The Call of Cthulhu (2005) *** out of *****

Director:  Andrew Leman
Writer:  Sean Branney

Presented by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society in the format of a black and white silent picture, "The Call of Cthulhu" tells the doomed tale of ones obsession to find and understand the unknown, regardless of its dark and ultimately destructive nature.
If that seems like an intentionally vague synopsis, it's because it is.  There have been multiple interpretations of Lovecraft's works throughout the years of cinema, (most notably through the direction of Stuart Gordon, via such films as "Re-Animator," "From Beyond," and "Dreams in the Witch House") but few attempt to recreate the atmosphere and tone, as intended by the original author.  So being too specific about the details of the premise would not only do the source an injustice, but also ruin the mystery.
Being that this was an ambitious project clearly shot on a shoestring budget, it has its moments of brilliance.  Especially during the finale, with stop motion animation and a traditional F/X storm scene, (very cheap and very effective) that's rare to see since before the flood of CGI.
Unfortunately "The Call of Cthulhu" also wears its faults as brightly as its shining moments.  The decision to go digital (with overlying filters that attempt to "age" the feature) instead of using film, really hurts the effectiveness of the overall presentation.  It's hard to buy into the time setting, when everything has a crispness to it that just screams "I was made with a digi-cam."
This fault aside, I definitely recommend this picture to anyone new to silent films, Lovecraft, or the art of amateur movie making.  It fails to fully recreate the era intended, but the score suits it well, the set pieces are mostly proper, and it's a grand story of desire over logic and reason.