EIFF Week: The Last Lovecraft

Jeff is an ordinary guy - stuck at a dead end job, with a boring life. When a strange old man gives him an Ancient relic, and tells him that he is the last bloodline of famed author H.P. Lovecraft, he and his friend Charlie embark on an adventure to protect the relic piece from falling into the hands of the ancient evil trying to release Cthulhu back into the world! - Official Synopsis

If you’re a nerd on the Internet dark fantasy enthusiast, you’re probably well versed in the lore of Cthulhu. For those that dwell outside of basements, HP Lovecraft is the father of modern fantasy-horror. His most popular legacy character is the dark god\alien\entity Cthulu, and during his life Lovecraft encouraged other writers to reference places and characters from his own work. This led to a robust community of writers working within a shared mythos. Think of it like Star Wars. It was created by George Lucas, but expanded by fans through novels and other media.

“The Last Lovecraft” is a comedy-horror that caters more to the comics ‘n’ Star Wars crowd than the Stephen King crowd. For an independent film, the effects are quite convincing, but for a movie about combating the madness that encroaches from the abyss, almost everything that happened was in broad daylight. There’s never much a feeling of menace for our heroes until the very end when they face Cthulu’s otherworldly minions directly. Gregg Lawrence gives a great performance as Captain Olaf, delivering lines like “Ya ever been fish raped before?” with dead seriousness. Kyle Davis and Deving McGinn play Jeff and Charlie, and their instances of understated humour was well done, but their acting fell short when there was a need for comically over-the-top rage or fear.

Overall, I enjoyed “The Last Lovecraft”. It has great comedic timing and a fun script. If you’re a fan of the Cthulu mythos and nerdisms in general, give it a shot. Otherwise, it’s a pass.