Howard Phillips Lovecraft. If this name is mentioned in the circle of those who love sinister literature, everybody pays attention or starts telling the title of their favourite novel. To be honest I have not read anything by him, but I had to because of this film to get an idea of his symbolism and style. I am not going to tell anything about the novel in this writing!
The directors tried to make a film based on the novel but I think if Lovecraft woke from his grave, he would probably hit the director’s head. Two directors shot the film, their names are Barrett J. Leigh, Thom Maurer. This film is the second film made by the first gentleman ( the first one was White Room ), and the second one worked on the White Room and on the Slab City as a director. Back to hitting the head. This film was shot badly and I was very polite!
To begin with they moved Lovecraft away from the plot, he appeared only in the last two scenes. The story is not the same as the original one, just in two important things. It is placed in the USA, and played at the turn of the XX. century. Anyway, there are more tiny similarities. For example: the existence of the asylum, and of the lunatics. The protagonist is called Edward Eischel.
Let the tale begin! The basic situation is similar to the one Lovecraft’s made. The police took a wild man into the asylum, because he had killed his neighbour. A young intern got interested in him, and as soon as the doctors had left, he started to examine him. About Lovecraft aka Edward Eischel it is discovered that he passionately collects brains. Down in the basement he has a fully equipped laboratory. That was my first dismay. He kept a physically dead woman in the basement and if he put his gadgets into her brain, she would wake up from her unconsciousness. So the girl is sitting with an open skull in catatonia, she comes to when she gets a shock from the machine.
My next holding my head comes when Dr. Barnard and the principal of the building starts to argue about who the boss is. Come on gentlemen!
Our hero’s uncle visits his nephew’s workplace to check how his dear relative spends his days. Edward goes into raptures over his laboratory to his uncle, he even shows it to him, but the uncle is not satisfied with him, on the contrary he has him fired. Edward pays a visit to Joe Sladder’ s home, where he has hallucinations. He learns about Cthulhu and about the Ancient Ones, chosen people. The path clearly leads us back to the asylum. Of course there was some lamentation near the dump. “My brains, my brains!” It is another lame scene again!
The mad Dr. Barnard took Joe to the operation room for operating or killing him, it can’t be decided which one. Edward asks for help from the roly-poly nurse, / there is a romantic scene, but what for?! / and she helps him willingly. Edward saves his machine from the dumps and starts to make experiments on the “mad man”.
The real point is just coming, naturally. Meantime he struggles so hard, that he conjures Cthulhu up. I have to be honest, because Cthulhu is good-modeled. They have not spared money for it, but they can’t shoot a good movie. Before conjuring everything becomes a mess. Edward kills Dr. Barnard and ends the conjuring circle with his head. In the end Cthulhu does not destroy the world, because an astute doctor destroys the brain manipulating machine so the world is saved. Edward goes mad.