Cthulhu Anesti!
April 24, 2011 3:21 PM Subscribe
Today is a day to celebrate the Risen God. I mean, of course, Cthulhu, that most adorable of Old Ones, who stars in The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu. If you haven't been eaten yet and need to waste time until then, The Calls for Cthulhu series is a nice way to distract yourself from your impending doom. If all that cuteness isn't enough, or perhaps too much, then you might want to check out oldie but goodie Cutethulhu.
Can a cthuloid link ever be said to be really dead? With strange eons, who know? Perhaps the Internet will come around again to make the site accessible. Although in a very early version of HTML (Horrible Tentacle Madness Language).
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2011 [14 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2011 [14 favorites]
Side question, why have none of Lovecrafts' works been made into a really good film. I saw Dagon, which was good. Am I missing something?
posted by clavdivs at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by clavdivs at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2011
Hey, there is The Call of Cthulhu, by the HPLHS! Pretty good for a semi-amateur production.
The real reason, of course, is no one will give del Toro $150M to do it....
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:44 PM on April 24, 2011
The real reason, of course, is no one will give del Toro $150M to do it....
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:44 PM on April 24, 2011
Cthulhu peeps seem to belong here.
also, HP Wuvcraft.
posted by rog at 3:54 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
also, HP Wuvcraft.
posted by rog at 3:54 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't mean to be rude, but I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
posted by juanillogg at 3:55 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by juanillogg at 3:55 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
I love Lovecraft, by the way
posted by juanillogg at 3:57 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by juanillogg at 3:57 PM on April 24, 2011
Guess you are commenting in the wrong thread.
posted by shothotbot at 3:57 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by shothotbot at 3:57 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
why have none of Lovecrafts' works been made into a really good film
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie. (92% on Rotten Tomatoes according to Wikipedia.)
I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
You're going to be one of the last to be eaten with that kind of attitude.
posted by hippybear at 4:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie. (92% on Rotten Tomatoes according to Wikipedia.)
I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
You're going to be one of the last to be eaten with that kind of attitude.
posted by hippybear at 4:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't mean to be rude, but I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
It's been done and it's kinda rude.
posted by alteredcarbon at 4:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
It's been done and it's kinda rude.
posted by alteredcarbon at 4:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
OMG. Thank you SO much alteredcarbon. I'd not seen that before, and it's perfect!
That'd be great as a high-quality litho hanging in my guest bedroom. Right next to a lovely print of the only Footprints I'd hang on my wall.
posted by hippybear at 4:05 PM on April 24, 2011 [6 favorites]
That'd be great as a high-quality litho hanging in my guest bedroom. Right next to a lovely print of the only Footprints I'd hang on my wall.
posted by hippybear at 4:05 PM on April 24, 2011 [6 favorites]
You're welcome hippybear! Tis the season and all...
posted by alteredcarbon at 4:11 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by alteredcarbon at 4:11 PM on April 24, 2011
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie.
It's a fun movie, although not a particularly good adaption. On the other hand, the story is one of Lovecraft's weaker attempts (it was a serial, and by the 6th part, the recapping is taking up a huge amount of the story), but there is some evidence that he intended it as a parody, so maybe Stuart Gordon was onto something....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:15 PM on April 24, 2011
It's a fun movie, although not a particularly good adaption. On the other hand, the story is one of Lovecraft's weaker attempts (it was a serial, and by the 6th part, the recapping is taking up a huge amount of the story), but there is some evidence that he intended it as a parody, so maybe Stuart Gordon was onto something....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:15 PM on April 24, 2011
Cthulhu peeps seem to belong here.
That whole blog, The Lovecraftsman, is worth bookmarking. There's also a forum that has even more stuff.
I occasionally post on the forum.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 4:21 PM on April 24, 2011
That whole blog, The Lovecraftsman, is worth bookmarking. There's also a forum that has even more stuff.
