Just so...so bad

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Imagine that Stephen-King-wanna-be wrote the gay adaptation of Lovecraft and entrusted directing to David-Lynch-wanna-be. If this sounds to you like an interesting concept, make sure to check out "Cthulhu" from 2007. To me, this accomplishment has left the impression of a paranoid schizophrenic trying to meaningfully screen his hallucinations. On the one hand we have a boring, confusing and seemingly pointless story, mediocre acting and characters with whom I could not connect at any level, and when I saw Tori Spelling in one of the roles I was really on the verge of giving up. And yet, on the other hand, we have an interesting camera work and captivating mystical atmosphere that has kept me to finish it. How to evaluate a movie that I barely made to see through (2/10), which at the same time left a quite strong impression (8/10) ...5/10

I feel sorry for the guys that produced this, because it seems like they made a massive loss.In my view, having read most of HPL's stuff and in particular recently re-read "A shadow out of Innsmouth", I must say that this is a really good adaptation of the book. In fact, it is the best interpretation of HPL that I've seen. (I've seen others which are truer to his stories but which do not adequately capture the suspense).My guess is that the nature of the characters (academic, some of them gay) is too hard for the average American to relate to. Outside of the USA (ie where we accept that the chief character is not a gunslinger and a womaniser) this film is really good. I guess the typical American audience didn't understand it because it didn't contain lots of ravishing of bimbos and lots of exploding cars, trucks and aircraft. Oh and not enough shooting. And no car chases. That's probably why it rates so badly.The various horror scenes are generally implied rather than literal, which also is probably too intellectual for an American audience, accustomed to gratuitous idiotic in-your-face rubbish like Kill Bill. The scene with the camera which flashes periodically is particularly nerve-wracking the first time you see it.That's why I gave it a 10. If I were to criticise it, it would just be that they didn't understand the low-brow audience who wouldn't get it because it didn't have any ka-blah, ka-blah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSUuj98Rx0

I put off watching this for a long time. It couldn't be good. After all, it's supposed to be a Lovecraft movie. With Tori Spelling. I downloaded it on the off chance that she would get the 'Dagon'-treatment.The first 20 minutes or so got my hopes up: So far, no Tori. Lots of strained shots, trying to be beautiful. It looked like a post-grad love project. Unfortunately, the following hour and a half can be summarised in bullet points:Tori drugs and rapes a guy. - The police chief quotes Yeats.and, in a negative sense, the following disappointments: - No Cthulhu - No story - No tentacled, naked women and/or naked women being savagely violated by tentacled beings from beyond. (Ok, I admit: this one is more of a personal hobby-horse.)All in all, this movie made me hope that Guillermo del Toro gets to produce that 'At the mountains of madness'-script he has purportedly been lugging around with for a number of years. That would probably be a worthy Lovecraft adaptation. This film is not. For my two hour's worth, just re-reading any Lovecraft story would have been infinitely better.

A true to life portrayal of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu mythology has rarely been seen over the past 40 or so years, especially installment with decent budgets. The few attempts to capture this level of pure insanity have all fallen far far short and this rendition is no saving grace. "Cthulhu" centers around and gay college professor returning home for his mothers funeral, only to discover that his once serene hometown is now the backbone of a malevolent cult, and that he himself, plays a key role in their nefarious machinations. I mention the fact the he is a gay man merely because this is what this movie is about. You heard me, "Cthulhu" is more about a mans struggle between family and his sexual orientation, than about cult worship and the resurrection of ancient deities. Imagine if Lord of the Rings was more about the strong homo-erotic undertones between Sam and Frodo, and less about complete salvation of their entire world. If you can picture that, then you have "Cthulhu"; pretty much all 100 minuets of it I would say. The fact that he is gay does play into the overall storyline, but is overly focused upon, thus resulting in a incoherent story plagued throughout with poorly ad-libbed dialog and plot progression. The story involves several intense moments of emotion and terror, but poor writing and performance by the actors leaves these scenes lifeless and disorienting. One scene literally starts with a discussion about monsters and cult worship, and abruptly ends with argument about a severe lack of jelly on his PB&J. Its OK to feel like you need to read that last sentence again. One could argue that these moments are intentionally puzzling, as to capture the sense of insanity that The Cthulhu Mythos is most know for. Sorry guys not buying it. The direction choices are neither clever nor a foundation of the film fundamentals, what ever they may be, but rather a way of filling space between love scenes and ultimately dumbing down the entire film. However, beautiful imagery and a sparse, but superbly conducted soundtrack make for a stunning viewing experience. Unique and creative camera work establish the drama in more ways than the actors themselves, but a sever lack of music during several key points of the film does little to keep audience's attention during dialog heavy scenes. Anyone interested in a career behind a camera should invest the time into this film for its great camera direction, which though stylish and well refined, is not enough to save this film in its entirety. From the start of the film, audiences are left just far enough out of the story loop to leave you guessing. Guessing what? Perhaps whats going on? Perhaps why are some of the actors incredibly loud all the time, while others can barely be heard? Perhaps why am I still watching this movie? Perhaps the eeriness of devout hordes of ancient demon worshipers is a task that can only be handled by big budget studios and a top list cast. Or, maybe, you just need someone out there who actually wants to make a movie about the Cthulhu Mythos, and not just stick a big "Cthulu was here" sticker on a homosexual love story. If your going to make a movie about Cthulhu, make it about Cthulhu. Life, please don't send me deceitful crap like this again.