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The Call of Cthulhu (2005) More at IMDbPro »
33 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
Best Lovecraft movie ever... and it's mute!, 31 January 2008
Author: agersomnia from Mexico
This is the best adaptation of any H.P. Lovecraft movie ever made, either by fans or big studio. It's a silent movie, done in a style that makes it look almost as if truly made long years ago.
The script comes directly from the Call of Cthulhu story, with virtually no alterations whatsoever.
It has been done to look as an old movie (from the times when Lovecraft was alive), so the F/X department are appropriately rudimentary or done in modern media to replicate the original ones.
Direct influences to the style are Metropolis, Faust, and Nosferatu; 3 great silent movies.
23 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Easily the Best HPL Adaptation Ever, 9 February 2008
Author: AlamoNation from United States
We're not likely to ever get a project as faithful to the source material as we did with the HPLHS's incredible production of 'The Call of Cthulhu.' At least not out of Hollywood.
Making it a silent flick was a novel approach - especially when you consider that the Lovecraft story was written in 1926, when silent pictures hadn't quite yet come to the end of their glory days.
The performances are quite nice and are a little over the top - which is necessary for a silent movie since they're having to convey the emotion of the story with just their faces. Matt Foyer carries the movie along extremely well and I loved David Mersault's portrayal of Legrasse.
Amongst my friends I have three fellow Lovecraft lovers. I bought the DVD the day it was available at the HPLHS's site and as soon as it arrived we had a viewing party here at my apartment on the widescreen. Needless to say, everyone loved it.
Music is as important to any film - doubly so if that's a silent film. Chad Fifer, Ben Holbrook, Troy Sterling Nies and Nicholas Pavkovic turn in a thrilling score.
The DVD's also got some fantastic 'Behind the Scenes' bits that go into what it took to make the movie which is quite entertaining.
'The Call of Cthulhu' is fantastic, and I expect even more from the upcoming HPLHS take on 'The Whisperer in the Darkness.' Huzzah!
16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant Small-Budget Adaptation, 26 March 2008
Author: t_mcbee from Ft. Worth, Texas
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
A friend of mine received "Call of Cthulhu" as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and called me a few days later feverishly insisting that I must have a go at it. As an avid reader of Lovecraft I wanted so badly for his lavish praises of the film to reveal themselves upon viewing. So many of us have seen the mediocre, sophomoric efforts that have defined the Lovecraft cinema genre and I feared this would be just one more in this long, sad line.
To my great surprise though, the film is a minor masterpiece. Making the work an homage to the great silent era of cinema is perhaps the best choice the filmmakers made. Since they were hamstrung with an obviously low-budget, the use of black and white and grainy effect allow for the use of cheaper special-effects without making the whole thing a cheap, campy affair.
The way in which these effects are employed provide both a conduit for suspense and create the "cyclopean" architecture of R'lyeh, the land from which Great Cthulhu ascends after a terrible storm exposes the terrible island from its dead sleep. A group of Norweigen sailors run aground on the island and we see the shadowy figure of Cthulhu emerge from his layer and terrify the sailors of the schooner, "Emma".
The scene at sea is probably the most dramatic but the film deftly utilizes these effects in the scene of the cult in the Louisiana Delta, and in its portrait of the Inuit Cult worshiping the same hideous figure that was found aboard the Emma.
It felt like everything in this film came together in such a manner to produce a truly genuine and truly masterful cinematic version of Lovecraft's classic of horror literature. I only hope now that Guillermo Del Toro will persevere in making "At The Mountains of Madness" and then perhaps we will have a big-budget Lovecraft masterpiece to complement the small-budget "Cthulhu".
Obviously, I found this film to be a triumph on the grounds that no big studio had anything to do with it and the budget was raised in a grass-roots type of effort.
18 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
A great Lovecraftian film, 18 January 2008
Author: Iwasthefirstmarshman from United States
This film was a great filler for the afternoon. It's the sort of thing that only fans of Lovecraft would actually enjoy. It's black and white and silent, the way a film actually would have been made at the time Lovecraft published his first work featuring Cthulu. The effects are done in a similar manner, looking old fashioned. They're not embarrassingly bad, though. You see no strings or unintentional shadows from off stage. It's not quite an hour long, so don't plan an evening around it. Also, there's no nudity, foul language or awful gore, so if you want, you can watch it with your kids and explain to them the mythology of Lovecraft's Old Ones.
