31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Movie 25 | The Call of Cthulhu
The Call of Cthulhu
While sorting through his late uncle's affairs, a man learns of dreadful secrets, clues pointing to the existence of a horror beneath the sea.
Made in 2005, The Call of Cthulhu is a silent film made in the style of early films of the 1920s. It even has 'scratches' on the film and a slight hiss and pop to the soundtrack. It's beautifully done, and holds true to the look and feel 1920s film as well as the overall feel of Lovecraft's mythos. The influence of German expressionism, notably The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, is obvious, particularly in the nightmare geometry of Rl'yeh.
Adapting Lovecraft to the silent screen is probably the best way to do it, especially since there tends to be very little dialogue and a lot of monologue. Using silent film, you can display the actions and reactions of the characters, and reduce the dialogue to what is pertinent and can be easily fitted on a title card. (You also don't have to argue with anyone over the pronunciation of 'Cthulhu' because no one ever speaks it aloud.)
It's short for a modern movie, about 46 minutes long, but somewhere around average for a silent film. (Some were longer: the restored cut of Metropolis is two and a half hours long, and some footage either hasn't been recovered or cannot be restored.) It's time well spent if you can find or acquire a copy.
While sorting through his late uncle's affairs, a man learns of dreadful secrets, clues pointing to the existence of a horror beneath the sea.
Made in 2005, The Call of Cthulhu is a silent film made in the style of early films of the 1920s. It even has 'scratches' on the film and a slight hiss and pop to the soundtrack. It's beautifully done, and holds true to the look and feel 1920s film as well as the overall feel of Lovecraft's mythos. The influence of German expressionism, notably The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, is obvious, particularly in the nightmare geometry of Rl'yeh.
Adapting Lovecraft to the silent screen is probably the best way to do it, especially since there tends to be very little dialogue and a lot of monologue. Using silent film, you can display the actions and reactions of the characters, and reduce the dialogue to what is pertinent and can be easily fitted on a title card. (You also don't have to argue with anyone over the pronunciation of 'Cthulhu' because no one ever speaks it aloud.)
It's short for a modern movie, about 46 minutes long, but somewhere around average for a silent film. (Some were longer: the restored cut of Metropolis is two and a half hours long, and some footage either hasn't been recovered or cannot be restored.) It's time well spent if you can find or acquire a copy.