The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Andrew Leman

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (short story)
Sean Branney (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Eye Patch | Secret Cult | Ship | Boat | H.P. Lovecraft

Cast

Ramón Allen Jr.	...	Louis
Leslie Baldwin	...	Greta Johansen
Daryl Ball	...	Officer Cassidy
John Bolen	...	The Listener
Aidan Branney	...	Swamp Boy
Sean Branney	...	Pub Man
Andra Carlson	...	Nurse
Mike Dalager	...	Guerrera (as Michael Dalager)
Erin Emmalee	...	Nancy
Chia Evers	...	Cultist
Matthew Q. Fahey	...	Briden
Chad Fifer	...	Henry Wilcox
Matt Foyer	...	The Man
Bruce Graham	...	Claude
Kirsten Hageleit	...	Cultist
Clarence Henry Hunt	...	Castro
Hannah Rose Jabaley	...	Swamp Girl
Ike E.Z. Jabaley	...	Swamp Baby
John Jabaley	...	Swamp Papa (as Ed Ruffin)
John Joly	...	Sgt. Bacon
J. David King	...	Cultist
Daniel Kirsner	...	Angstrom
John Klemantaski	...	Prof. Bell
Jennifer Knighton	...	Tilly
Chris Lackey	...	Parker
Andrew Leman	...	Unhelpful Bureaucrat
Carlos Linares	...	Hector
Ralph Lucas	...	Prof. George Gammell Angell
Richard Lucas	...	Thibidoux
Barry Lynch	...	Prof. Webb
Matthew Malcomson	...	Officer Langfield
Rebecca Marcotte	...	Swamp Widow
Jason McCune	...	Professor Quintana
David Mersault	...	Police Inspector John Raymond Legrasse
Dan Novy	...	Esquimaux Shaman / Cultist
Steven O'Connor	...	Tyler
Patrick O'Day	...	Johansen
Ryan Oliver	...	Cultist
Jason Owens	...	Prof. Quintana
David Pavao	...	Rodriguez
Jason Peterson	...	Officer Stanton
D. Grigsby Poland	...	Prof. Tutchton
Kalafatic Poole	...	Bartender
Vivica Prentice	...	Museum Clerk
Jonathan Putnam	...	Cultist
Ed Ruffin	...	Swamp Papa
Josh Thoemke	...	Hawkins
Aaron Vanek	...	Cultist
Noah Wagner	...	Captain Collins
Mona Weiss	...	Cultist
Erika Zucker	...	Swamp Mama
Susan Zucker	...	Landlady

Runtime:

USA:47 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish | Italian | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (HPLHS), The

Trivia:

Named an official selection of the feature competition at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in LovecraCked! The Movie (2006)

Easily the Best HPL Adaptation Ever

We're not likely to ever get a project as faithful to the source material as we did with the HPLHS's incredible production of 'The Call of Cthulhu.' At least not out of Hollywood.

Making it a silent flick was a novel approach - especially when you consider that the Lovecraft story was written in 1926, when silent pictures hadn't quite yet come to the end of their glory days.

The performances are quite nice and are a little over the top - which is necessary for a silent movie since they're having to convey the emotion of the story with just their faces. Matt Foyer carries the movie along extremely well and I loved David Mersault's portrayal of Legrasse.

Amongst my friends I have three fellow Lovecraft lovers. I bought the DVD the day it was available at the HPLHS's site and as soon as it arrived we had a viewing party here at my apartment on the widescreen. Needless to say, everyone loved it.

Music is as important to any film - doubly so if that's a silent film. Chad Fifer, Ben Holbrook, Troy Sterling Nies and Nicholas Pavkovic turn in a thrilling score.

The DVD's also got some fantastic 'Behind the Scenes' bits that go into what it took to make the movie which is quite entertaining.

'The Call of Cthulhu' is fantastic, and I expect even more from the upcoming HPLHS take on 'The Whisperer in the Darkness.' Huzzah!