The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft [DVD] [2005]

I have been trying to do my own version of this story for three goddam years using action men and Barbie dolls and wasted several thousand pounds on cameras, lighting and sets. I am giving up. This is the definitive film in my opinion and Hollywood would be hard pressed to better it.Also have “whisperer in darkness” by the same crew so I won’t be wasting my time on making my own version of that either as it is awesome and I’m 73 so time has run out. Cthulhu bless you all.

This movie was made with a little budget and unknown actors by people I never heard about - but after the first minute I completely forgot to care about it! I believe that Andrew Lenan (director-producer) and Sean Braney (scenarist-producer) were right on target when they decided to make this film silent and turn it in white and black - exactly as movies were made in 1926, when Lovecraft wrote "The call of Cthulhu". It gives an absolutely unique effect, which, I must admit, caused me to freeze before the screen for the whole 47 minutes..."The Call of Cthulhu" story, although quite short, is one of the most powerful, most disturbing and most influential things in the whole fantastic literature. Nobody ever tried to film it, because the challenge seemed too difficult - when one thinks about the CGIs necessary to make a credible Cthulhu and a credible city of R'lyeh, it is easy to understand why nobody even tried to make such an attempt.But all this difficulty was avoided by making this film in the style which both Fritz Lang ("Metropolis") and F.W. Murnau ("Nosferatu") would recognize immediately. Expressions on the faces replacing the words convey a greater sense of fear and impending doom than any special effects. The LACK of details in some scenes is more disturbing than the overdose of pixels in the best Blu-Ray - and the obviously cheap decorations in the city of R'lyeh surprisingly created (at least in my perception) more awe and shock than the best shots of Mordor in "Lord of the Rings". Bottom line, the settings in this film allowed Lovecraftian magic to play in a very powerful and pure way.The very brief and very vague apparition of Cthulhu was very well done, with the maximum use of his shadow and only a little glimpse of the Great Old God himself. On another hand, small figures of Cthulhu worshipped by his cultists are very well shown and they are REALLY scary!Actors performed wonderfully! I really had the impression that I watched a genuine film from 20s and that Doctor Mabuse would enter through that door at any moment...To conclude, I was absolutely conquered by this movie and I am really, really glad that I bought it! And I am absolutely keeping it to rewatch it from time to time!

A film of the unfilmable Lovecraft story, this effort is a real cracker. Made to represent the type of production which would have been around in the late 1920s, the film is a faithful rendering of a classic tale of cosmic terror from beneath the sea (and beyond time and space). The use of unknown (to me at least) actors and actresses, gives the production a real period feel and cleverly reproduces the sort of effects which would have been available at the time.Very cleverly done, with neat, economical sets and good use of green screen effects.A great idea, very well filmed. Probably the best rendition of a Lovecraft story to date.(I must see about getting "Whisperer" next!)

This is simply awesome. Made by a film club of enthusiasts, it knocks nearly every studio attempt at Lovecraft for six. Wonderfully melodramatic, filmed in a real 1920's style and with some real passion for the material, it offers the best glimpse yet of how to put Lovecraft on screen. Some ropey stop motion aside, the production values are really amazing considering it was made on a shoestring budget. Everything from the silent movie approach to the excellent score has been so lovingly crafted, you quickly see past the limitations and become immersed in the story. I love everything about this release and the guys that made it should be proud.

A modern black and white silent film? Normally this would put me right off, and I'd take no notice of reviewers who said it was good because I'd suspect them of just being too up themselves and arty for me. But this was recommended to me by a fellow Lovecraft fan so I gave it a try. And my verdict is that it's really good - gives an excellent Lovecraft flavour, true to the story and very atmospheric. Such a change from the latest crop of commercial "horror" films where even Dracula is some kind of kung fu or matrix style villain!

This version of 'The Call of Cthulhu', filmed in fabulous Mythoscope, is a must for any and all H. P. Lovecraft fans. Quite rightly, and as other reviewers have observed, it would be easy enough to dismiss the idea of satisfactorily filming any of the Cthulhu Mythos stories featuring such other-dimensional horrors as Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth and of course Great Cthulhu himself, particularly if you are doing it on a tiny budget with no CGI. But the team responsible for this film have managed it splendidly, and no small part of its strength comes from it being filmed as a silent black and white movie redolent of the early horror classics, which chimes with when the story was written. It's quite possible that some 'every digital effect you can think of' version would not been as powerful. To give one example from when the hapless sailors explore the cyclopean ruins of risen R'lyeh, the sequence where one of the men falls into an "impossible angle" in the masonry and disappears utterly is chillingly effective and - as you discover from the enjoyable and informative 'extra' about the making of the film - very simply achieved.For those of us in the UK (or Europe) let's hope that the team are going to make a Region 2 version of their more recent effort 'The Whisperer in Darkness' available soon. In the meantime all those Lovecraftians out there who do not yet have this film should obey the call and secure a copy as soon as they can.