Cthulhu
Tags: cult, flashback

Plot synopsis:
When young history professor Russ is called upon by his sister to execute their late mother's estate, he is reunited with boyhood friend Mike, and with his father, the charismatic leader of a New Age cult. While exploring his memories, Russ wanders into a warehouse where hundreds of names are listed on the walls. As he sleeps that night, he dreams of a stone cudgel and awakens to find a cudgel (with the word Dagon written on it) in his motel room; the town drunk warns him that it is an instrument of sacrifice. A young liquor store clerk enlists him to help find her brother, whom she believes has been taken by the cult. Russ's aunt, who has been living in an asylum, tells him that his mother left a message hidden in her house.
Looking for answers in the warehouse, Russ is taken on an unbelievable journey through the small town's ancient, subterranean origins. When he escapes, he and Mike find the girl's brother murdered. Russ begins to believe preparations are underway for a mass sacrifice, and engages the attentions of a seductress in order to obtain information. He is raped and arrested for murder on the eve of the May Festival. The stakes are raised when Russ discovers that the cult intends to take over the world by raising anthropomorphic creatures from the sea.
Russ is shown his children, presumably gilled Deep Ones swimming in a bath. The film ends with Russ and his best friend/lover being held by the cult, as Russ' father orders him to choose between the man he loves and the life he has been called to lead in his father's church.

Review: I really wanted to like this, especially with the glut of direct to video adaptations of Lovecraft stories (Beyond the Wall of Sleep etc) that are essentially student project level non-movies.
It owes more to The Shadow Over Innsmouth than anything, and unfortunately that world was already realized in far better (yet still in woefully inadequate) fashion in "Dagon." To someone who loves Lovecraft as much as I, it's rather insulting this film is called "Cthulhu." There are ideas the writer and director were far more interested in, such as the main character's confused sexuality, than anything written by Lovecraft.
You will also let down legions of HPL fans because once again someone has made a film that seems to think it's own very uninteresting and pedestrian ideas have any place mixed in with the cosmic horror of Lovecraft.
And worse, viewers who don't know HPL will once again be left with the opinion that "Gee, I guess he wasn't that good a writer." And with this sad example, you can probably add "Was Lovecraft gay?" to those questions..
The Thing That Should Not Be. This is a terrible adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." The acting was weak, the direction was weak, and the original content has been butchered.
If you want to see a film based on "Shadow Over Innsmouth," Stuart Gordon's "Dagon" is mediocre, but it's certainly better than this botched attempt.
I'm a big fan of the Cthulu mythos, and the preview actually looked pretty good.Unfortunately, this is yet another disappointing release from HERE TV.The frustrating thing is that the movie almost works.
There are a lot of wonderfully creepy little details: the bizarre check out girl who passes the protagonist a warning note, the strange kids saying "I knew you'd be back", the crazy things being reported on the news.Unfortunately, the film never really gels.
About half way though the film, the plot breaks down almost completely and weird random events seem to take over everything.The film was at least mildly interesting in a "what sort of weird stuff will they throw out next" sort of way, but never really worked as a story.Cinematography varies from some very nice shots of the ocean to some very amateurish hand held stuff..
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.
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 you're looking for extremely bad acting and a long-winded introduction to the political views and sexuality of the director, this is your film!
The editing makes a point of destroying your last chance of actually getting involved in the story and understanding what goes on from one scene to the next, uncomprehensible flashbacks and dream sequences included.
And I am of the opinion that "Cthulhu" provides both cerebral and visceral fun.Yes, the film takes some liberties with Lovecraft's work.
By, among other things, having a flashback of two teenage boys jacking off together under a pier.On the other hand the movie is creepy from time to time when the entire town except him seems to be part of the cult but it is ruined by changing the focus to homosexual exploration as soon as it started to catch my interest.Avoid at all cost.
It doesn't take off until the second act, really -- when Tori Spelling (who actually steals her scenes in a supporting role) shows up on screen, oddly enough, things start to get good.
The best way to describe CTHULHU is "Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Shadow Over Innsmouth." It's a very deliberately-paced movie with long, moody takes and an emphasis on character drama.
People expecting gore and monsters will be disappointed, but art-house horror fans and David Lynch lovers will be in pure bliss.H.P. fanatics will argue the merits of this one, but the filmmakers are the first to nail the bizarre fever-dream aspect of Lovecraft's writings.
And while this is a very loose adaptation, there are plenty of nods to the Cthluhu mythos to keep fans happy.The acting is a little uneven and there are times when the movie feels TOO disjointed, but this cerebral effort is still the closest we've come to seeing true Lovecraft captured on film.
I live in Seattle so was interested in the film as a homegrown project, but it's a great movie, and not just because it comes from my neck of the woods.
