The Call of Cthulhu, written in 1926 by H.P Lovecraft is a central piece in the horror-genre. Lovecraft renewed Horror with his style and ideas. Many have tried to adapt his books to the big screen, but none has been as successful as the HPLHS who just recently completed their black and white silent version of Call of Cthulhu. Not only did they attempt to make a faithful and creepy adaptation, but also to make it look as if it was made in the time of Lovecraft. The movie is blessed with terrific actors who all seem like they genuinely care about the portrayal of the story. All performances are top notch which signifies that the actors are very talented as well as great directing on part of Andrew Leman. This is truly one of the great strengths of Call of Cthulhu. The movie has a really authentic 1920ties feel to it. The producers have payed much attention to detail; so everything looks and feels genuine. Another strong point. The adaptation itself is magnificent. Never before have I seen such a faithful adaption of any Lovecraft-story in my entire life. Nothing is rushed, its all there and even though the movie is only 45 minutes long it is just as good at telling the story as Lovecraft himself. The movie is full of special effects, stop motion animation and so forth. This movie is low budget and independent; and yes Universal studios would be able to create more convincing effects, but that is entirely unessential to this film as it is made to fit the 1920ties era. If Cthulhu himself were made with fancy computer animation the movie would have failed at its objective; to be faithful to the silent-movie genre. To be honest I love the effects in Call of Cthulhu. They strengthen the feel of authenticity and you never miss the big and pointless explosions that mainstream cinema offers. I would personally recommend this movie to anyone with an interest in HP Lovecraft, Horror, Independent films and vintage films. It truly is remarkably good. I've already watched it three times, and I love it more for each time. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have.
