The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

While sorting the affairs of his late Uncle, a man accidentally stumbles across a series of dark secrets connected to an ancient horror waiting to be freed.

Director:

Andrew Leman

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (short story), Sean Branney (adapted for the screen by)

Stars:

Matt Foyer, John Bolen, Ralph Lucas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Foyer	...	The Man
John Bolen	...	The Listener
Ralph Lucas	...	Professor Angell
Chad Fifer	...	Henry Wilcox
Susan Zucker	...	Landlady
Kalafatic Poole	...	Bartender
John Klemantaski	...	Prof. Bell
Jason Owens	...	Prof. Quintana
D. Grigsby Poland	...	Prof. Tutchton
David Mersault	...	Inspector Legrasse
Barry Lynch	...	Prof. Webb
Dan Novy	...	Esquimaux Shaman / Nameless Cultist
Daryl Ball	...	Officer Cassidy (as Daryl A. Ball)
John Joly	...	Sgt. Bacon
Jason Peterson	...	Officer Stanton

Storyline

A faithful rendition of H.P. Lovecraft's short story, presented in the style of a silent film from the 1920s. While organizing the affairs of his late Uncle, a man accidentally stumbles across a series of clues toward an ancient horror lurking beneath the sea, waiting for the time when the "Stars are Right" and it shall be free to wreck havoc upon mankind. In his investigation he learns of an artist influenced by strange dreams, a police officer discovering an ancient cult worshiping "Great Cthulhu" and ultimately a tale of sailors encountering sanity-shattering horror as they discover Cthulhu himself.

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Plot Keywords:

h.p. lovecraft | monster | abandoned ship | doctor | death of uncle | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Italian German

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cthulhu hívása

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (HPLHS), The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Named an official selection of the feature competition at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival.

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Goofs

During the escape from the island by 2nd Mate Johansen and the other sailor (the only two surviving crew), Johansen is seen piloting the vessel, using throttles such as are only used on boats with a bell system, with the vessel responding immediately to the changes he makes in the wheelhouse. However, a bell system necessitates that another person manually throttle the engines from below decks, responding to chimes triggered by the throttles in the wheelhouse. Despite this, both survivors are seen in the wheelhouse at the same time during these changes, and it is indicated that only Johansen and (the corpse of) the other crew member were recovered from the ship.

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Crazy Credits

Violators of HPLHS copyrights may have their eyes plucked out by byakhee as they sleep.

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Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: Let It Bleed (2011)

User Reviews

Best Locecraft movie ever!

Howart Phillips Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) wrote a lot of weird fiction stories, which all play with the fears of the reader. Unfortunately he is mostly known by film geeks for delivering the novels on which splatter and gore movies like "Re-Animator" are based upon.

This is the only movie so far (except lots of fan movies) that handles his novel right!

Lovecraft lived in the 1920s and 30s, and wrote an published his famous story "The Call of Cthulhu" in 1928, so it was a good choice to do it as a silent movie! With the overacting, like in old silent movies. With simple special effects, like in old silent movies. What it's best: it gets the feel and flair of the original story right. Even if the viewer might find this kind of suspense noir out of date: THIS IS HOW THE ORIGINAL STORY WAS WRITTEN! I would be happy if more movies based upon novels would try to really film the book, and not to make a movie-that-makes-a-lot-of-money-but-is-only-BASED-upon-the-book.

If you are interested to see this movie because you liked the splatter movies associated with the name H.P. Lovecraft, then avoid this film. If you are REALLY interested in seeing Lovecraft films right, you MUST have seen this one.