The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu

The people who say this isn't based on Lovecraft or the Cthulhu mythos are way off base, and they miss the point of this romp. Without H.P. Lovecraft's writing, this movie wouldn't exist. It isn't meant to be a "Lovecraft movie" or to be taken seriously. It's precisely what its writer and co-star intended it to be, a cinematic comic book and a tribute to Lovecraft as the father of modern horror and the progenitor of much of what we know as horror comics, both serious and humorous. The performers are all at least adequate, and the three leads are charming, portraying Regular Guys and a stereotyped comic book nerd with tongues firmly in cheek. It's obvious everyone who had anything to do with The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu had a ball, and so will you, unless you have no sense of fun at all.

THE LAST LOVECRAFT: RELIC OF CTHULHU is a movie for the fan of H.P. Lovecraft with a sense of humor, which, well, seems like an oxymoron. However, this is one funny movie!

When the titular totem is uncovered in Egypt, a descendant of the late-great author must be located, before Cthulhu's minions arise to seal mankind's doom. Of course, said descendant is... a total idiot. Luckily, his friends are... er, also idiots. How will these three boobs possible stand against the dark hordes?

Sort of SHAUN OF THE DEAD for lovers of Lovecraftian lore, TLL:ROC pits shiftless slackers against marauding monstrosities to hilarious effect! For a low-budget affair, the creature costumes aren't bad at all, and -hallelujah- the CGI is kept to a minimum (at least until the finale).

FACT: One has not truly lived until experiencing the history of Cthulhu told in animated comic book fashion!...

I'll make this short and too the point, as there are some really good reviews on here, which offer all the needed details.

First, don't go in to this expecting a well done, highly cinemagraphic film. It is a total B-movie intended for and made by fans of the Lovecraftian Cthulhu mythos. The writers are obviously fans, as there are a few subtle details of the mythos they included which would not be noticed by a casual fan. It is intentionally written in a comical vein, not taking itself too seriously...and neither should you, as the viewer. Expect lots of cheesy one-liners, some over the top (intentionally) acting - meaning, it lends itself to the flick instead of being just crappy acting by actors trying to be discovered - and even a few recognizable faces.

The fx are cheesy, though done in a way that is acceptable for this film. In other words, the blood and limited gore is not "red paint and lunch meat," but at least a step up, in order to lend just enough credibility to the scenes in question.

All in all, I really enjoyed the flick. It moves at a decent pace and is just good fun from start to finish. If you're:

• looking for blood and gore
• well developed characters
• a good script
• good fx
• don't have a genuine love for the Cthulhu mythos,

then this movie is NOT for you.

If you:

• dig all things Cthulhu
• can enjoy a flick of said theme without expecting serious film-making qualities
• enjoy a good laugh
• can handle a LITTLE bit of blood and gore,

then this is DEFINITELY worth a watch.

Don't take it too seriously...nobody making the movie did.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic Of Cthulhu kicked off the opening gala at the 5th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival last night, and also marked the film's international premiere. The film a horror comedy that sits in the same space as Jack Brooks Monster Slayer and, reaching back a bit, the original Tremors. While I'm not sure it's bound for cult classic status, the film does have it's moments, and offers a humorous take on the Lovecraftian mythos, including an opening credit sequence that was reminiscent of the 80's cult classic Re-Animator.

The basic premise is that the world H.P. Lovecraft envisioned was more fact than fiction, and the reason he could write about the nameless horrors is because of a genetic disposition that allows his bloodline to avoid going absolutely mad when confronted with the evil of the Old Ones. A secret society has existed to protect the world from Cthulhu, but now that the second half of an ancient artifact has been uncovered (coincidentally just as the starts are aligning), only the last descendant of the horror writer can save the world. That would be Jeff (Kyle Davis), a sometimes awkward office worker, who has no idea of his lineage. Luckily his best friend and room mate Charlie (Devin McGinn) is more well versed in Lovecraftian lore, and after being confronted with the initial threats, the adventure ensues.

