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In Which Mlknchz Reviews a Film
Aug. 3rd, 2007 10:04 amLast night, I watched The Call of Cthulhu . It was an interesting movie in many ways.
On the PLUS side, the film-makers had an obvious respect for the source material. Of all of the film adaptations of Lovecraft I've seen, this was the most faithful to the story-line. Secondly, it was done as a period piece, which is very important in my opinion. The overall "look" of the film, including the titles, did an excellent job of evoking 1925. Thirdly, it had that "independent film energy" that is very engaging; the "hey kids let's put on a show" vibe that really works for me.
On the MINUS side, the effects (especially the effects) and production values were atrocious. On the commentary, the filmmakers tried to explain this away as "the silent film aesthetic". Well, most silent films were MUCH better made than they'd like you to believe. While the silent film format the film-makers used served them well with their obviously amateur cast, there was no disguising the lack of experience of the actors.
As a story-board to be fleshed out for a longer, big-budget production, (the film only ran 47 minutes) it works quite well. Standing alone, it makes you wish the film-makers, cast, and crew were more experienced and had a larger budget with which to work.
I recommend seeing it, especially if you're a Lovecraft fan; it's an interesting effort.
On the PLUS side, the film-makers had an obvious respect for the source material. Of all of the film adaptations of Lovecraft I've seen, this was the most faithful to the story-line. Secondly, it was done as a period piece, which is very important in my opinion. The overall "look" of the film, including the titles, did an excellent job of evoking 1925. Thirdly, it had that "independent film energy" that is very engaging; the "hey kids let's put on a show" vibe that really works for me.
On the MINUS side, the effects (especially the effects) and production values were atrocious. On the commentary, the filmmakers tried to explain this away as "the silent film aesthetic". Well, most silent films were MUCH better made than they'd like you to believe. While the silent film format the film-makers used served them well with their obviously amateur cast, there was no disguising the lack of experience of the actors.
As a story-board to be fleshed out for a longer, big-budget production, (the film only ran 47 minutes) it works quite well. Standing alone, it makes you wish the film-makers, cast, and crew were more experienced and had a larger budget with which to work.
I recommend seeing it, especially if you're a Lovecraft fan; it's an interesting effort.
