john-256-2615 I feel sorry for the guys that produced this, because it seems like they made a massive loss.In my view, having read most of HPL's stuff and in particular recently re-read "A shadow out of Innsmouth", I must say that this is a really good adaptation of the book. In fact, it is the best interpretation of HPL that I've seen. (I've seen others which are truer to his stories but which do not adequately capture the suspense).My guess is that the nature of the characters (academic, some of them gay) is too hard for the average American to relate to. Outside of the USA (ie where we accept that the chief character is not a gunslinger and a womaniser) this film is really good. I guess the typical American audience didn't understand it because it didn't contain lots of ravishing of bimbos and lots of exploding cars, trucks and aircraft. Oh and not enough shooting. And no car chases. That's probably why it rates so badly.The various horror scenes are generally implied rather than literal, which also is probably too intellectual for an American audience, accustomed to gratuitous idiotic in-your-face rubbish like Kill Bill. The scene with the camera which flashes periodically is particularly nerve-wracking the first time you see it.That's why I gave it a 10. If I were to criticise it, it would just be that they didn't understand the low-brow audience who wouldn't get it because it didn't have any ka-blah, ka-blah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSUuj98Rx0

hampus_granberg Cthulhu, one of the most revered of horrific thriller literature, originally created by H.P Lovecraft is a creation of dark and mysterious revelations of the terrible deep we know as the open sea. The most obscure of murky scenes pictures the world of Cthulhu with a burned lense towards a full moon, it's cloudy, dirty, foggy, and cold, both in mind and physical presence. A 60:s America taking place in the most inbred of local population, these societies deep beneath the surface of human culture transpires in parallel to what lurks on the bottom of the ocean, it's gritty and malevolent, with no guarantee to reality, psyche, life or death. What we see is chaos, through the vision of people who simply end up in the wrong ally at the wrong time, swept by the waves into the most sinister of maelstroms, sucking you deeper and deeper into madness, until the total epiphany of a psychosis takes one step forward, only to have your protagonist hang himself to one unresolved suicide, with scribbled notes of cultists and watching eyes of the Deep Ones.This is Cthulhu, a world that never ceases to twist ones mind into a reality not recognizable from the first.In truth, Cthulhu 2007 is NOT a bad movie, per se. The very spirit of H.P Lovecraft doesn't have that much of a grip, but rather leaves the experience to the watcher, but without explaining any of it. I see how it would be confusion to people unfamiliar with Cthulhu, but probably very unnerved by taking in that puzzling terror of unexplained phenomenon. To fans of Lovecraft, it's certainly a stretch with all the chants, cults, and Cthulhu, all regarded with a very slight read-up on what these books really had in mind, which to me as a small fan appears a bit weak.However, from a more romanticized view, this movie creates a tale of describing nature, and actually captures the origin pretty good. The very thin love story has actually caught good interest, and renders decent quality, not with any unnecessary thwarts here and there, just plain and simple, and like the movie, it takes itself seriously. As for the horror, I was getting a bit impatient at first, but as it started I could really see this as inspiring. Again, it did not bare the same familiar being to the original, but it has it's own perspective, and in regard to storytelling and emotional value, it holds up very good.All in all, this movie is not like the books, only with pieces it introduces fright, but it poses itself from a different angle, a more human modern way, and as it reflects upon the book, I'd say it's a good tribute to Lovecrafts work.The actual best part of this experience is that it leaves me with that exact feeling I'd hoped for, NOTHING is explained, only that there's a cult, strange creatures, and the sea. It is, in it's own sense, a masterpiece. The only real complaint is about the mythology. The connection gets pretty vague, as Cthulhu is sometimes pronounced wrong, the language of the deep ones could've had more ambitious work, and all in all, reading the books should've been a greater study to really execute the presentation of the movies source.It could be looked upon as a different starting point within the same universe, or an inspirational version of it's forefather (more like their own version).As a movie, and compared to Cthulhu, I can say I did enjoy it. It left me satisfied.

wolfenstein-1 I did not even know this movie existed until four years after it was made. As a Lovecraft fan I got it without hesitation. The Cthulhu concept is so cool it is hard to mess up but they still managed to do it. How you ask? By, among other things, having a flashback of two teenage boys jacking off together under a pier.On the other hand the movie is creepy from time to time when the entire town except him seems to be part of the cult but it is ruined by changing the focus to homosexual exploration as soon as it started to catch my interest.Avoid at all cost. Lovecraft must be turning in his grave. I am not being homophobic, it is just that when you watch something called Cthulhu you don't want to see Brokeback Mountain.

spot smith If you're looking for extremely bad acting and a long-winded introduction to the political views and sexuality of the director, this is your film! If on the other hand your intention is to watch a good horror film, try something else. Don't believe any of the positive reviews here. They were most certainly written by people connected to this miserable production.That's all I have to say about the movie, but this is my first review, and I didn't realize that one is required to write at least 10 lines! That seems sort of silly considering the fact that we're constantly being inundated with meaningless verbiage. Nice to know that this sort of nonsense is being "enforced by Law"...I personally prefer the "Brevity is the soul of wit"-philosophy, but who cares, right?