see the prospect in the mines, but are able to understand the rock they are hidden within".[8] David Cornelius from eFilmCritic gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, praising the film's soundtrack, writing, "What's truly great about Cthulhu is that it not only sets out to impress the hardcore Lovecraft fanatic, but fans of classic and/or experimental independent film as well. While it stumbles in places, both in terms of storytelling and presentation of its gimmick, it's such a unique project, and the love for the project by all involved is so contagious, that it becomes one of those special hidden secrets that you can't wait to introduce to your friends."[9]

In their book Lurker in the Lobby: The Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft, Andrew Migliore and John Strysik write: "The Call of Cthulhu is a landmark adaptation that calls out to all Lovecraftian film fanatics — from its silent film form, its excellent cast, its direction, and its wonderful musical score... this is Cthulhuian cinema that Howard would have loved."[10]

Awards

The Call of Cthulhu received various awards, including:

  • Best Feature at Eerie Horror Film Festival (2006)[11]
  • Prix Tournage for the Best American Movie at 23rd Avignon Film Festival (2006)[12]
  • Audience Choice at Another Hole in the Head (2006)[13]
  • Vuze Audience Favorites Winner (2007/2008)[14]
gollark: And here I was thinking they might want to be forewarned of any mildly evil project I made or something...
gollark: That prompted me to check my stuff, and hydraz/matheus followed me on github for some reason? How odd.
gollark: Wait, you have projects involvng web terminal thingies?
gollark: I was mostly looking at the API for image drawing itself.
gollark: Hmm, I feel stupider now.

References
  1. "The Call of Cthulhu - an HPLHS Motion Picture". cthulhulives.org. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  2. Steinbacher, Bradley (June 5, 2006). "'The Call of Cthulhu'". The Stranger. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  3. Sundance: The Good, Bad and Ugly
  4. "The Call of Cthulhu (1969)- Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  5. Schwartz, Dennis. "callofthecthulhu". Sover.net. Dennis Schwartz. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  6. "Syfy". Syfy. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  7. Sinnott, John. "The Call of Cthulhu : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVD Talk.com. John Sinnott. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  8. Bostaph, D. "Call of Cthulhu, The (2005) - Dread Central". Dread Central.com. DW Bostaph Jr. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. Cornelius, David. "Movie Review - Call of Cthulhu, The - eFilmCritic". eFilmCritic.com. David Cornelius. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  10. Migliore, Andrew; Strysik, John (February 1, 2006). Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft. Night Shade Books. ISBN 978-1892389350.
  11. "Event Report: Eerie Horror Fest 2006!". Dread Central. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  12. "23rd Avignon Film Festival awards". fest21.com. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. "Another Hole in the Head". sfindie.com. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  14. Cinequest film festival Archived 2012-07-29 at Archive.today
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