Once the basic premise is out of the way, the story arc is pretty well tread ground. What keeps The Last Lovecraft entertaining enough is the comedy, which for the most part hits all the right notes. Some of it felt forced, but it was pretty rare, and there are a couple of stand out performances, especially from Barak Hardley as Paul, a high school friend and Lovecraft nerd who joins them on their quest, and the mysterious Captain Olaf, played by Gregg Lawrence.

If you're going to do a creature feature, you need to have some good monster effects, and on this front, the film certainly delivers. Most of the creatures ride the line between creepy and silly, with a couple of notable exceptions either way. The sucker fish creature which appears in the trailer is most definitely on the silly side, but the spawn that attack a group of camping teenagers work well in delivering some chills.

Some of the most enjoyable parts of the movie for me were the animated sequences, including a comic book style recap of the history of the Old Ones coming to Earth during the time of the dinosaurs. There are some great sequences with the animated Cthulhu fighting dinosaurs, especially notable is the point where he uses a recently decapitated triceratops head as a shield.

When making a low budget movie of this nature, it's very often a labour of love for everyone involved, and that love comes across on film. That's because the budgetary constraints mean making sacrifices that larger films don't have to worry about, and as someone who who's got a soft spot for these types of moves, it's tough to be critical. There are problems though, mainly in the pacing and the editing. There were a few points, such as the camping teenagers scene mentioned above, where just knowing when to cut would have made a difference in how things played out.

Even with some of the largely technical problems that come with an indie film, The Last Lovecraft is a fun horror-comedy romp with some great moments, and makes for a great popcorn flick. It manages to evoke notes from other horror-comedy classics while remaining it's own beast, which is something tough to pull off at any budget, when it comes to genre films.

At the end of the film, Devin McGinn, who plays Charlie and also wrote and produced the film, took to the stage, along with director Henry Saine, for a Q & A session, and were joined by other cast members. It's clear that they all enjoyed working together, and if all goes well, we'll be seeing the sequel sometime down the road. Let's hope it'll be making it's premiere at Toronto After Dark sooner as opposed to later.

This review originally appeared at http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=8607

OK, first off, if you're not into Lovecraft or the Cthulhu Mythos, you won't get all of the references and jokes, but that's not to say you won't have fun with this movie. Underneath its rough exterior lies a film with plenty of wit and charm, and a "deep" (pun intended) love of all things Lovecraft.

The delivery, as said, is a bit rough, but after only a short period I found myself easily forgiving any of the film's minor shortcomings. No expensive, top-of-the-line special effects, an excess of foul language that probably should have been scaled (ha!) back a bit, and a couple of performances that weren't anything said performers would want to put on their demo reel (read: stiff).

Still, those things aside, the story is fun and silly, and maintains a nice balance between the humor and drama, avoiding any awkward or jarring transitional moments between scenes (if nothing else could be said, at least take note of that element, which I found refreshing, as I've seen quite a few "blockbusters" of late that failed at it, unable to decide whether they're action or comedy vehicles).

A somewhat imperfect analogy would be to reference the TV series "Chuck." Take any old Lovecraftian Hammer film and drop Chuck & Morgan down in the middle of it as the protagonists and you've got a good idea of what I believe this movie was intended to be. I wouldn't go so far as to say it completely succeeded, but in the end I think it worked well enough to make the movie enjoyable.

Ultimately it's a light-hearted Cthulhu Mythos comic book on film, with nods to geeks, gamers and Lovecraft fans everywhere. Will it necessarily be everyone's cup of tea? Nah. What movie is? But if you're in the target audience, and can go into it with a smile on your face and no Cameronesque expectations, there's a good chance you'll have a good time and even find yourself later talking about it with friends over your Mt. Dew and Funyuns as you prepare to toss the percentiles and hope your character doesn't go insane.