“In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”

If you know where that line comes from and what it means, you should be very, very excited about this film. 

For those of you who don’t know, The Call of Cthulhu is a masterful story of cosmic horror originally written by H.P. Lovecraft in August/September of 1926.  Lovecraft wrote a ton of short stories, many of which made their way into the pulp magazine Weird Tales.  It was that magazine that finally published the story in their February 1928 edition, and its influence on the horror genre cannot be denied.

Aside from spawning numerous authors to pick up the mythology he began, Lovecraft’s work has also influenced filmmakers for years.  Most notably the awesome Reanimator updated a serialized Lovecraft story and made for a fantastic ride.  John Carpenter’s In The Mouth of Madness and even Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy tip their hats to Lovecraft while not borrowing directly from his stories, however despite the fact that over 70 years have passed since they were put to paper, there has never been a true attempt at filming a Lovecraft story as it was written.

That is, until now.

Produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft is not just a love letter from a group of obsessive fans.  It’s the first film to truly capture the feel of an H.P. Lovecraft story.  The film is as close to a word for word translation as you’ll ever find, however knowing that the language is dated, Director Andrew Leman made a bold decision.  He filmed the entire thing as a black and white silent film, complete with an original symphonic score.

The process works masterfully.  While some green screen was used, there is no CGI in the film.  What animation there is has been done via stop-motion on miniature sets.  The film has been given the “Mythoscopic” treatment to make it look authentic which means the whites are bright and small scratches or the occasional hair will find its way into the frame. 

All of this would fail though if the acting and direction weren’t superb.  As far as I can tell, most of the actors in The Call of Cthulhu are stage actors and their performances translate amazingly well.  The sets are intricate and believable.  Leman’s direction brings to mind early David Lynch and even a more restrained Tim Burton. 

All of this combines to create a very believable world where unfortunate souls have stumbled on a horrible truth, that dead Cthulhu lies dreaming and should we awaken him, life as we know it will end. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the best horror film I’ve seen in 2007.  I don’t say that lightly.


Presentation
This film looks amazing.  It’s shot to look like a silent film from the dawn of the movie-making era and the director and cinematographer have done an outstanding job on it.  That said, there are moments that look a little too clean here and there.  It’s nothing that pulled me out of the film but occasionally, I was reminded that this was a 2006 venture and not something from 1930. 

The DVD comes with two settings for audio.  Remember this is a silent film so it’s all music, however one setting features the score in hi-fidelity stereo.  The other setting features “Mythophonic Sound” meaning they mixed it to sound like the audio on an old movie.  The highs become tinny and the low end disappears however they don’t quite get the old movie sound perfect.  It’s damn close though and I loved the film with this setting on.

Extras
This DVD is like the “little movie that could”.  It’s not only a great film but they loaded it with extras for fans.  First, they give you the trailer with the “Mythophonic Sound” setting on.  Apparently it was shown in theaters that showed The Call of Cthulhu as part of film festivals.  It’s definitely fun to watch. 

Next up is Hearing The Call:  An entertaining Short Subject.  It’s a 30-minute short film on the making of the movie and it’s extremely entertaining and informative.  Leman actually admits he had no idea how big the project was when he took it on, but to his credit he’s made an amazing film.

Also included are Photographs from the Set in vibrant natural color and Production stills.  There is Deleted Footage which features more awesome stop motion animation of everyone’s favorite elder god.  Finally, the disc includes a printable version of the Sydney Bulletin used in the film.

Those are some pretty awesome extras but don’t forget the audio options I mentioned above and the fact that the title cards are translated into 24 languages.  These guys did this right!

The Bottom Line
I spent the better part of 2007 looking for a horror movie that would make me jump for joy.  While I got excited about Hostel II and enjoyed Halloween (2007), The Call of Cthulhu is without a doubt the best horror film released in 2007.  It’s original, exciting and it makes me anxious to see what Leman and company do next.