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Cthulhu (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Cthulhu is a 2007 American
horror
movie
, directed
by Dan Gildark and co-written by Grant Cogswell
and Daniel Gildark. The film is loosely based on the short story
"The Shadow Over Innsmouth
" (1936) by H. P. Lovecraft
.
The film moves the story from New England
to the Pacific Northwest
. The film is notable for having a gay
protagonist
. Screenwriter Grant Cogswell
explained that he and Gildark chose to exploit the metaphor for the horror faced by a gay person returning for a relative's funeral and having to face the horrors of small-town life.
The film premiered June 14, 2007 at the Seattle International Film Festival
and officially opened in select theatrical venues August 22, 2008.
Looking for answers in the warehouse, Russ is taken on an unbelievable journey through the small town's ancient, subterranean origins. When he escapes, he and Mike find the girl's brother murdered. Russ begins to believe preparations are underway for a mass sacrifice, and engages the attentions of a seductress in order to obtain information. He is raped and arrested for murder on the eve of the May Festival. The stakes are raised when Russ discovers that the cult intends to take over the world by raising anthropomorphic creatures from the sea.
The film ends with Russ and his best friend/lover being held by the cult, as Russ' father orders him to choose between the man he loves and the life he has been called to lead in his father's church.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Dan Gildark and co-written by Grant Cogswell
Grant Cogswell
Grant Cogswell is an eccentric screenwriter, independent film producer journalist, poet and political activist, known mostly to residents of Seattle, Washington....
and Daniel Gildark. The film is loosely based on the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in November-December 1931, the story was first published in April 1936; this was the only fiction of Lovecraft's published during his lifetime that did not appear in a periodical....
" (1936) by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
.
The film moves the story from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. The film is notable for having a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. Screenwriter Grant Cogswell
Grant Cogswell
Grant Cogswell is an eccentric screenwriter, independent film producer journalist, poet and political activist, known mostly to residents of Seattle, Washington....
explained that he and Gildark chose to exploit the metaphor for the horror faced by a gay person returning for a relative's funeral and having to face the horrors of small-town life.
The film premiered June 14, 2007 at the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
and officially opened in select theatrical venues August 22, 2008.
Plot summary
When young history professor Russ is called upon by his sister to execute their late mother's estate, he is reunited with boyhood friend Mike, and with his father, the charismatic leader of a New Age cult. While exploring his memories, Russ wanders into a warehouse where hundreds of names are listed on the walls. As he sleeps that night, he dreams of a stone cudgel and awakens to find a cudgel in his motel room; the town drunk warns him that it is an instrument of sacrifice. A young liquor store clerk enlists him to help find her brother, whom she believes has been taken by the cult. Russ's aunt, who has been living in an asylum, tells him that his mother left a message hidden in her house.Looking for answers in the warehouse, Russ is taken on an unbelievable journey through the small town's ancient, subterranean origins. When he escapes, he and Mike find the girl's brother murdered. Russ begins to believe preparations are underway for a mass sacrifice, and engages the attentions of a seductress in order to obtain information. He is raped and arrested for murder on the eve of the May Festival. The stakes are raised when Russ discovers that the cult intends to take over the world by raising anthropomorphic creatures from the sea.
The film ends with Russ and his best friend/lover being held by the cult, as Russ' father orders him to choose between the man he loves and the life he has been called to lead in his father's church.
Cast
- Cara BuonoCara BuonoCara Buono is an American actress, screenwriter and director, probably best known for her role as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men.-Early life:...
- Dannie - Jason Cottle - Russ
- Richard Garfield - Zadok
- Ian GeogheganIan GeogheganIan "Pete" Geoghegan, was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Geoghegan was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 1970s Australian motor racing scene...
- Ralph - Scott GreenScott Patrick GreenScott Patrick Green is an actor. He is often cast in Gus Van Sant's movies.He appeared in Feast of Love , Paranoid Park , Last Days , Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and My Own Private Idaho and various music videos.Scott is also a still photographer...
- Mike - Dennis Kleinsmith - Reverend Marsh
- Amy Minderhout - Julie
- Robert Padilla - Ancestor
- Tori SpellingTori SpellingVictoria Davey "Tori" Spelling is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?...
- Susan - Nancy Stark - Aunt Josie
- Hunter Stroud - Teen Russ
- Rob Hamm - Jake
External links
- Fake newsreel interview with Lovecraft, used as early filmmaker promo for the film
- Horror Asylum Release Date Article