Description

The scene is a mental hospital. A man is entrusting his life’s work to a visitor. Their relationship is unclear, but the psychologically tortured main man has enough faith in his companion to believe he will, as he requests, destroy all the papers for the good of mankind. What follows are flashbacks describing a series of events in the order the man learned of them. As the executor of his great-uncle’s estate, the man came into possession of certain documents relating how his great-uncle, Professor George Gammell Angell of Brown University, was in 1925 aiding a young artist named Henry Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox was suffering from horrendous nightmares involving an ancient demon called Cthulhu, which he felt compelled to recreate in his art. Eventually, the dreams ceased, but not the professor’s interest in them, for this was not the first time Angell had heard of Cthulhu. What follows is a tale that sprawls across time, involving voodoo rituals in the Louisiana swamps, a devil-worshipping band of Eskimos and the discovery of a mysterious island by a European fishing vessel.

Presented by the adoring H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, The Call of Cthulhu is an all-new silent film in the style of the classics from the ’20s. It’s obvious there was a Herculean effort made to achieve a legitimate, old-style look and feel, with makeup, lighting, costumes and sets exactly as one would expect from a film of that period. And let’s be clear, this is the best adaptation of an H.P.Lovecraft story to date. It is impossible not to notice the love and respect with which this material was handled. The craftsmanship of all involved is to be applauded. For Cthulhu itself, a stop-motion model was used. You’ll swear the sets are right out of some twisted nightmare of the era, and the soundtrack is a pure delight. Watching this film will take you on a voyage through time, back to an age when anything you imagined could be real. You’ll share the excitement and horror that audiences felt when they first witnessed the 1933 King Kong or 1931’s Dracula. And isn’t that what going to the movies is all about?

—Robert Guillemette

"...One of those genius, word-of-mouth, Hollywood-will-never-understand-it kind of films" - Craig Engler, BOINGBOING.COM

"Unexpectedly convincing... deftly adapted and atmospherically directed" - Ramsey Campbell, Author, reviewing for VIDEO WATCHDOG

"A watershed event for Lovecraftian cinema" - Andrew Migliore, Director and Founder, HP LOVECRAFT FILM FESTIVAL

Website

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/ind

Credits

Director: Andrew Leman
Screenplay: Andrew Leman (from H.P. Lovecraft)
Cast: Matt Foyer, David Mersault, Noah Wagner, Patrick O’Day
Producers: Sean Branney, Andrew Leman
Distributor: HPLHS Historical Society

Opens for...

Monarch Of The Moon Canadian Premiere Usa 2006 | 99 min English language