LovecraCked! The Movie

The concept of an anthology film project comprised of humorous adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft material never would have occurred to me but obviously someone at BiFF JUGGERNAUT Productions was "cracked" enough to give birth to such a bizarre concept. Given that this film is a collection of other filmmaker's material with varying degrees of quality, shooting formats and aspect ratios, the whole thing meshes together surprisingly well and the wrap-around segments featuring Director Elias as a kind of eccentric roving reporter delving into...something...related to Lovecraft somehow manage to tie up a few loose ends while unraveling several dozen in the process. There's something very charming about films where your roving reporter and his subjects are all completely dubbed; I guess it satisfies that Mondo movie jones that I have.

First of all I will say that the DVD release of this is very good quality for an independent film and it is packed with features that make it well worth seeking out.

Now onto the main course. This is an amusing, somewhat creepy (a few times downright horrifying) tribute to HP Lovecraft, or is that PM Lovecraft. I must say that by the end of this film I knew less about Lovecraft than I did before I viewed this film. Basically this is an anthology of short films inspired by HP Lovecraft and the whole thing is linked together by the inanely hilarious antics of an incompetent Investigative reporter played by Biff Juggernaut's very own Elias.

Overall, the films are well crafted and entertaining. There is a wide spectrum of approaches from slapstick to film noir through to an amusingly straight take on "The Statement of Randolph Carter" that brought to mind older takes on Lovecraft on early 60's TV programs such as The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone.

Highlights for me were "Bug Boy" and "Alecto" which really got under my skin and freaked me out. Not unlike late night readings of Lovecraft's Stories as I thought to myself "This is corny, how can this scare me?" but after I finally put the book down and tried to sleep every howl of wind, creak of floor, or shadow of tree limbs out side the window pulled Lovecraft's monsters to the forefront of my thoughts.

I think that the low point for me was "History of the Lurkers" but other than that one this is a good independent blast!

Some years ago I heard about this movie and thought it sounded kind of interesting. I could not find it anywhere else, so I had to order it from the production companies website. For some reason, I don't really remember, I could only get the full package (the DVD, a poster, a T-shirt and a card signed by someone involved), which was of course more expensive than just the DVD. I was still going to school back then and for me it was a lot of money for a movie I didn't know much about. I eventually ordered it anyway and I have not regretted it.

It's certainly not for everyone. It's an independent movie and it shows. The movie consists of different short films, loosely based on H.P. Lovecrafts work, connected by a story about a journalist, who is researching Lovecraft. Some of the segments were a little...experimental. They are all quite different and I did not like all of them equally as much, but the good thing about films like this is that if you don't like one part you might like the next. I ended up liking most of them in one way or the other

I think it is not necessarily a horror movie in the traditional sense, some moments were rather funny or just plain weird.

Although I gave the movie 8 stars, I would not recommend it to everyone, but if you like Lovecraft, independent cinema or weird short films (or better yet, all of those things), give it a chance.

Imagine Monty Python directed by Dario Argento, and you have this crazy collection of nine gore/comedy skits. The linking thread for these surreal bloodbaths is a Monty Python like reporter doing an investigative report of famed horror author H.P Lovecraft. Cameos by famed Troma intern Lloyd Kaufmann and punk rock princess Joanna Angel pepper this savage bit of DVD fun. My only complaint here is that while Juggernaut made a film with a very original look, and format, leaping from dismemberment to giggles, he throws in some rather tired clichés. During the closing credits we see "funny" out-takes off in the corner. Some scenes are pretty much direct repeats of famous Python sketches. Biff, when somebody says, "You know, Biff how we see in all those movies where they (insert cliché here.) We can do that." Just ignore them, Biff. Anyway, fun, sick movie Biff.

Lovecracked stands on its own as a fun and entertaining experience, hosting a collection of short stories tied together with an oft humorous narration, but what makes the DVD stand out even more is the addition of so much enjoyable extra content.

My fiancé and I enjoyed the extra content almost as much as we enjoyed the main future. This DVD stands as a great indication of what can be done by creative and intelligent people even when they don't have an insane budget to burn though.

If you're looking for a fun time and a great party movie, then I full heartily recommend the Lovecracked DVD.