The Cast of Cthulhu

Episode 72 - Prometheus (2012)

Filmmaker, podcaster, musician, and all around good guy, Tim Buel, joins to talk Prometheus, the film that actually first brought Jim and James together so many years ago.

The boys all recount what their first impressions (sober or otherwise) were when seeing Ridley Scott's much-anticipated film in 2012 and how their opinions have changed -- or, in Jim's case, have remained pretty much the same. It's a hung jury when it comes to the verdict about whether this is a great or disappointing installment in the Alien franchise, but it's a great conversation about a film that everyone can agree swung for the fences.

To tune in to the cool horror shorts that Tim is making online, check him out on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 71- Cthulhu Mansion (1992)

A film can be forgiven of its crime of being, but it's harder to forgive a film for being boring. Imagine the Sisyphean task of forgiving a film that's both bad and boring? You don't have to imagine if you're Juan Piquer Simon, otherwise known as Spain's answer to Ed Wood and the writer/director of Cthulhu Mansion, a film that, despite its title, has absolutely nothing to do with its titular cosmic entity and, to be honest, very little to do with mansions. 

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 70 - Colour From the Dark (2003)

Sorry for the unexpected delay in posting, folks - this is what happens when Norovirus rips through a household!

Isn't it funny how sometimes a low-budget Italian horror film set in 1943 is written entirely in anachronistic English and stars actors from Canada, Scotland, England, and America (and also occasionally Italy)? Anyways, none of those things -- budget, language, international cast -- are the problem with Colour From the Dark; that would be adding morality and subtracting despair from Lovecraft's arguably most hopeless story. 

Tubi CEO Combs Through Goodwill DVDs Looking for Movies to Upload

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 69 - The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009)

The Cast of Cthulhu goes low-budget for this episode to cover Slamdance alum, The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu. An intriguing premise is sabotaged by juvenile humor tinged with homophobia and hamstrung by a budget and scope so small that it never feels like there's a threat to anything (other than good taste). Though the filmmakers were clearly tuned into Lovecraftian lore, they were out of touch with B-movie charm.

Read the PopMatters review of The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu.

And better late than never, check out the Battleship Pretension 2022 year end wrap up content!
2023 BP Winners
Battleship Pretension's Ten Best Films of 2022
Battleship Pretension's Ten Worst Films of 2022
Jim's Top Ten of 2022

Episode 68 - Apostle (2018)

Have you ever wondered why we take seriously people who believe in ghosts but think believers in UFOs are nuts? Did you watch and have opinions on AEW's Revolution? If you've answered "no" to either of these questions, better skip ahead to 18:24.

No use beating around the bush: Gareth Evans's Apostle is not Lovecraftian in the slightest. However, the very thing that makes Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) the opposite of a Lovecraftian protagonist -- an unbeliever who journeys into belief -- is also what makes Apostle so engaging. More pagan than cosmic, Apostle explores the idea that there is something beyond humans, but it's humans that have tainted it. Tense, scary, and beautifully shot, it makes us eager for whatever films Evans does next.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 67 - Dreams in the Witch House (2022)

David Bax of Battleship Pretension returns for his third sleepover in the witch house where he witnesses Jim have an existentialist crisis in real time as he realizes that perhaps Mia Watkins' and Catherine Hardwicke's supremely unfaithful adaptation is not very good. Keziah Mason looks cool no doubt, but this adaptation in name only ditches the fatalism and math for spiritualism and a version of Brown Jenkins whose masterplan is just to be kind of a big jerk, I guess? 

If you want your own "Fight Like a Final Girl" t-shirt, be sure to head over to Poltergeists and Paramours.

And for further updates on BP's Tyler Smith, head over to CaringBridge, or GoFundMe to donate what you can to the Smith family.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 66 - Pickman’s Model (2022)

New year, new Cthulyou!

The boys at The Cast of Cthulhu ring in 2023 by tackling "Pickman's Model," the first of two Lovecraft adaptations featured in the Netflix-exclusive horror anthology, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. One of the longest entries of the anthology, "Pickman's Model" feels like a TV episode trying to be a feature film, but without enough time to commit to any one thread, falls desperately short at establishing meaningful stakes or believable character motivations. It's disappointing that for an adaptation featuring a witch's feast and people carving their eyes out of their own heads, the scariest thing may be Crispin Glover's alleged Boston accent.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 65 - Hellraiser (2022)

Just in time to celebrate spooky season, we've got our final episode of the year talking about David Bruckner's reboot/legacy sequel, Hellraiser. Improving upon Clive Barker's original in just about ever way -- the puzzle box is an actual puzzle! -- this heart-wrenching story has some gnarly new Cenobites and one of the most emotionally mature and resonant endings in any horror film (even if a lot of it is difficult to see sometimes). 

Happy Halloween, y'all! We'll see you next year!

Episode 63 - Interview with H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Co-Director Gwen Callahan

Jim and James were out of commission this week, so friend of the show, writer, and composer Jerry Smith steps in for this interview with Gwen Callahan, co-director of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival taking place from October 7 - 9 in Portland, OR! Fans of Lovecraft or even horror in general will want to hear all about what this year's festival has in store including online access to supplement its return to in person attendance, the northwest premiere of Benson and Moorehead's Something in the Dirt, special guest appearance by Jeffrey Combs, Brian Yuzna's personal 35mm print of Bride of Reanimator, and so much more!

Visit the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival homepage for more information on films, events, guests, and tickets.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.

Episode 63 - Glorious (2022)

Jessica Scott returns to discuss yet another Shudder exclusive, the glory hole horror film, Glorious. What begins as a film about a sympathetic man trying to work his way through a difficult breakup becomes an often comedic and horrifying examination of a toxic man who thought so highly of himself and so little of his victims that he believed his genitals would save the universe from certain destruction at the hands (tentacles?) of a god older than creation. Oh, also, that god is voiced by J.K. Simmons.

Follow Jessica Scott on Twitter @wewhowalkhere

Keep up with her work at Film Cred, Daily Grindhouse, SlashFilm, and Nightmarish Conjurings.

Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.