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Psychonaut
01-17-2009, 08:37 AM
So, my wife and I sat down to watch the adaption of The Call of Cthulhu that was recently produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. It's a 1920's style, black and white, silent film. We were both very pleased with the cinematography and music, thinking that it very much captured the feel of Lovecraft's era. If you're willing to sit down in a dark room and suspend your disbelief for 45 minutes, give this film a try.

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YggsVinr
01-22-2009, 10:35 AM
Interesting, may have to give this a viewing.

There's also this new movie coming out:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=yV_EGHIwin4

I'm not sure, it looks a little...how shall we say...?

Honestly, though, I'm an avid Lovecraft fan but have always found that any attempt to build on Lovecraft's work or any attempt to "bring them to life" through films or games has always made me a little uneasy. To me, the unknown element has always been part of the power of Lovecraft. Even the Simon Necronomicon irritates me a little as it tries to open up, almost humanize, bring down to earth what Lovecraft created, when its greatest strength is the infinitude the unknown in his stories grants to the imagination. I'm not sure that could ever be grasped on film or any other form of media beyond the written words of Lovecraft himself.

Psychonaut
01-22-2009, 09:52 PM
Interesting, may have to give this a viewing.

There's also this new movie coming out:

I'm not sure, it looks a little...how shall we say...?

Yeah, I was really excited when I heard they were making another adaption of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but the gay subplot and horrid reviews will probably keep me from seeing this one.


Honestly, though, I'm an avid Lovecraft fan but have always found that any attempt to build on Lovecraft's work or any attempt to "bring them to life" through films or games has always made me a little uneasy. To me, the unknown element has always been part of the power of Lovecraft. Even the Simon Necronomicon irritates me a little as it tries to open up, almost humanize, bring down to earth what Lovecraft created, when its greatest strength is the infinitude the unknown in his stories grants to the imagination. I'm not sure that could ever be grasped on film or any other form of media beyond the written words of Lovecraft himself.

You're right. Nearly every Lovecraft adaption to date has been horrible, replacing cosmic horror with base visceral horror. The film I posted escapes that and, I think, is a somewhat effective film. Their next offering, The Whisperer in Darkness, looks to be even better:

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YggsVinr
01-23-2009, 01:58 AM
Both your suggestions look promising. I think I'm going to have to sit down and watch that rendition of the Call of Cthulhu over the weekend.