What we see is chaos, through the vision of people who simply end up in the wrong ally at the wrong time, swept by the waves into the most sinister of maelstroms, sucking you deeper and deeper into madness, until the total epiphany of a psychosis takes one step forward, only to have your protagonist hang himself to one unresolved suicide, with scribbled notes of cultists and watching eyes of the Deep Ones.This is Cthulhu, a world that never ceases to twist ones mind into a reality not recognizable from the first.In truth, Cthulhu 2007 is NOT a bad movie, per se.
To fans of Lovecraft, it's certainly a stretch with all the chants, cults, and Cthulhu, all regarded with a very slight read-up on what these books really had in mind, which to me as a small fan appears a bit weak.However, from a more romanticized view, this movie creates a tale of describing nature, and actually captures the origin pretty good.
The very thin love story has actually caught good interest, and renders decent quality, not with any unnecessary thwarts here and there, just plain and simple, and like the movie, it takes itself seriously.
Again, it did not bare the same familiar being to the original, but it has it's own perspective, and in regard to storytelling and emotional value, it holds up very good.All in all, this movie is not like the books, only with pieces it introduces fright, but it poses itself from a different angle, a more human modern way, and as it reflects upon the book, I'd say it's a good tribute to Lovecrafts work.The actual best part of this experience is that it leaves me with that exact feeling I'd hoped for, NOTHING is explained, only that there's a cult, strange creatures, and the sea.
The connection gets pretty vague, as Cthulhu is sometimes pronounced wrong, the language of the deep ones could've had more ambitious work, and all in all, reading the books should've been a greater study to really execute the presentation of the movies source.It could be looked upon as a different starting point within the same universe, or an inspirational version of it's forefather (more like their own version).As a movie, and compared to Cthulhu, I can say I did enjoy it.
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.
The story felt stretched and a bit convoluted, and the title is misleading since the movie has virtually nothing to do with Cthulhu, but I feel like I have to give props to the director for making the film he made.
Some reviewers have complained that the plot of this movie bears little resemblance to Lovecraft's original story, and perhaps they're right.
The film's presentation of a decayed, decadent sea-port is a good match for Lovecraft's, despite being set in a different era.Making the main character gay was an inspired idea.
The only human intimacy in the whole movie is between men, and that's still sufficiently unusual in mainstream cinema to be slightly shocking -- as, I imagine, Lovecraft's thinly-veiled references to sexuality would have been shocking to his own readers.I would have rated this film more highly if it had been technically more competent.
I appreciate that it's a low-budget offering, but in some places the dialogue cannot be heard over the background music, and some scenes are so badly-lit that it was hard to figure out what was happening.If you expect Cthulhu to be a faithful adaptation of Lovecraft, you'll be disappointed.
Viewing it as a weird, intense, story of unhappy people in a run-down town, loosely inspired by Lovecraft's prose and characters, is a whole lot more rewarding..
I'm a gay man, and a huge Lovecraft fan, and I loved this film.
The script is good- spare and well-paced, the sexual content is subtle (my mom could handle this movie just fine) and while yes, it's in no way shape or form an adaptation of any Lovecraft story per se (it has the most in common with "Shadow over Innsmouth," and even that is pretty tangential) it certainly has a lot of influence from Lovecraft, and the film-makers stay very true to the spirit and atmosphere of his stories.Do not believe the detractors: this film is both a good horror film, and a good gay movie: both are rare, even rarer when combined (in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of another good gay horror movie out there and I see a lot of movies).
Don't have expectations: just see the film and appreciate it for what it is (a gloomy, cynical little horror story), not what you think it's supposed to be..
In all the discussions and comments about all the previous movies based on Lovecraft stories and ideas, I've never seen anyone raise the topic of sexuality.
Others--I'm tempted to say the more honest ones--are just upset about the filmmakers daring to introduce a gay character into Lovecraft's world.In most of his stories, the *gender* of the protagonist isn't even disclosed.
While I think actually she makes a perfect visual representation of a Lovecraftian horror, at the same time, she's one of those people that you instantly and only think of as being that person, not the character they are playing (like say, Mr. T or David Hasselhoff).
OK, I'm a long-time reader of H.P. Lovecraft, and I'll admit I have been disappointed again and again with film adaptations of his works.
I've been a fan Lovecraft for over 20 years now, and have read all of his stories and seen almost all the movies based upon his work.
The settings are good(a gay main character is an interesting twist) and the filmmakers manage to make the movie look creepy in few placesBut...the bad things are too many to ignore.
Oh hell.The worst thing about this movie wasn't the sometimes really bad acting, not the tendency to always follow the rule "when not knowing what to do with the story, throw in a weird montage" or even the lack of an actual plot line.
HP Lovecraft seems to suffer from the eternal legacy of amateur fools attempting to make his works as Z-movies, of which 'Cthulhu' definitely falls into, and that is a shame as the original source material is so strong.
There are very few movies based on Lovecraft's work that surpasses your average B horror movie, and in this case, even though the movie itself looks and feels nothing like a B horror movie, it actually suffers more from it.We are introduced to Professor Russ Marsh, a homosexual.
