I watched “The Call of Cthulhu” last night and as a life-long fan of H.P. Lovecraft fiction and the Cthulhu mythos in general, I was pretty pleased with it. At 47 minutes, the black and white silent film, (complete with musical score, artificial scratches and old-style makeup to give it a fairly convincing “pre-talkie” look) follows the the original work of fiction closely. There’s no CGI, instead relying on sets, models and stop-motion animation in the spirit of Ray Harryhausen.

A man finds a manuscript found among the papers of a deceased relative that recounts an investigation into a strange idol, a cult that worships an ancient god from beyond the stars named Cthulhu—a member of a pantheon known as “Old Ones” and a strange island city, built by a long ago lost civilization and the horror that lies there sleeping.

I’ve read the original short story (along with all the other Lovecraft fiction that I could get my hands on) many times over since I was young kid. To see a movie that really tries to capture the mood, follows the plot and generally really tries to pay homage to what makes it such great fiction in the first place is a great thing. I’ve seen a lot of bullshit films based on Lovecraft fiction. This one’s a keeper.

Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!!!