I occasionally post on the forum.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 4:21 PM on April 24, 2011
This is my favorite cute Cthulhu tale:
Tales of the Plush Cthulhu
posted by ltracey at 4:26 PM on April 24, 2011 [5 favorites]
Tales of the Plush Cthulhu
posted by ltracey at 4:26 PM on April 24, 2011 [5 favorites]
"Right next to a lovely print of the only Footprints I'd hang on my wall."
Hahaha, I just took up cross stitching again and you just gave me an excellent idea for an "inspirational" sampler for my annoying Christian mother-in-law.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:29 PM on April 24, 2011
Hahaha, I just took up cross stitching again and you just gave me an excellent idea for an "inspirational" sampler for my annoying Christian mother-in-law.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:29 PM on April 24, 2011
Then, whispered Castro, those first men formed the cult around small idols which the Great Ones showed them; idols brought in dim eras from dark stars. That cult would never die till the stars came right again, and the secret priests would take great Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling in joy. Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom. And at that point, Casto muttered with bitterness, the fuckers who perpetuate this cute Cthulhu business are going to feel pretty fucking silly.
posted by Artw at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2011 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2011 [10 favorites]
I don't mean to be rude, but I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
Seriously, don't ruin a perfectly good Lovecraft link with that jesus crap.
posted by pickinganameismuchharderthanihadanticipated at 4:47 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
Seriously, don't ruin a perfectly good Lovecraft link with that jesus crap.
posted by pickinganameismuchharderthanihadanticipated at 4:47 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:50 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:50 PM on April 24, 2011
Personally, I think John Carpenter's 'In The Mouth of Madness' (1994) is pretty amazing. Granted, it's a bit goofy and definitely not canon, but the trailer has all sorts of campy goodness, and the monsters are are decently done and pretty cool.
If the trailer grabs you, definitely check out the full Apocalypse Trilogy, which includes The Thing and The Prince of Darkness. Even for those not totally into Cthulhuhuhuhuhu mythos, the bleak and apocalyptic/sci-fi horror feel of all three movies is pretty good.
posted by kurosawa's pal at 5:02 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
If the trailer grabs you, definitely check out the full Apocalypse Trilogy, which includes The Thing and The Prince of Darkness. Even for those not totally into Cthulhuhuhuhuhu mythos, the bleak and apocalyptic/sci-fi horror feel of all three movies is pretty good.
posted by kurosawa's pal at 5:02 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
It's been done and it's kinda rude.
Hey, old school elder sign!
Hey, there is The Call of Cthulhu, by the HPLHS! Pretty good for a semi-amateur production.
There's Whisperer In Darkness, from the same folks - it gets its US premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.
posted by Artw at 5:10 PM on April 24, 2011
Hey, old school elder sign!
Hey, there is The Call of Cthulhu, by the HPLHS! Pretty good for a semi-amateur production.
There's Whisperer In Darkness, from the same folks - it gets its US premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.
posted by Artw at 5:10 PM on April 24, 2011
The Resurrected was Dan O'Bannon's crack at getting HPL up on screen and it's pretty decent overall. Chris Sarandon in a backwoods clapboard mansion complete with pit of unspeakable gibbering horrors really saves it.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 5:43 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 5:43 PM on April 24, 2011
I really need to read Lovecraft some time but I have no idea where I'd start. Any suggestions?
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:05 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:05 PM on April 24, 2011
Here's the ones you want to read, according to Kenneth Hite, and I see very little reason to disagree with him:
Absolutely Perfect: "Colour Out of Space"
Vanishingly Close To Perfect: "Charles Dexter Ward," "Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Dunwich Horror," "Shadow Over Innsmouth"
Masterpieces: "Whisperer in Darkness," "Music of Erich Zann," "Rats in the Walls"
Great: "Dreams in the Witch House," "Haunter of the Dark," "Pickman's Model," "The Shunned House," "Shadow Out of Time," "Strange High House in the Mist," "Doom That Came to Sarnath," "The Cats of Ulthar"
posted by Artw at 6:12 PM on April 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
Absolutely Perfect: "Colour Out of Space"
Vanishingly Close To Perfect: "Charles Dexter Ward," "Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Dunwich Horror," "Shadow Over Innsmouth"
Masterpieces: "Whisperer in Darkness," "Music of Erich Zann," "Rats in the Walls"
Great: "Dreams in the Witch House," "Haunter of the Dark," "Pickman's Model," "The Shunned House," "Shadow Out of Time," "Strange High House in the Mist," "Doom That Came to Sarnath," "The Cats of Ulthar"
posted by Artw at 6:12 PM on April 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
I'd also add that Ian Culbard has done an utterly awesome comicbook adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness. He's got an interesting style, reminisant of Franco-Belgian comics, that probably wouldn't have leaspt to my mind as ideal for Lovecraft, and yet it all really comes together beautifully.
