The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

NIGHT 13

     "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

The Call of Cthulhu (2005) is an independent film featurette created and distributed by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, based on the short story by the same name by H.P. Lovecraft. The film was created as a silent film in attempt to show what the film would have looked like if it was created the year the story was first published, in 1926.

This film is about man's attempt to understand his uncle's obsessive research around a recent cult and the journey it takes him on.

I really like the concept behind these types of movies, the (for lack of a better term) "new classics." Usually it has a high chance of failure but they always catch my attention, and I think it's because these types of movies are born out of passion and love for the old mediums and film techniques that have been lost and abandoned over time. Unlike most of those other ones though, I think this film is very successful and worth watching.

Normally a big flaw or give away in these types of films that they weren't created in the past and are in fact very recent is the production design. But I've got to do a shout out to the production design in this film because even though it's a low budget and independently funded, it's really pretty spot on here. Then of course I looked up the director and it turns out he's done props on several big Hollywood films and suddenly this made sense that he'd be looking at that!

I also really liked the cinematography in this film. It's more of a modern style of camerawork than anything that was made in the 20s' but it really works here. Nothing is too advanced that wouldn't have been possible in the 20s' but they're following camera rules and techinques established after this time. This was a smart choice integrating a modern style of camera work in the silent, black and white format is really effective.

For better or for worse, the creators of this film set out to make the most faithful film adaptation of a Lovecraft story and I gotta say, I think they really nailed it. After all the films I've gone through in the past week this is by far the most accurate and truthful adaptation.

The bad thing about choosing this story to make into a very accurate film adaptation is that the story doesn't easily lend itself to film storytelling at all. There's a reason this story was considered "unfilmable" and that is because it jumps around in time with multiple stories told by multiple narrators. And on top of that, trying to present this story as a silent film can be a little rough and hard to follow at times. There was definitely a couple parts I had to re-watch just to fully comprehend what was going on.

Most of the effects in this film were done right (a film full of practical effects is so refreshing in today's CG-obsessed world) but the "claymation" Cthulhu didn't fit the rest of the effects, I felt. I'm not saying I wish it was CG, but I wish it was a stop-motion model that was made of something a little more detailed or solid because it really sticks out. Luckily the film doesn't show too much of it but they could have gotten away with showing more... if the model looked better.

Another big thing that doesn't work in this film is the actors. The reason we had such big stars from the silent film era is because they had a real screen presence, great expression and pantomime and amazing looks. They needed these because without voice all they had! It's painfully obvious the difference between those stars and the actors that were hired on a modern day independent film budget, who have never had the opportunity to work in the silent medium before.

And the best thing about this film is the soundtrack. The score really works in this film and adds a ton to every single scene in this film. There was plenty of times where what I was watching on screen didn't move me as much as what I was listening to did. There's multiple names listed in the credits for music so I'm not sure if this was a collaboration or the songs were split between different composers. But whatever they did, it works.

The Call of Cthulhu (2005) is the product of an intense love for the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Instead of just paying tribute to his work by dropping references and mimicking his storytelling style, like in In the Mouth of Madness (1994), this film strives to be as truthful to the original story as possible and I think it succeeds because of that love and need to do the story justice.

4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




Tomorrow we finish our 6-decade long Lovecraft film streak as we move on to the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's follow up film to this one, The Whisperer in the Darkness (2011) here on the 31 Nights of Macabre Movies.

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The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

DAY 30

"If I am the Phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so..."

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) was the first feature length adaptation of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. This version remains a classic horror film and and was one of the very first films in Universal's well known monster movie line.

[I recently saw a restoration of this film that was completely silent but used primarily the 1929 version, with some parts restored from the original 1925 version and technicolor scenes from the 1930 version. If you would like to read more about the very complicated version history of this film please do so here. This "Photoplay Production" is the version I will reference and review, obviously because I just watched it but also because it seems like a good mix of the different versions that were released pretty close to the same time.]

The story of this film really holds up well. It's simple, interesting and I really love the way the mystery plays out. It keeps you guessing about who the Phantom is and what he really looks like for a good portion of the film. Then once you do know what is up, the horror is actually amplified by his grotesque image and actions. Really cool.

The ending is abrupt and almost unsatisfying, and lots of things are obviously very dated today. Some things that get brought up aren't followed through, but basically for as old as this film is it holds up about as good as a film of it's age could.

The film has some really, really amazing sets. With a ton of detail and a whole lot of little details sprinkled all around. A lot of the sets also move and have hidden things they do that really work believably! The amazing set pieces really help to sell the story of this film. And amazingly the opera set is still standing today!

