Netflix Friday: The Last Lovecraft, Relic of Cthulhu

I caught a cool movie on Netflix the other night while I was browsing around in the various genre categories. I was in the mood to chill out and wanted to see something that I had not seen before. I definitely found it in The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu.

Here's the plot from :IMDB: Jeff is an ordinary guy that is stuck at a dead end job with a boring life, but when a strange old man gives him an Ancient relic and tells him that he is the last bloodline of H.P. Lovecraft, He and his friend Charlie embark on an adventure to protect the relic piece from falling into the hands of the Starspawn and his minions that wish to reunite the relic and release Cthulhu back into the world.  Or, to put it another way (in my own words), an ancient cult is trying to resurrect Cthulhu and a secret society is trying to stop them. It turns out that H.P. Lovecraft was an adventurer who discovered the truth about these evil creatures and he wrote his stories to get the info out there, but disguised it as fiction so only select people would be aware of it. Lovecraft, by the way, was immune to Cthulhu's psychic powers, and that immunity has been passed down through his bloodline. The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu is available as a streaming download via Netflix, or you can buy it from amazon.com.

This is a very low-budget movie with a few really good things going for it. First and foremost, it's got Cthulhu. I mean, who doesn't love seeing the one of the Great Old Ones in a movie every now and then (and please, if you play Call of Cthulhu and want to correct me on some minor point about how he's technically part of the Great Old Ones, then you are possibly too geeky even for me to hang out with). Secondly, the title sequence is actually top-notch. It uses comic book style art and really does a great job of capturing the feel of the material, while looking pretty darn cool while doing it.

Okay, the acting isn't the best on the planet, and some of the make up is a bit... well, "Sci-Fi Channel" if you know what I mean. Oh, wait. I'm sorry... I meant "SyFy" (I still think that sounds more like a disease than a cable channel, but what the heck. They can mention my anger about that and the demotion of Pluto from planetary status on my tombstone.). Yup, the effects are a bit weak and the make up is a bit cheesy, but that really doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. In fact, a beer in hand on a Friday night will often find me seeking out the cheesiest movie I can find... and this definitely fits the bill.

I think, for me, one of the funniest things about this movie  is the absurdity of the plot, and how it would look if Gamers really had to save the world. In short, this is not about butch guys with mondo combat skills trying to save the day, it's basically about a guy who works in a crummy office and his jerk of a roommate finding out that Cthulhu and all that crazy stuff is real, so they hunt down the biggest geek they knew in high school so he can tell them how to defeat The Great Old Ones. With the bad guys on their trail, they wind up on a really bad road trip into the desert to find the only one who ever fought Cthulhu and lived... Captain Olaf. The good Cap'n lives in the desert, you see, because he wanted to get as far away from the Deep Ones and Cthulhu as possible.

This movie is definitely a gamer's delight because of the comic book references (flashback stories are told as animated comic book sequences), ridiculous geeky behavior (a guy wears a Cthulhu mask and he actually has a "Mastercraft Quality copy of the relic mentioned in the title of the movie). And combat skills? Forget it. These guys are in the physical condition of many standard gamers: too skinny or too fat. When geeky Paul runs from the cultists to draw them away from Charlie and Jeff (the latter being the titular "Last Lovecraft"), he actually calls for a time-out as he doubles over gasping for breath from his 100-yard dash. A bit cruel to gamer/fanboys? Possibly... but all too true.

Enjoy the OFFICIAL TRAILER here.

Out of five stars I it give ***1/2
SUMMARY: If you enjoy humorous sci-fi with a hint of horror (there is some gore and rough language, so don't show this to the kiddies until after you've watched it through yourself). If you don't come in expecting a brooding, dark movie, you will probably enjoy this. It's a fanboy fiesta of phantasmagorical proportions for those who like fun, frivolity, and aren't afraid that Cthulhu will devour their sanity.

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