"CTHULHU"
Director: Daniel Gildark
Trevor's Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Trailer:

Cthulhu, I've learned after coming home from this bizarre feature length movie (90 minutes), is apparently a mythical creature dreamed up in the works of science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft. I wasn't expecting the movie I sat down to watch, the description in the film festival info guide was mysterious -- perhaps because the movie was a bit of a mess. I think I actually probably bought tickets because Tori Spelling was in the cast (yes, I'm that gay). Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4 of this film. It was thrilling (though it lagged in parts), and it wasn't afraid to make a few non-cheesy jokes along the way. Apparently this is Daniel Gildark's first feature film, which is impressive considering the talent he's pulled together here. The cinematography and color is really tremendous, as is the makeup and general "look" of the film. The story is that of an acclaimed historian, Russ, (played by Jason Cottle) who returns home to his estranged family when his mother dies. The father's a religious nut who laments his son's homosexuality, but luckily we're didn't suffer through too many awkward family dinners. He reconnects with a hunky (straight) childhood flame whose recently divorced and happy to hop into bed again.

Things begin to get wacky around town as Russ unravels the mystery of his father's religious cult that worships the sea. And about 2/3 of the way in, things get a little too wonky for my tastes. I like that the director knows the scare value of that which we do not see; so much of today's horror films rub the blood and guts in our face, but Gildark leaves some things here to our imagination. This includes a rather terrifying scene where Russ is left slowly meandering through a cavernous basement with nothing but a disposable camera's flash to intermittently light the way. The audience takes Russ' point of view, and most of the sequence is him breathing in darkness, with the sound of the flash charging and bursting into quick flashes of creepy dungeon-like surroundings. Eek!

The director and producer took the stage before it all began, and informed us that we were the "lucky" last audience to ever see the original cut of the film before it gets released in theaters in August. The joke's on us though, as they both believed the edited cut will be tighter and generally better. I have a feeling the gay sex scene will hit the cutting room floor, but I wouldn't be too upset if it came along with some of the meandering madness -- and perhaps a revised ending. In general, this was an *incredible* first stab at film-making for Director Daniel Gildark. Even Tori Spelling does a stellar job here (yes, and it's not even because she's Tori Spelling and I'm a homosexual). The cast is terrific. It's a beautiful and terrifying film. Bravo!