20 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
A Classic tale teated in a classic manner, 29 December 2007
Author: eahazell42-1 from Harrisburg Pa
It seems that too many people have little or no appreciation for the art of film making and its history. Being a huge Lovecraft fan and been very disappointed in just about every film adaptation of his works I skeptically found this gem a refreshing change. What could have been its down fall make sit work. Of course those jaded folks who need their horror served up with heaps of blood, guts and slick CGI effects are in for a disappointment. The effects are what they are but even a stop motion of Mighty Cthulhu and classic film tricks don't take away from the challenge, a film adaptation of Lovecraft that is true, this is it. It should appeal to those of high intellect who read the works of Lovecraft in spite of the many short comings in literary style ( I love the themes but how many times can a man us "cyclopean" or "unspeakable, unnamable" "eldritch" "ichor" laden horrors and in every tale?) Better writers then me have noted that his style is ponderous yet his influence and contributions to his genre cannot be missed. Mighty Cthulhu rises from his cold deathless sleep and moves to steal mankind's soul and sanity in a film adaptation that will give a fan of the master a true tale and a good initiation to the novice of the shapes horrors that creep in unnatural geometric chasms between the depths of distant stars gnawing away at the worlds end!! So a silent film made to seem as if it was made in the time of the tale, a vehicle to keep cost down and yet disguise what could be cheesy effects into a subtle nod to the greats such as mighty Kong in all his claymation glory and Harryhausen with all his twisted vision: Cthulhu Lives in this great little treat!!
10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Call of Cthulhu- a good film, 20 February 2008
Author: dark-knight387 from United Kingdom
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This film was made by enthusiasts- the HPL society, its Black & white and silent and has it's own intrinsic charm .
**Please note this is not, repeat not Cthulhu- 2007 which is a totally different film for which bad post sometimes appear on this films board.
The film has not got flashy expensive special effects, it does however have effectively used low budget effects, lighting, prop's and camera angles, the Cthulhu model could not be better produced on the budget available and offers a focus for viewers expectations in the style of "Night of the demon". The acting for dialogue is good and in the silent era of emphasis on expression, the action sequences are somewhat pantomimes but 1930's stage style depend more on story and dialogue than over the top- one hit makes you spin three times through the air before you hit the floor like most modern action films! The film is as it was made to be and is a worthy production. Throw the King Kong budget at it with a top notch Director and a professional acting cast and not just a face! and you may make a better version of Call of Cthulhu until then this one is the best HPL example so far. HPL had his faults but is recognised as the father of modern horror, I've read the Gothic blue books and 21st C horror and HPL is still effective and my favourite. I bought the film not expecting anything much but I was very happy to have watched it and will try other HPL society productions.
8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
From the vault of F.W. Murnau?, 30 May 2008
Author: ackstasis from Australia
Is 'The Call of Cthulhu (2005)' the finest adaptation of a H.P. Lovecraft story to date? It's an interesting question, but unfortunately not one that I can answer, since he's an author whose name I'd never heard until I watched this film. From what I've been able to gather, Lovecraft (1890-1937) – a fellow with a particularly formidable glare, judging from his photograph – was an American author of horror, fantasy and science-fiction, collectively known as "weird fiction." His short story "The Call of Cthulhu" was first published in 1928, and was long deemed unfilmable, until first-time director Andrew Leman took up the challenge. In a moment of inspired genius, it was decided to film the story as though, indeed, it had been produced in the 1920s, as a black-and-white silent film, with more than just a hint of German Expressionism. This artistic decision successfully obscures the production's presumably-restricted budget, and, not only does it look great, but any apparent faults actually work in the film's favour, harking back to an era when imagination preceded realism.
Though Lovecraft's story doesn't really go anywhere, and is so terribly convoluted that once we're even treated to a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a flashback, it is also consistently engaging, steadily uncoiling a thread of mystery and intrigue. When a man (Matt Foyer) uncovers the ill-fated research of his late uncle, he comes to learn of a dangerous and enigmatic cult, which worships a monstrous alien deity named Cthulhu. Through dreams, journals and historical documents, the man uncovers a baffling string of inexplicable coincidences, and uncovers the truth behind the disappearance of a ship's crew on an uncharted Pacific island. The narrative structure – perhaps modelled on the flashback framing device of 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)' – works better than it probably should, accumulating an assortment of seemingly-unrelated tales into a puzzle that slowly forms before our eyes, then ending with just as much uncertainty and ambiguity as we had to begin with. We get the sense that there's a lot more to this mystery than we've been told.
