#matt foyer

[filmap]

The Call of Cthulhu Andrew Leman. 2005

House 1 Fleur-de-Lys Studios, 7 Thomas St, Providence, RI 02903, USA See in map

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[eclecticpjf]

30 years ago, I attended the very first H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and I’ve only missed a few since then. For the past 15 years or so, my spouse has also attended (although, since 2020 we’ve watched the streaming version at home). This year money is tight, so we will not be streaming the festival. Instead, we will be making our own at home.

First up:

The Call of Cthulhu (2005, dir. Andrew Leman)

This was done as if it were made when Lovecraft wrote the story; silent, and the special effects are what would have been available at the time: matte paintings, forced perspective, and stop motion.

[movievtvblog]

The Call of Cthulhu [FILM REVIEW]

Directed by Andrew Leman

      This “movie” takes one of HP Lovecraft’s most famous stories and brings it to the moving pictures.  A good bit of this movie has to do with flashbacks, leading up to the main characters current situation in the beginning.  Aptly named “the man” in casting credits, as the main character has no known name, he is the great-nephew of a dead professor.  When his great uncle dies, “the man” is charged with the task of putting his affairs in order.  This is where he discovers his great uncles in depth accounts dealing with the Cthulhu cult.  More and more entranced by the encounters, he decides to take matters into his own hands, tracking down and investigating anything to do with the cult until it takes its toll on him.

Some key things about the movie:

It is a black and white / silent film, even though it was made in 2005.  They wanted to make it as completely authentic to the era of the story as they could

The movie was made on a (estimated) $50,000 budget.  Think about that in terms of movie budgets now a days!

Only 47 minutes long!!

     This “movie” really was great to watch.  The HPLHS (HP Lovecraft Historical Society) did an amazing job keeping it authentic, even despite the major technology we can use now a days.  The film is black and white and silent with subtitled dialogue.  The way they did it, there’s no way I could tell this was made in 2005.  My two favorite things about the film where the music and the acting.  Since there was no actual dialogue, you had music to give you the mood of the scene.  It was from very dark and slow to very frantic, almost as if the music its self was panicking.  The acting was very over the top, but it has to be!  With no words, you have to convey the feeling with how you look, and they did it!  Wild eyes, body movements, the whole shebang!  Taking this for what it is, an authentic adaptation of a historical story, they did an excellent job.  It is by no means a Hollywood blockbuster.  If you’re a film enthusiast, it’s a must watch.  Otherwise, don’t bother.