3 out of 5

Director: Andrew Leman

It doesn’t quite ring true to the silent era, but ‘The Call of Cthulhu” is nonetheless a dedicated short, avoiding over-campiness (that B-horror tag is misleading) by trying to stick to the psychological aspects – the fear of the unknown – that makes H.P. so endlessly appealing. ‘The Call’ is about a man recounting what led him to request for all of his great-uncle’s research into an ancient cult (The Cthulu Cult)to be burned – and in turn shows how anyone who comes into contact with this material is either driven mad, or dead. The presentation obviously means this isn’t meant to outright frighten, and shows a reverence for the source material (I mean, it was produced by the H.P. society, so…) by not trying to make a modern, glossed up telling of this tale. The aging technique used does look wonderful, as does the tasteful application of makeup. But while the lead actor seems to get the pantomime required for this style of filming, most of the other actors (and their director, and the script) rely too much on talking sequences where, yes, the viewer can absolutely intuit what’s what, but it’s a lazier method of storytelling that the better silents knew to stray from. The set design is initially very impressive and very gothic, but as we lay down elements to build toward our monster reveal (which is fun, and, again, benefits from the older style), this design scheme is mostly set aside. Meant to be appreciated as it was executed more than watched as a film, I think.