The films works most successfully as an affectionate and endearing homage to the Gothic horrors of the 1920s, most noticeably Robert Wiene's 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' and F.W. Murnau's 'Faust (1926).' All the stylistic elements – the emphatic overacting, the stodgy special effects, the distorted cardboard sets – contribute effectively towards evoking the desired atmosphere. The musical score adds a dramatic touch to the proceedings, and, against all logic, I actually found the ominous charge of Cthulhu to be quite a creepy spectacle. 'The Call of Cthulhu,' like all films, appears to have its fair share of dissenters, but I imagine the bulk of them to have had very little experience in silent cinema. If this is the case, it's understandable than many might have difficulty in understanding both the film's thematic and stylistic references. At only 47-minutes in length, Andrew Leman's entertaining Gothic thriller is very much worthwhile, and probably my favourite completely silent film since… well, let's just say it starred Charles Chaplin.
10 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth seeing, 25 February 2008
Author: Pagadan from United States
There's a much more favorable review in the February 2008 issue of Alexiad (literary SF fanzine). That review also points out that the film is retro (black & white silent film), which works better than lots of money spent on CGI. And, by the way, it gives the URL of this website, which is how I found you. (Too many movies based on H. P. Lovecraft's stories used only some names. Reminds me of the Hollywood producers who bought the rights to Andre Norton's Beastmaster so they could use the name and some characters. And also White Witch Doctor, among others.) I'm going to recommend this movie to the guy in charge of the video room at my favorite SF convention.
16 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Lovecraft Probably Would've Loved It, 23 November 2007
Author: fwomp from United States
H.P. Lovecraft is often credited with launching the true horror genre we know today. Many claim him as an inspiration, including the current master of dark dreams Stephen King. Difficulties in bringing his cerebral literary content to the silver screen have been mentioned time and again, and with good reason. How can you explain a man's dream experiences that even he can't explain?
When I learned that a society dedicated to Lovecraft's work decided to take on a movie version of his most famous story, THE CALL OF CTHULHU, I cringed. How could a small group of people do justice to such a magnificent piece of horror fiction?
Well the cast and crew do it justice even if the script fails a bit. The black-and-white silent picture theme went exceptionally well with the telling of a tale so old (1920s). The sets were equally impressive, especially the pivotal dreamscapes and the retelling of the Pacific Island that belonged to Cthulhu, this terrible being from the beginning of time.
Since not many of the cast were actually established actors, it was an excellent idea to do a homage to the silent film era, too. Undoubtedly, if forced to do a modern-style film of Lovecraft's story, they would've failed miserably. But as it stands here, this film pays homage and respect to both old filming styles and a Lovecraftian feel.
It's also a blessing and a curse that the film is only 47 minutes long. The blessing is that most movie watchers of today couldn't handle a 90 - 120 minute silent film (or at least few could). The curse is that the script jumps around a lot. We move back three time-frames at one point, each time adding confusion f the viewer ("Where are we again?"). I realize that the crew wanted to remain true to Lovecraft's work, but cinema often takes liberties with the written word, and I feel this film could've benefited from a bit of that as well.
Even so, this is a fresh piece of cinematic work that entertains and surprises. The special features on the DVD are also worth watching (except when the director is talking while eating a bag of potato chips), including commentaries from the cast and crew about this monumental undertaking from such a small band of dedicated Lovecraft lovers.
6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent!, 21 July 2008
Author: hund-12
After watching a lot of awful Lovecraftian movies, I didn't really expect more than maybe another "Re-animator" which, having little to do with the actual HPL's short story, was pretty funny. However, something was strange about this movie - I discovered it by chance, three years after the premiere (and I call myself a Cthulhu-fanboy!), it's only 47 minutes long, black and white and, what's most interesting, mute!
Well, I am simply astonished. I watched it alone at night, with a glass of wine, and loved the experience. It's like I traveled back to 1920's: the acting, make-up, scenery, even special effects! There's no gore or brutality, it's all about the plot and its suspense. What's more, it's the most faithful adaptation of a HPL's story I've ever seen (which is quite obvious as it was produced by H.P. Lovecraft's Historical Society). This is simply a must-see.
I've read some of the negative reviews, and I think that those people have either never heard of H.P. Lovecraft (therefore the plot might have seemed bizarre) or just didn't get the 1920's style. If you love HPL and/or really old movies, no longer hesitate :)
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