Cthulhu (2007)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Dan Gildark

Writers:

Grant Cogswell (writer)
Jason Cottle (additional dialogue)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome home...to the end of the world.

Plot:

A Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate...

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Gay | H.P. Lovecraft | Cthulhu | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jason Cottle	...	Russ
Casey Curran	...	Club Kid
Ethan Atkinson	...	SUV Driver
Patrick McKnight	...	SUV Passenger
Cara Buono	...	Dannie
Dennis Kleinsmith	...	Reverend Marsh
Joe Shapiro	...	Barnes
Ruby Wood	...	Girl on Stairs
Hunter Stroud	...	Teen Russ
Keifer Grimm	...	Teen Mike
Rob Hamm	...	Jake
Scott Patrick Green	...	Mike (as Scott Green)
Nancy Stark	...	Aunt Josie
Tom Prince	...	Bartender
Richard Garfield	...	Zadok

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexuality, nudity and violence.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Oregon, USA

Company:

Arkham Northwest Productions

Trivia:

On the crew's last day shooting in Astoria, a storm began which took out all the power in the city for several hours, and ruined three of the film's locations: the windows were blown out of the net shed, ruining thousands of dollars worth of materials stored within: the house where Tori Spelling's character Susan lives was partially destroyed by the fall of the hundred-year-old tree in the driveway (visible in the film); and the entire cul-de-sac on which Julia's house stands came down the hill in a mudslide.

Lovecraft done right!

The best way to describe CTHULHU is "Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Shadow Over Innsmouth." It's a very deliberately-paced movie with long, moody takes and an emphasis on character drama. This film is a completely love-it-or-hate-it affair. People expecting gore and monsters will be disappointed, but art-house horror fans and David Lynch lovers will be in pure bliss.

H.P. fanatics will argue the merits of this one, but the filmmakers are the first to nail the bizarre fever-dream aspect of Lovecraft's writings. There's a lot of nightmarish imagery and nothing is explained or resolved by the end. And while this is a very loose adaptation, there are plenty of nods to the Cthluhu mythos to keep fans happy.

The acting is a little uneven and there are times when the movie feels TOO disjointed, but this cerebral effort is still the closest we've come to seeing true Lovecraft captured on film. Those sick of Stuart Gordon's camp-fests, will find much to love about Cthulhu.