A true to life portrayal of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu mythology has rarely been seen over the past 40 or so years, especially installment with decent budgets. The few attempts to capture this level of pure insanity have all fallen far far short and this rendition is no saving grace. "Cthulhu" centers around and gay college professor returning home for his mothers funeral, only to discover that his once serene hometown is now the backbone of a malevolent cult, and that he himself, plays a key role in their nefarious machinations. I mention the fact the he is a gay man merely because this is what this movie is about. You heard me, "Cthulhu" is more about a mans struggle between family and his sexual orientation, than about cult worship and the resurrection of ancient deities. Imagine if Lord of the Rings was more about the strong homo-erotic undertones between Sam and Frodo, and less about complete salvation of their entire world. If you can picture that, then you have "Cthulhu"; pretty much all 100 minuets of it I would say. The fact that he is gay does play into the overall storyline, but is overly focused upon, thus resulting in a incoherent story plagued throughout with poorly ad-libbed dialog and plot progression. The story involves several intense moments of emotion and terror, but poor writing and performance by the actors leaves these scenes lifeless and disorienting. One scene literally starts with a discussion about monsters and cult worship, and abruptly ends with argument about a severe lack of jelly on his PB&J. Its OK to feel like you need to read that last sentence again. One could argue that these moments are intentionally puzzling, as to capture the sense of insanity that The Cthulhu Mythos is most know for. Sorry guys not buying it. The direction choices are neither clever nor a foundation of the film fundamentals, what ever they may be, but rather a way of filling space between love scenes and ultimately dumbing down the entire film. However, beautiful imagery and a sparse, but superbly conducted soundtrack make for a stunning viewing experience. Unique and creative camera work establish the drama in more ways than the actors themselves, but a sever lack of music during several key points of the film does little to keep audience's attention during dialog heavy scenes. Anyone interested in a career behind a camera should invest the time into this film for its great camera direction, which though stylish and well refined, is not enough to save this film in its entirety. From the start of the film, audiences are left just far enough out of the story loop to leave you guessing. Guessing what? Perhaps whats going on? Perhaps why are some of the actors incredibly loud all the time, while others can barely be heard? Perhaps why am I still watching this movie? Perhaps the eeriness of devout hordes of ancient demon worshipers is a task that can only be handled by big budget studios and a top list cast. Or, maybe, you just need someone out there who actually wants to make a movie about the Cthulhu Mythos, and not just stick a big "Cthulu was here" sticker on a homosexual love story. If your going to make a movie about Cthulhu, make it about Cthulhu. Life, please don't send me deceitful crap like this again.
