With all of the hubbub that surrounded The Artist and it’s look back at the silent movie era, I thought it was worth bringing up a modern-silent movie from 2005 titled The Call of Cthulhu.
The Call of Cthulhu was an ambitious film project utilizing the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name. I have not read the original story myself, but I am told the plot veers very close to the source material with few alterations. It does, however, have everything one would expect from a Cthulhu film including cultists and insanity.
The film does a delightful job of mirroring special effect techniques of the silent era while blending in modern technology to achieve a period look. Fortunately, the more modern techniques were used sparingly in instances where it was necessary, such as replacing modern city backgrounds with those that are more time appropriate. Undoubtedly, the show stopper is the claymation version of Cthulhu itself in the city of R’lyeah.
Another thing of note was the attention paid to makeup, wardrobe and the acting style. (The acting is just over the top without drifting into absurdity.) While there are some subtle giveaways that you’re not watching a vintage classic, there are times when it feels the movie has been teleported from the 1920s or recovered from some vault.
The film only has a runtime of 47 minutes, but they’re 47 minutes of absolute pleasure. It’s easy to obtain a copy online, and Netflix has it streaming as of this posting date. If you enjoy silent era cinema, I cannot recommend this film enough.
LOVED this movie. A must-see