TADFF 10: THE LAST LOVECRAFT Review

[Because Toronto's week of genre and cult mayhem, The Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TADFF) is kicking off today, we are re-running Todd's Slamdance review of The Last Lovecraft:  Call of Cthulu.  Where the Park City sub-festival was also the launching point of Canadian creature feature throwback Jack Brooks Monster Slayer a couple years ago and that film seems a fair comparison.  While Brooks may have had a bit more polish to it Lovecraft has more heart by far.]

The Great Old Ones Are coming. They are fishy. They are ruthless. They are hungry. And they very definitely are not just a figment of horror icon H.P. Lovecraft's imagination.

When the ancient cult of prehistoric god Cthulu discover an ancient artifact buried in the sands of Egypt it could very well spark the end of humanity. Should the cult succeed in combining their artifact with one guarded by an ancient secret society devoted to fighting the followers of Cthulu ... well, let's just say the end would come swift and painful.

Humanity's only hope?  Jeff.  The socially awkward office worker may be completely unaware that he is the last living descendant of H.P. Lovecraft but that simple fact means that he alone is immune to the powers of Cthulu and the Great Old Ones and that he alone can succeed in protecting the artifact from Cthulu's horrific undersea minions. Now Jeff - accompanied only by his comic-obsessed co-worker Charlie, Lovecraft-obsessed high school classmate Paul, and the mysterious Captain Olaf are the only ones who can prevent humanity's total destruction.

Writer-producer-star Devin McGinn - he plays Charlie - and director Henry Saine have created here a loving ode to both B-grade monster cinema in general and the works of H.P. Lovecraft in particular.  The Last Lovecraft is a knowingly goofy ride into the world of horror comedy where the creatures - and there are lots of 'em - play for laughs and scares in equal measure. Though many of the gags hit for chuckles more than deep laughs the overall tone of the picture is so slapdash charming that it's impossible not to enjoy the ride.

Creature fans will be greatly pleased by McGinn and Saine's latex creations - some of which are played purely for the silly factor, some of which are legitimately creepy, and some of which manage to be both simultaneously. Though it falls more on the comedy side than on the horrific that is not to say that they are shy about laying on the blood when need be and the whole blend is anchored by the surprisingly believable relationship between the social misfit trio at the core of the film.