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Cthulhu Watched the "Call of Cthulhu", a sort (46 minutes) movie on Netflix. I sort of expected a low budget horror film similar to all the other Lovecraft inspired movies I have seen, but this was quite different.
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As you can see this was produced by the HPLovecraft Historical Society. I highly recommend following the link to get to their site. This will tell you all about the movie itself. This blog is about my experience of the movie, it is not a review.
If you are a Lovercraft fan or got to this site by searching for Cthulhu you might be disappointed because you already know about this movie, the story it's based on and the HPLHS. I can not add anything more to that mileau.
Yes, this is a 46 minute black and white silent movie made in the 21st Century. From the opening titles you know that the film makers are 'riffing' the past. Within the first 10 minutes there are 4 jumps in time and place, consistently moving backwards from the thirties ( I guess) to 1870. Maybe some historical silent movie has done this but I immediately thought we were in Inception territory. Surrealistic sets at place in 20's German film are here but without the budget of Murnau let alone Lang. Miniatures and movie monster technology out of 1925's "The Lost World" contribute to the period re-creation style.
Being a sort of movie buff I found all this enjoyable. After the film ended I researched at the web site and found a list of old movies which influenced this one. I had watched nearly all of the movies in the list. I am most curious to know the reaction of someone with no experience of these silent masterpieces to a modern day version.
Not all is rosy (or sepia), the fight scenes would have embarrassed Fairbanks. Faces are not as expression rich as in the best silents and sometimes the pervasive moodiness needs relief that does not come. But this is all in character with how I remember Lovecraft stories and this is intended to be a faithful translation to the silent screen of the short story with the same title.
Still, as an inveterate lover of 50's 'B' movie Sci-fi and Horror one comes to appreciate low budget creativity and this movie punches well beyond its budget.
