Despite its low-budget, 2005’s The Call of Cthulhu offered a faithful adaptation of its source material and is a must-watch film for H.P. Lovecraft fans.
What Is It?
Based on the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name, this film follows a man named Francis Wayland Thurston, who acquires the research of his recently deceased granduncle, which deals with a mysterious cult that worships the “Great Old Ones.” These are horrifying alien beings that ruled the Earth long before mankind and who will allegedly one day return to lord over the planet. Thurston plots out the incidents from his uncle’s research on a calendar and realizes that they indicate a pattern. This leads him to extend the research, uncovering an ill-fated sea voyage where a group of sailors comes upon an island that should not exist and encounters the horrific being known as Cthulhu.
Cast: John Bolen, Ralph Lucas, Chad Fifer, John Klemantaski, Jason Owens
Crew: Andrew Leman (Director), Sean Branney (Screenplay)
Original Release: 2005
Legacy:
This film offers a creepy and effective adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story that remains faithful to the source material while also delivering a unique cinematic experience.
A Closer Look:
This production from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society was directed by Andrew Leman and adapts Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu”, which is one of the seminal tales from his Cthulhu mythos and also one of his best stories. It’s a short movie at only 46 minutes, and it is filmed in Mythoscope, which Wikipedia describes as “a blend of vintage and modern filming techniques intended to produce the look of a 1920s-era film.”
With his Cthulhu mythos, Lovecraft added a level to his horror tales that was both primal and cosmic, striking a nerve with his readers and giving his stories a timeless, undying resonance. And Leman’s film adaptation masterfully manages to capture much of the spirit and dread of the original story. In fact, it even adds a sense of clarity, as Lovecraft’s tale tended to be somewhat challenging to follow with its multiple recountings, flashbacks, and flashbacks within flashbacks. Leman tackled the seemingly impossible task of filming this dense, almost stream-of-consciousness tale, and he succeeded on almost all counts. One of the problems with Lovecraft’s tales is that they often do not follow any sort of standard narrative structure, as they are more concerned with conveying horror than telling a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. That makes it doubly difficult to film his work, though Leman successfully maneuvers through that minefield and scores a true winner here.
The decision to do this as a black-and-white silent film might seem odd and somewhat gimmicky to many. Yet the filmmaker claimed that he used this approach to hearken back to the era when the story was originally written, and it does that quite well. But let’s face facts—this direction also helped him cut corners on a production that had a very limited budget (approximately $50,000). And like many other independent filmmakers, Leman turns this into a strength, not a weakness. Black and white lends itself to a horror movie to begin with, and in this case, it helps bolster the underlying terror of Lovecraft’s story. (More horror filmmakers should seriously consider employing black and white to enhance the creepiness of their movies.) Since the story takes place in the ’20s, making it a silent film works seamlessly and fits perfectly with the material.
Unfortunately, the special effects—what few Leman relies upon—can be cheesy at times and will be distracting to viewers spoiled by modern CGI graphics. And the stop-motion Cthulhu that we see at the end will definitely disappoint some, looking like a demonic refugee from an animated holiday special. However, the non-Euclidean geometry of the island is done brilliantly and effectively, and overall, the film wisely does not rely too much on its special effects. The few misfires in this area can be tolerated because there are not too many SFX shots, and they are as good, if not better, than what you would expect from a silent-era film. If you judge it by that criterion, the movie definitely succeeds.
The Call of Cthulhu is an absolute must-see for all H.P. Lovecraft fans. They will appreciate the fact that Leman shows a great deal of respect for the source material (taking some liberties but sticking close to its spirit) and that he does such a good job of bringing the story to life despite the challenges it presents in the way of narrative structure. This is also a good place to start for those new to Lovecraft but wishing to dive into his work. And really, all sci-fi and horror fans should like this film, even if they have to show some tolerance for the production values that don’t measure up to modern-day standards. It is a quick watch, so it won’t take too much of your time, but when it is over, you will realize that it was time much better spent than sitting through such CGI-bloated schlockbusters as the Transformers films, Roland Emmerich’s disaster-of-the-day movies, or the latest big-budget remake, reboot, or retread.
The Story Continues:
In 2011, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society produced The Whisperer in Darkness, which adapts the story of the same name and also carries beyond the source material. That one was also filmed in Mythoscope, though it did not go the silent-movie route, instead evoking the look and feel of 1930s classic horror films. Andrew Leman was on board as writer and producer, and the film was directed by Sean Branney. That is the only film from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society that has followed The Call of Cthulhu, but the same group has produced many audio adaptations of Lovecraft’s works, all in the style of old radio dramas (watch for an upcoming post on those).
Should It Be Rebooted?
While The Call of Cthulhu did suffer from a low budget, the creative team did a good enough job with what they had that there is no reason for a reboot. Maybe some updated special effects would be in order, but otherwise, the film works quite well as a faithful adaptation of Lovecraft’s work. If Hollywood were to get a hold of this property, they would probably turn it into a CGI-overload action-fest with little connection to the source material. So I would prefer they leave this one alone for now.
Interesting Facts:
The Call of Cthulhu won multiple awards after it was released, including Best Feature at the Eerie Horror Film Festival, Prix Tournage for the Best American Movie at the 23rd Avignon Film Festival, and Audience Choice at Another Hole in the Head.
Andrew Leman also directed the 1987 film The Testimony of Randolph Carter, based on the Lovecraft story of the same name.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film was released on DVD, though that has sadly gone out of print. It is available to stream for free through Hoopla.
