Jeff Philips (Davis) is stuck in a dead-end job alongside his best friend Charlie (McGinn), a comic book artist. Nothing exciting ever happens in their lives, until Professor Lake (Lupinsky) shows up at their apartment. He explains that Jeff is the last descendant of legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft and is charged with protecting humanity. Professor Lake gives them an ancient relic that Jeff must protect. The relic is part of the key to the key to release Cthulhu. If the pieces are reunited when the stars are aligned Cthulhu will rule the world again and destroy humanity.
Jeff and Charlie are skeptical until they are attacked by sea creatures. They turn to Paul (Hardley), a former classmate and Lovecraft super fan, for help. They take the relic to the desert for safe keeping, while they are pursued by Starspawn (Wilde), Cthulhu's general, and his minions.
I genuinely don't know 1) how I found this film or 2) why I decided to add it to the top of my Netflix queue. Despite being an English major in college, I've never read anything by H.P. Lovecraft (honestly, I first heard of him until he was featured in an episode of Warehouse 13). So I came into the film with no sense of expectation and no idea what was happening.
The film didn't make me want to read any Lovecraft or delve more into the Cthulhu mythos (although I can now pronounce Cthulhu, which seems like a victory). It was an ok film... the leads were adequate. Barak Hardley steals the film as Paul, he is funny and gets the best lines. The practice battle is funny, especially when Martin Starr appears. The other two are ok, but aren't as likeable (which is sad since they are in more of the film).
It clearly wasn't a high budget film, but they work with what they have (some of the creatures look kinda cool) and the comics are well-done. There was too much unnecessary cursing and overly stupid humor, which sometimes works. The ending was good, without being overly apparent... and sets up a potential sequel. It was eh... and apparently Lovecraft fans were divided. Many were underwhelmed, but some saw the potential. Perhaps with a little more knowledge of Lovecraft I would enjoy it more.
The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009) 78 minutes
Director: Henry Saine
Starring: Kyle Davis as Jeff Philips
Devin McGinn as Charlie
Barak Hardley as Paul
Ethan Wilde as Starspawn
Gregg Lawrence as Captain Olaf
Edmund Lupinsky as Professor Lake
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