Cthulhu

Regent Releasing

Here Films/Liberation Entertainment

R1 DVD

H.P. Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was a writer of strange fiction and horror. He produced works which profoundly changed the way we view dark fantasy and literature. While his work did not achieve great fame during his lifetime, after his death his tales slowly began to attract a larger and larger audience until today he is celebrated as a 20th century master of the macabre. One of his major bequests to horror literature is the “Cthulhu Mythos”. Lovecraft eschewed the romanticism of so much horror literature of his time and offered a deeply pessimistic view of the world where man was part of a greater scheme which he did not understand and which involved forces which were detrimental to his survival. While he used a wide range of esoteric and occult themes as literary motifs, he was an atheist and materialist and simply used spirituality as an allegorical expression of man’s alienation and isolation. He saw man locked in a unsuccessful battle against the insurmountable forces of nature.

There have been a vast number of explorations of the works of Lovecraft in cinema. From the early B grade spectacular of Dunwich Horror (1970) to the various gore extravaganzas of Stuart Gordon such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986). While these, and the many others, have their charm, none really embodied the real sense of dread which permeates the Cthulhu Mythos. The mythos clearly expresses a belief that there something is innately wrong with the universe, that man is at best a species here for the short term, at worst a pest and that his time has come.

Cthulhu is a spectacular exploration of the essence of the work of Lovecraft. Based loosely on The Shadow Over Innsmouth it explores the themes of alienation and otherness by combining two very different tales. First we have the experience of a gay professor returning to the narrow small town he grew up in and having to deal and the dangers of being an “outsider” in such a closed environment. This highly personal, emotional and at times erotically charged story is the window through which we experience the story of Cthulhu.

This is an extremely moody and atmospheric work, filled to the brim with suspense and tension. While obviously made on a limited budget, it shows what can be done with a deep understanding of horror cinema. It uses a very limited amount of special effects and focuses on character, storytelling and mood and succeeds admirably. It moves between family melodrama, horror tale and surrealist fantasy without a pause and in my mind is one of the first films to really take up the mantle of the Cthulhu mythos and run with it in a serious manner.

Russ March is a gay college history professor living in Seattle who receives word that his mother has died. He left his home town of Rivermouth, Oregon many years before and has never looked back. Now he must return and face the narrowness of the community and his strangely religious family.

As he drives away from the city towards Oregon everything seems to hint at disaster. From news of the death of the last polar bear on the radio to a fatal auto accident he sees as he drives into town. It seems the world is going to hell in a hand basket.

Due to the accident he does not arrive in time for the funeral but is convinced to stay a few days due to the auctioning of his mother’s house and related legal protocols. He is not impressed. His father is just as fanatical as ever and while his sister Danni seems to be working to keep the peace, something just doesn’t seem right. As he attempts to adjust to having to be in Rivermouth for even a short time, he has a nice surprise. He bumps into Mike, a school friend with which he used to fool around and they begin to explore a relationship.

Slowly Russ notices that things in Rivermouth are not right. There are strange rites going on at the seaside, his father’s religious rhetoric has become even more disturbed and a large number of children have vanished and yet no one seems to care. The further he digs into the history of Rivermouth the more trouble he finds himself in. He is drugged and used to impregnate a young woman and finds himself framed for the killing of a young boy.

The way in which the film explores the alienation Russ experiences as a gay man in an isolated township, his experiences of homophobia and the demands of family to produce offspring at any cost is powerful. It adds a deep and profound new level to the Cthulhu mythos and indeed brings it into the modern age. The Shadow Over Innsmouth was originally written in 1931 and it is testament to the director of this film that he has been able to explore the story in a new and insightful manner. This is very intelligent filmmaking with a plot which is superbly written.

The cinematography is very accomplished from the superb countryside of Oregon to the surreal dreamlike sequences later in the film. One of the most outstanding sequences is Russ’s journey through the underground tunnel network where, lit simply from flashes of his camera, he comes to see some of the real inhabitants of the township. It is done so simply, yet so suspenseful and tense. You find yourself right on the edge of your seat as you look closely at the screen wondering what the next camera flash will reveal.

Cthulhu really brings home the mood, atmosphere and sheer terror of the dark view of the world that Lovecraft envisioned. It is deliberately confusing, confronting and challenging. At times you wonder whether Russ is more at risk from the narrowness of the town’s people than from their strange and perverse religious practises which are bringing about the apocalypse.

The ending leaves you considering the nature of the film and as you reflect you will come to the conclusion, like I did, that Cthulhu is the best indie film I have seen in a very long time.

This review will appear in Volume 2 No.2 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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