[Movie] H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu

[Ihavewaffles]

James Wan Dives Into Lovecraftian Horror With Call of Cthulhu Adaptation.

https://www.cbr.com/james-wan-call-o...hu-adaptation/
BY MANUEL DEMEGILLO - 1 DAY AGO

James Wan pivots from the supernatural horror of The Conjuring Universe to direct a movie adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu, the definitive cosmic horror story from H.P. Lovecraft.

With director James Wan at the helm, The Conjuring Universe has created the continuing horror franchise that Universal's Dark Universe failed to establish. Wan is now a household name in the supernatural horror subgenre, but few are just as aware he also directed 2004's Saw, the movie that jumpstarted a successful torture horror franchise (the next Saw installment is slated for a September 2024 release). Wan has since hinted that he's working on a dream project but remained secretive about the details. The director never revealed anything more about this, that is, until Deadline reported his adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu will be included in a slate of upcoming films.

The Deadline report revealed a handful of video game adaptations based on upcoming films, which include collaboration titles from directors James Wan and Sam Raimi. Wan is also confirmed to helm three movies in that list: Mass Extinction, GMO, and The Call of Cthulhu. The director teased that the H.P. Lovecraft short story was the dream project he had been quietly working on for the past five years, most likely alongside the production for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The Call of Cthulhu is Wan's first foray into the cosmic horror subgenre, and H.P. Lovecraft fans can only hope for a faithful adaptation of the short story.

Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu follows its protagonist Francis Thurston as he investigates a cult that allegedly worships an ancient deity. What starts as a suspense story quickly unravels into a fantastic tale of an elemental monster that has existed since the dawn of reality. Cthulhu has since been adapted and referenced in film, TV series, graphic novels, and games, all sharing unique or faithful interpretations of the short story. The earliest onscreen references to "The Call of Cthulhu" was in a 1987 episode of The Real Ghostbusters, "Collect Call of Cthulhu." followed by a 2005 silent movie adaptation. The titular monster last appeared as an ominous presence in 2020's Underwater, a sci-fi disaster movie starring Kristen Stewart.

James Wan's most recent credit is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a direct sequel to the 2018 film starring Jason Momoa. Both Wan and Momoa were initially open to developing Aquaman's story arc with a third movie that’s intended to build upon the broader DCEU. James Gunn has effectively overhauled future prospects, though, recently announcing a hard reboot of the universe through a new slate of DC IP adaptations with Superman: Legacy first on the list.

James Wan's The Call of Cthulhu is pending production and release details. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now showing in theaters.

[Skizzit]

A Lovecraft adaptation with an actual budget? Now I am interested, even if it is James Wan (although Malignant was fun). It isn't the del Toro At the Mountains of Madness film I actually want but at least it isn't another low budget horror movie that slaps a Lovecraft title onto it just because they can.

[Eapoe]

Love Lovecraft’s stories, love James Wan’s horror movies. Hope it turns out well. There have not been many Lovecraft stories done well that weren’t mainly due to campy fun, such as The Re-animator, Dagon, and From Beyond.
I really want to see one done as a serious, scary horror movie that does well with the mythos, which I understand is difficult as things are mostly left to the imagination with Lovecraft’s stories.

[Golden Yak]

I would like some more Lovecraft/cosmic horror stuff. The Color out of Space was pretty good I felt.

[Xath]

It's not mountains of madness but considering what he did on Saw with no budget it will be interesting to see what he can do with an actual budget with a more psychological style of horror.

[Mendzia]

I can't imagine good adaptation with current CGI.

[Zenfoldor]

Really wish this was The Horror at Red Hook but I’ll take it.

[kranur]

Enjoyed Lovecraft's stories so absolutely looking forward to something like this. Hopefully they don't screw it up.

[Ihavewaffles]

I can't imagine good adaptation with current CGI.

What do u mean

[Mendzia]

What do u mean

I just think you can't make good/realistic looking Cthulhu with current CGI so it will be another shit adaptation of this short story.
My expectations are very low so i can be positively surprised.

[kranur]

I just think you can't make good/realistic looking Cthulhu with current CGI so it will be another shit adaptation of this short story.
My expectations are very low so i can be positively surprised.

Current CGI is more than enough to make something good out if it. Just depends on how well they approach it and of course the budget ... if they're gonna go ahead and portray him coming out of the ocean on low budget ... yeah it will be a clown show.
For example Stranger Things didn't do bad with the CGI.

[Koriani]

Eh, Wan was a better director in his earlier stuff, IMO, than in the last ten years.

And as much as I love Lovecraft stuff, its always so easy to fuck up /so/ royally.

So I'm tempering my excitement and hype, and will just 'hope' to be surprised by it being good.

As for CGI vs. puppetry for anything creature-esque in this - CGI isn't "scary". Well done or not.

But then, the "look" of Cthulu (or any of the para-dimensonal critters) isn't what makes Lovecraft scary. How Lovecraft tells the story, the tension, and the "unescapable" existential truths/implications of his universe, are what make Lovecraft 'scary'.

If Wan turns this into a monster-jump-scare movie, then he really will have missed the whole point. I just hope it isn't /that/.

[shimerra]

I just think you can't make good/realistic looking Cthulhu with current CGI so it will be another shit adaptation of this short story.
My expectations are very low so i can be positively surprised.

Modern CGI's pretty damn good. I mean shit star wars did a pretty good job literally CGIing in dead people. For someone with low expectations even okay CGI in a film that seems to be getting a decent budget it a weird worry.

[Miyagie]

Modern CGI's pretty damn good. I mean shit star wars did a pretty good job literally CGIing in dead people. For someone with low expectations even okay CGI in a film that seems to be getting a decent budget it a weird worry.

Modern CGI can be good but we got some high budget Hollywood movies in the last few years that had some uncanny vally shit.