My title poses a question wisely skirted by the makers of the 2005 release, The Call of Cthulhu, which I’ve reviewed over at Black Gate and now reposted as part of my Monday Movie Reviews. This is a no-budget film made with a lot of ingenuity and passion, and it’s by far the most loyal adaptation of a Lovecraft story I’ve even seen on film.
It is also, in addition to being black and white, a silent film.
That’s right, the makes of The Call of Cthulhu have avoided weighing in on the proper pronunciation of ‘Cthulhu fhtagn,’ in creating a film in the style of the 1920s, when Lovecraft’s story was originally published in Weird Tales. They also cleverly get around many of the limitations of their budget, and create the most effective evocation of a Lovecraftian mood yet seen on film.
The choice to make this a silent film was a smart one. Firstly, it does help evoke the period of Lovecraft in a way no film before it ever has (all of the ones I’ve ever seen where contemporary pieces, for a start), and also makes it feel like a world apart from our own. In leaving some things unseen and unsaid, and in creating an at times stylized environment, this film activates the viewer’s imagination to fill in the blanks — and speeches or effects which would seem silly or dreadful when laid bare in a modern film are instead left in the shadows. In surmounting the very limited budget for this project, the choice could not have been better.
I highly recommend this film to Lovecraft fans — but maybe not to the rest of you. In all honesty, I feel like you’d have to read the stories to appreciate this adaptation. But, for those of you that have, this little movie is an extraordinary example of what passion and persistence can create.
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Wow! Perhaps it is asking too much to expect this to usher in a new era of silent movie making…that’s brilliant. The creepy otherworldly-ness of Nosferatu and Haxan really haven’t been matched, until, perhaps, now. Thanks for hipping me to this.
Be sure to watch the ‘making of’ feature as well.
Baltimore, MD – heavy rains have subsided, winds are still gusting, a piece of the soffit was torn off during the night and is flapping in the wind. There’s a bunch of fellows in hooded cloaks, wandering the neighborhood, chanting “Ia, Ia, Cthulhu fhtagn R’lyeh, Ai, Ai”. I’ve barricaded my home and armed myself, expecting the worst.
Also try Dagon (2001) by Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon; the lads that brought you Re-Animator. The movie is true to the Lovecraft style and they actually do a good “Cthulhu fhtagn” pronunciation. The story is about shipwreck survivors in an “Innsmouth” type town on the Portuguese coast.
Hey, Matt.
Dagon is on my Netflix list, your recommendation has bumped it up so I’ll check it out shortly. Thanks.
And man, I’m in b-more…fortunately the only post-Irene cultlike things going on in my neighborhood seems to be some suspicious groundhog activity. Pretty sure they aren’t supposed to have gills, though…
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