Him being gay does tie in with the story, but not to such an extent that the film makers should be forced to remind us of his orientation every five minutes, which is the case in this movie.
The bad acting seems to be the hallmark of Rivermouth county, and with the exception of Russ's childhood friend and soon-to-be lover Mike, the cast's performance ranges from mediocre to dismal.Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Insmouth is picked apart and shuffled freely as the plot unfolds, and it seemed to me that all the good parts from the story were missing.
The Shadow Over Insmouth had several set pieces that have been included in previous adaptations, so I can forgive the screenwriter for not including them, but the bits that are there are so few and far between that you never feel the presence of the Mythos, and you certainly don't feel that you're watching a film based off of a Lovecraft story.Connecting global calamities like the melting of the polar caps and the war in the Middle East to the Cthulhu Mythos is a nice touch, but it is never delved into, and feels almost like the movie taking a five minute break while bombarding us with stock footage.
Not much of it is actually borne out on film though because that would, like, cost money, although the budget was big enough to include one overturned car.Russ turns out to be gay, which is fine by him, but not so fine with his weird dysfunctional family.
The movie is tangentially related to H.P. Lovecraft's horror stories wherein Cthulhu apparently is a pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque scaly body with rudimentary wings.
Unfortunately, this one sinks like dead weight.Cthulhu then comes across as something like a Coen Brothers movie if the brothers were drunk while making the film.
P. Lovecrafts "The call of Cthulhu" i got so excited thinking that this was going to actually follow that story.
And now this movie completely ignores that aspect - which is like betraying Lovecraft, n regard to using the name Cthulhu as the film's title.I am sure the director and the producer of this film are not trying to exploit the Lovecraft fans but unfortunately that's what it comes down to.
Thought rife with Lovecraft references and drawing heavily on The Shadow over Innsmouth this film isn't really a Lovecraft movie.
And finally some good acting, while it may be hard to imagine how a fish person is going to act at the end of the world the main actors did some fantastic performances, especially (to my happy surprise) Tori Spelling.The film despite some press to the otherwise isn't overtly anti Bush, anti Religion or overly Gay. The film also doesn't try an tie up everything neatly for you, So if you like to think when you go to the movies and don't need your movies explained to you you might really like this film.It gets extra points for being the first film of the Director, and independently filmed and produced in the NorthWest, but i would have loved this film even if it was a Hollywood film.
I felt empathy with the main character, and think he did an outstanding job, and will look forward to seeing him in other movies.What if the world you know, is not what it seems, a world you thought you left behind but now it's bringing you back.
Given the set-up, I would imagine the protagonist and sister to have spent a LOT more time together, or at least that time to be much more emotional.In general, I had no massive problem with the film in that I have certainly seen worse Lovecraft adaptations and much worse acting.
It is ultimately worth watching, but as a Lovecraft fan there are other films I would get to first..
Framed for the boys murder Russ is arrested for on the night of the May Festival, Trapped in a cell the stakes are raised - maybe higher than the world has ever known.This is a thought provoking, terror inspiring movie with enough humor and human drama to satisfy those who like good film and great acting..
Nor does it happen in the Lovecraft Story this movie is based on.
Yes.But it also succeeds as a spooky movie, and really conveys a wonderfully creepy atmosphere with its beautiful cinematography and interesting directing and acting choices.One thing I really respect about Cthulhu is the decision to make the central character a gay man.
Rest assured this film never lets its hero's sexual orientation get in the way of the story.For that matter, it doesn't even get in the way of the hero winding up in a sex scene with Tori Spelling.With a name like Cthulhu, some folks might be disappointed by the lack of tentacle-faced, ancient, alien-monster-gods in this film, but there really weren't any monsters in the Lovecraft story upon which it's based, other than the creepy townsfolk themselves.I'd love to see the people responsible for this film make more Lovecraft-inspired movies, and perhaps reveal some squid-like, fishy-monsters in one of those, but that's probably too much to hope for..
I thought it was one of the very few SERIOUS cinematic approaches to Lovecraft's work brought to our modern times.I honestly don't understand all the hate against this movie.
You'd think, with so many "Lovecraft fans" out there, they would see how well this movie translated that to the big screen.
But I didn't feel like it *needed* it either.With all the trash out there that craps all over Lovecraft's vision, any true fan or at least, REASONABLE person, would be grateful for this movie.
That is why they are so "weird," and for their time (and even our own) so uniquely interesting.The Shadow Over Innsmouth is just such a story, and the chief weakness of this movie is the filming locations aren't consistently decadent enough to capture the mood of its inspiration.
The main character is Gay, but there isn't a this is a film for gay people feel to it.
But I love the stories of Lovecraft, unfortunately judging from the horrible profits this movie made, I don't think there will be a sequel..
Obviously after listening to the commentary on the DVD the budget did not allow many sfx ,perhaps working to the films advantage, but delivers in other ways and has some nice suspense and overall is well worth a look for any Lovecraft fan.