Review of The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009) by Justin H — 28 Mar 2011

Ah yes, when I think of H.P. Lovecraft, I totally think of gay jokes, and guys yelling "fuck" every other word. "The Last Lovecraft" is essentially what you'd get if you crossed "Office Space" with "The Hangover," and threw in some tentacles. Oh, and if you also replaced most of the humor with gratuitous swearing. The end result is a mess of mostly unfunny jokes, plot holes, and unlikable characters, that feels far longer than its scant 79 minute running time.

Now, I may be being a little harsh on this, since I am something of a Lovecraft purist, and I didn't like how much they muddled the source material. (Ex: the Deep Ones had no connection to Cthulhu--they were servants/offspring of Dagon.) But I'd have been okay with some creative liberties, if it weren't for all the plot holes and leaps in logic. The beginning of the movie feels really rushed, with the characters all too willing to buy into the whole premise of Cthulhu being real, and it just feels forced. Then we enter the second act, and things slow to a veritable snail's pace.

Your mileage may vary though. If you're not as much of a stickler for accuracy as I am, and/or if you have a higher tolerance for low-brow toilet humor, you could probably tack on at least another star to my rating. Just don't expect another "Shawn of the Dead" or anything, because that's way out of this movie's league.