The Call of Cthulhu

A man finds a box among his dead great uncle's papers: newspaper cuttings, a small statue and a sailor's statement. The records point to dreams seen on the same dates in different parts of the world, to a cult, and to a city beneath the ocean. He begins investigating and understands that what he learns cannot be carried. Andrew Leman directs. The source is H. P. Lovecraft's story, published in 1928. The film's choice is period. It was made as a silent film: black and white, with intertitles, broad performance and the camera tricks of the time. The reason is simple; the story was written in 1926 and this is how it would have looked if filmed then. It was produced by the fan organisation called the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society on a very small budget. The effects were made with stop motion, models and painted backdrops. The choice is a solution rather than a limitation. The largest problem with Lovecraft on screen is that what is described loses its force once shown; the language of silent film answers that directly. It runs about forty five minutes and keeps the three part structure of the story. It is cited as among the most faithful of all Lovecraft adaptations. Who it is for: readers of Lovecraft and viewers who like experiments in the silent idiom. Who it is not for: the budget shows everywhere, the acting is deliberately broad, and it is not frightening at all by present standards.