The direction of the film is phenomenal. With only a few slight exceptions the cinematography follows all the common rules of cinematography today. It's all done in a very straightforward and simple way, so much so that it really blows my mind. I liked how despite the Phantom killing a bunch of people and is a true antagonist of this film, it still almost shows him in a sympathetic light. The ending sequences really emphasize this. It's really great! I love the incorporation of Faust, and if you can see the technicolor version, which was the way it was apparently intended to be released, it's amazing how even at such a low quality the effect really pays off and makes the Phantom stand out and come to life in his red robes in the Bal Masqué scene.

And lastly I need to mention Lon Chaney Sr.'s makeup as the phantom. Back in those days the actor was responsible for his own makeup and Lon Chaney really took it seriously and was very passionate about it. His makeup for the phantom is really quite simple but is still very shocking and disturbingly believable today, which is a true testament to how good he really was.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) is one of the silent films everyone should see, and luckily it's often played around Halloween-time on the big screen so if you get the chance you should definitely check it out! 4/5 stars.

Happy watching!







This film is now in the public domain due to Universal's failure to renew the copyright in 1953, so you are free to download the 1925 version here, or the 1929 version here, thanks to the Internet Archive.

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

DAY 9

The Man Who Laughs (1928) rarely seen film from the early years of Universal Pictures. Its very rare to find a silent film that still holds up today and I dare say this is one of them. It's one of the last films directed by famed German Expressionist director Paul Leni and stars German actor Conrad Veidt, which you would know from the role of Cesare in the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), and silent era star Mary Philbin, who previously played Christine in the Universal adaption of The Phantom of the Opera (1925). I actually wouldn't consider this film a horror movie as much as a very melancholy drama about being different. This film also offers an interesting view or critique of Monarchy.

The story of The Man Who Laughs is very captivating, as you would expect from a Victor Hugo story, and from what I understand this film is actually fairly accurate to the novel. In this age where every story is told out of order, I was amazed at how the film started with the origin of the character, something that actually worked really well considering the character's troubled past. This really makes you grow attached to him from the very beginning.

To me it's really cool that the story still holds up today, it's really just a melancholy look at what it feels like to be different or strange. It's interesting to me, that in this film which is often considered a horror story, the only characters who would be close to considered monsters are the regular people (okay and maybe the the jester too haha). It's also interesting to me that the character wasn't born that way, it was acted upon him from an early age. Though this was probably just trying to be as accurate to the novel as possible, this automatically puts you closer to him than the Phantom character the similar story in The Phantom of the Opera and makes the ending really feel justified and good.

I have a problem with the way the character of the Duchess was handled. I actually liked her acting a lot (actually more than the star Mary Philbin) and in pretty much every scene she's in she has such a seductive and scandalous part, so much so that it's really amazing this was made so long ago! But I guess I was just unclear of her intentions most of the film. I don't know when she first meets The Laughing Man if she just feels sorry for him or she actually falls in love on the spot? Also her character kind of drops out of the story at a certain point and I just thought it could have been done better, I'll have to see what happens with her in the novel sometime.

I love the direction of this film. It has such a modern style of cinematography which I think really helps this film not feel as old as it actually is. I would even say the film is so clear that it probably would work without title cards, for the most part. It was made in the height of the silent era and is probably a shinning example of those films, right before things started getting strange and clumsy with the addition of sound. It's actually a shame that the Director died so young, I feel like this film is proof his career could have continued well into the sound era.

This film is actually unique because it was completed in 1927, talkies were possible and they actually considered making it an early sound film. But because of the prosthetics in the lead Conrad Veidt's mouth (complete with painful hooks used to widen his smile) made it very difficult for him to speak, instead they waited a year to release it and added a limited soundtrack with music and a few sound effects. Actually I want to mention the sound effects cause they're used very sparingly, for the most part only to emphasize important things but there's these crowd scenes where they use the voices of people to sound like they're speaking. Their voices are all distorted and out of sync with their mouths but it adds a really cool effect, and very interesting to watch. I also found out this added soundtrack was apparently the only reason the new owners of Universal saved the film, in the 40s they went through burning almost their entire silent catalogue just to make space! Unbelievable!

And the most importantly the thing to see this film for is the German actor Conrad Veidt. He plays the lead Gwynplaine, A.K.A. The Laughing Man. Veidt brings so much mood and emotion to this character, even when he could barely move the lower half of his face, that its really a sight to see. I also found out during my research, that not only was Veidt the somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari but he played the Nazi Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942) and would go on to have a full career into the forties after this film. I think I need to add him to my list of favorite actors now and make a point to see even more of his work!

Couple more interesting little tidbits to add: this was the first "monster" make up that Universal hired the now-famous Jack Pierce to do who would go on to create the famous looks of Universal's Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy and The Wolfman. Also the makeup of The Laughing Man in this film is what inspired Bob Kane and Bill Finger to create Batman's greatest foe, The Joker! Crazy!

The Man Who Laughs (1928) is a rarely seen classic that amazingly still holds up today! I highly recommend people see this great piece of film history. 4/5 stars.

Happy watching!







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