posted by Artw at 6:18 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 6:18 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
YES. New titles to read. Thank you.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:21 PM on April 24, 2011
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:21 PM on April 24, 2011
Alos, because 30 seconds have gone by without me plugging the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast, they're doing a great job doing a comentary on each of the Lovecraft stories in turn. They've just hit Whisperer in Darkness, which is a good one, after spending what seems like forever on a bunch of frankly crappy colaborations.
posted by Artw at 6:26 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:26 PM on April 24, 2011 [3 favorites]
Marisa Stole The Precious Thing:
Most of the stories you want are in the collections
Tales of Horror and the Supernatural,
Dreams of Terror and Death,
and The Road to Madness.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most of the stories you want are in the collections
Tales of Horror and the Supernatural,
Dreams of Terror and Death,
and The Road to Madness.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:00 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's Whisperer In Darkness, from the same folks - it gets its US premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Meetup, yo?
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie.
Definitely the finest forcible-oral-sex-performed-by-disembodied-head scene ever filmed.
posted by stet at 7:04 PM on April 24, 2011
Meetup, yo?
There seems to be a pretty good consensus that Re-Animator is a good movie.
Definitely the finest forcible-oral-sex-performed-by-disembodied-head scene ever filmed.
posted by stet at 7:04 PM on April 24, 2011
In general I like Stuart Gordon's films, but I'm not really sure that zombie gorefests with an adolescent attitude to sexuality was really what Lovecraft was going for.
posted by Artw at 7:08 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:08 PM on April 24, 2011 [2 favorites]
If I'm the only one who liked night gallery's version of Pickman's Model, then I appologise for putting this here. It's Hulu so it's got some commercials
posted by Redhush at 7:39 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Redhush at 7:39 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
Side question, why have none of Lovecrafts' works been made into a really good film. I saw Dagon, which was good. Am I missing something?
I saw Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu at a film festival, which was fun. Think Pegg and Wright plus Buffy plus Lovecraft
there was a neat Scooby Doo with Lovecraft and Harlan Ellison. I might make an FPP about it.
The B Masters Cabel just reviewed a whole bunch of Lovecraft films.
and if I link my bro's Lego Lovecraft YouTubes again I think i'll break some rule, so i'll leave them out
honestly, despite my name I don't get the insatiable obsession Lovecraft inspires. though I did get a sense of the Elder Gods once... it happens when you're in Western Massachuetts, reading too much horror and drinking too much cough syrupt
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:11 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
I saw Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu at a film festival, which was fun. Think Pegg and Wright plus Buffy plus Lovecraft
there was a neat Scooby Doo with Lovecraft and Harlan Ellison. I might make an FPP about it.
The B Masters Cabel just reviewed a whole bunch of Lovecraft films.
and if I link my bro's Lego Lovecraft YouTubes again I think i'll break some rule, so i'll leave them out
honestly, despite my name I don't get the insatiable obsession Lovecraft inspires. though I did get a sense of the Elder Gods once... it happens when you're in Western Massachuetts, reading too much horror and drinking too much cough syrupt
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:11 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't mean to be rude, but I would not like to mix religion with cosmic horror stories
posted by juanillogg at 11:55 PM on April 24
This is a fair point. Religion is quite horrifying enough all by itself.
posted by Decani at 1:45 AM on April 25, 2011
posted by juanillogg at 11:55 PM on April 24
This is a fair point. Religion is quite horrifying enough all by itself.
posted by Decani at 1:45 AM on April 25, 2011
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