Please don't spend money on this.

Great Film overall

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

With having seen the film mentioned on IMDbs Horror board a number of time,I decided the it was time that I finally took a look at the movie. Disappointingly finding the DVD of the title to be deleted,I was happy to discover that the flick had recently been put online,which led to me preparing to at last hear the sound of Cthulhu.The plot:Gathering up his late uncles belongings as he takes care of his estate,a man finds a large box locked shut.Breaking the box open,the nephew finds disturbing newspaper clippings that his uncle has left behind.Decades earlier:Uncovering details of an occult praying for a strange creature called the Cthulhu to rise from the dead,the man/uncle starts searching round for clues about where the ritual is taking place.Gathering a crew to take him to a remote island,the man soon begins to regret ever having heard the name "Cthulhu."View on the film:Filmed over 2 years with a $50,000 budget from The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society,director Andrew Leman makes sure that every penny can be seen on the screen.Filmed in crisp black and white,Leman and cinematographer/editor David Robertson make the title look like a long lost German Expressionism artifact,thanks to a rich depth of field placing the unfolding newspaper story with a razor sharp edge.Harking back to the earliest days of cinema,Leman brings Cthulhu to life with excellent stop-motion animation,as the jerky animation movements give Cthulhu a stop/start spider-like creepiness.Bringing Lovecraft's tale to life,the screenplay Sean Branney perfectly uses a minimum of dialogue to build a striking sense of the fear that Cthulhu is held in.Building an investigating path with the dual nephew/uncle investigations,Branney peels away any hope that the characters have of finding an answer in "reality",as the deep-fried memories of victims cast a chilling shadow across the screen,as Cthulhu rises from the abyss.

We watched 'The Call of Cthulhu' late last night. It's a 2005 film made to look like a 1920s b/w silent movie. There is no sound just the dialog screens like in old movies. I do think it would have benefited from an organ accompaniment as was often used in that day. Instead it was totally silent. The actors and scenes were also done to look like a film from that era. This story is from one of HP Lovecraft's most famous. I was never a fan of his and I'm still not. All his stories I've seen made into films are basically the same, creatures from another dimension or time, whatever, are trying to enter our world and take over. Often some nuts are trying to help them. This one was different because the film was made to look like it's from 1928 the same time Lovecraft wrote the story. It only lasted 47 minutes and that was wise. The novelty of watching a 2005 film made to look like a 1920 silent was wearing off by the time it ended. For me it was worth seeing since I love old films even if I'm not a Lovecraft fan. The makers should be respected for what they tried to do here. It often really did look like an old silent film. The monster effects near the end seem right on the money for the time. Sometimes the set designs looked like something right out of 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'. See this if you appreciate silent films.

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)** 1/2 (out of 4)The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society produced this silent movie, which is certainly one of the more unique horror films of recent years. Based on one of Lovecraft's best works, the film follows a man who starts to dig around about his uncle a short time after his death. This leads the man down several dangerous paths, which might end up costing him his life. The CALL OF CTHULHU is a very flawed movie at times but you really have to tip your hate to the producers, writers and director for even attempting to do a film in this style. The movie takes place in 1926 and they film it as if it was being made during that time. The B&W cinematography does a very good job at capturing the look and feel of a silent film and I thought that director Andrew Leman did a very good job with the sets, costume design and the overall atmosphere making this look as if it was made in 1926. At times I did feel that the style was the main focus and this let the story slip into the background quite often. A someone that's not familiar with the original story I had a hard time following it at spots but I've heard from those familiar with Lovecraft's work that it's pretty faithful. The performances for the most part are good and I'd say that the cast members at least managed to make you believe they were performing in a silent picture. Obviously the appeal of a movie like this is going to be limited but I think fans of silent pictures should at least get some good moments out of it.

Although there is a small wealth of films based on the classic works of H.P. Lovecraft, there has never been anything in the mainstream, and it looks like it'll stay that way (especially since Guillermo Del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" seems to have fallen through the cracks). It's pretty sad, considering that Lovecraft's work has been highly influential for myriads of modern artists in all genres and mediums; if it wasn't for him, the works of Stephen King, John Carpenter, HR Giger, and heck, even Black Sabbath and Metallica would have all been different. As it is, "The Re-Animator" remains the most popular film, and it makes for a fantastic romp of a gorefest film, but it's still purely cult status.Even though it may not have penetrated the mainstream, "The Call of Cthulhu" might be the best adaptation of a Lovecraft story to date. Produced by the HP Lovecraft Historic Society, it shows impeccable attention to the narrative and nuances of the original story, and it follows the story to the letter. To match up with the era of Lovecraft's lifetime, the film was even made as a silent black-and-white feature. Its style is a perfect replication of old-fashioned cinema, complete with over-the-top acting, simple special effects, and emphasis on light and shadow. It might have even taken some inspiration from the works of F.W. Murnau, due to its emphasis on visual storytelling.Much like the original story, the "CoC" film starts off a little dry, but eventually moves on to some very intriguing and freaky encounters. The film's most interesting highlights will include the policemen confronting the cult of Cthulhu in the swamps of New Orleans, and the final encounters at the lost city of R'lyeh (which is conceived perfectly on screen). The film definitely succeeds at visualizing the story in the best way possible; a fine blend of style and content. It is a short film, but it manages to pack in everything it needs to without feeling padded or rushed.As mentioned above, the story is a very close, if not a perfect, adaptation of the original story. Characters were never a huge standout, even in the original, but the journey they take to uncover the truth is pretty profound. The story ultimately uncovers the inherent terror of otherworldly monsters, and the film does a fine job of underscoring that theme.As silent black-and-white film, the film looks stylish. In fact, this style helps make the cheapness and amateur nature of the film feel natural and forgivable. After all, the film has some incredibly cheap special effects, but they are done in a way that looks like something genuinely made in the 20s, so it fits. Some of the photography is impressive, and the editing is not bad at all. Acting and writing are not bad, and help get the job done. This production is not terribly lavish, but it does its best to make the most out of limited budget and resources. The film has a nice music score which is appropriately moody.It's pretty clear to me that "The Call of Cthulhu" movie is a passion project, made by those who respect the source material and have done their best to make a quality adaptation. I rather wish that more filmmakers could do the same and give Lovecraft's work a proper big-screen treatment. Oh well, as it is, this is the best Lovecraft-inspired film to date, and it's definitely worth a look.Recommended! 4/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Good)