Search - LovecraCked! The Movie - Ltd. Edition on DVD

Different Venue for Horror Spoof

Mel Odom | Moore, OK USA | 07/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Presented as an anthology of stories loosely tied together through vignettes featuring an investigative reporter researching the life and writings of horror/fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft, LOVECRACKED! THE MOVIEis sometimes amusing, but often is too hard to follow or falls flat. There are some truly brilliant, wacky pieces throughout the movie, but not enough of them.

I'd tried to watch the movie twice before I finally got through it on the third attempt. Earlier, I figured the problem was me. I was distracted, too tired from work to concentrate, or really in the mood for something that was easy to get into. But I had the same problems the third time through. The movie is so disjointed in places that it's almost like channel-surfing captured on DVD, although the stories all have to do with some aspect of Lovecraft, his work, or his Cthulhu Mythos so as not to be completely disjointed.

The stories featured on the DVD only pay passing homage to Lovecraft's work. Key pieces and conceits were borrowed or cannibalized but the new stories didn't really push into the deep thinking that lay behind those tales. Even though the movie is about Lovecraft, we don't really get to know the author. There's just not enough factual material in the presentation for someone unfamiliar with Lovecraft's fiction to get the paradigm behind the pieces. There was no discussion as to why the writers, actors, and directors show the path they took to create their films.

The parts of the movie that really work are the ones that are over-the-top. I loved the investigative reporter shtick and would often laugh out loud at the actor's antics. He had some really good stuff, and he was great with his expressions and dialogue delivery. He has a good sense of timing.

But there were several stories within the movie that just never connected, not with the rest of the movie and not with the audience. I often found myself scratching my head and wondering what it was I had just seen. Or why I was supposed to care.

Case in point was a story about the guy whose ex-lover sent him a marriage announcement. He grew angry with her and obsessed over what she was doing with her fiancé. So, somehow, he mutated into a Bugboy. He entered a cocoon and managed to metamorphose at the same time she happened to come by to check on him because she was worried about him. This section is shot in black and white, which is effective, but the prosthetic makeup is a complete joke. Plus you don't really care about any of the characters.

Many of Lovecraft's own stories were hard to understand, contained characters the reader could not identify with, and didn't have real endings. Maybe this was a pastiche representing those kinds of stories. Unfortunately, I can't confidently reach that decision based on my viewing.

A lot of people really liked Shaun of the Dead. I didn't. I felt that movie had some highlights that were worth watching, but that it missed the boat on delivering a solid film experience. So maybe it's just me. Maybe the audience that enjoyed that film will enjoy LovecraCked! The Movie. It's watchable but just so very uneven that I believe it will depend on the individual as to whether or not it's enjoyable. But it's worth looking at to find out for yourself.
"

Bad...really bad

Andrew H. French | Somerville, MA USA | 01/18/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I run a website called Bloopwatch.org, and I received a review copy of this film. This was one of the worst movies that's ever been tied to Lovecraft, in my opinion, and I have seen some really bad pieces based on HPL's writing. The centerpiece is a softcore porn version of Re-Animator (yes, I know...another one.) The framing sequence is one of the most painful things I've ever forced myself to sit through. A couple of the segments were at least interesting to watch, but overall, I don't recommend wasting the money or the time. If you want to see good indie horror film-making in the Lovecraft vein, buy a copy of the H.P. Lovecraft Collection 1 and watch "Cool Air" or the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's excellent "Call of Cthulhu". Trust me on this."

Underground Horror Filmmaking - A Must See

Ryan | NYC | 01/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is cutting edge, avant-garde, underground, horror filmmaking. Scream XI this is not. Neither is this the next installment from Hollywood's digest of McHorror films. These are original pieces of art--like raw sugar cane. Like all things new and original there will be resistance to fully appreciate the films on this anthology. However, this is a compliment. Many of the short films in the anthology could easily be expanded into feature length films. There is no doubt many of the films will generate controversy and criticism. It's apparent the executive producers enjoyed successfully (unlike Cloverfield's gimmick) the act of unprocessed cinema. It is true that a 100 million dollar fat-cat budget would smooth out the edges--but then again look at Kevin Costner's Waterworld. One can even surmise that the producer's were satirizing the over-inflated, unnecessary budgets of Hollywood. There are hilarious flying fake bats on strings and an obviously unplugged microphone that the host absurdly pretends to talk into throughout. Alas, my only fear is that after the success of this anthology the producers may regress into another (lost soul) John Carpenter."

Troma worthy for sure

George C. Patterson III | Rhyleh | 04/24/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's good that Lovecraft is dead because my god! He wasn't much for movies but yeesh this would have turned him away for good. It's campy, it's horrid, it's almost pornographic in some skits, but it does have enough for the Lovecraft fan to hold on to and know that he's watching satire. If ever anyone tried to create a Troma movie then Biff Juggernaught has achieved it. It's not always a good thing, but it is a ...thing."