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So I may start up a Call of Cthulhu game. Anyone got recommendations of movies to watch to help get the feel? I've got the books, and I'm starting to read those, but movies are always good too. Any era will be helpful, though we'll be primarily be playing in the 1920's I think.

MooCow wrote:So I may start up a Call of Cthulhu game. Anyone got recommendations of movies to watch to help get the feel? I've got the books, and I'm starting to read those, but movies are always good too. Any era will be helpful, though we'll be primarily be playing in the 1920's I think.

IMDB list of Lovecraft movies.

For starters, ignore that entire list.

You'd better have a good reason why. Otherwise, I'd trust Szech to cough up better info.

BTW, Szech, is Dark City on the list?

You might want to give some of the .nl crew a shout since they recently wrapped up a 20's set CoC game.

Right, I don't understand what just happened between AK and Sticks, so I'll just smile at them.

As far as the list goes, it's simply the result of typing 'Lovecraft' into their site search. I haven't seen any of those movies. I just thought it'd be nice to give Moo a start.

Thanks Szech.

Hmmm.... forgot the euros just wrapped up some CoC. (*Blink* Man... that's a loaded statement)

Event Horizon, even though it's furistic. Gives a good impression of what I think the insanity effects would be.

Despite what Sticks said, try the following that I dare to vouch for;

Dagon
In the Mouth of Madness
The Ninth Gate
Angel Heart
It
Re-Animator

These are not necessarily movies based on Lovecraft's fiction, but often they merely capture the feel that Chaosium want to go for with their game. Also understand that tales of the Cthulhu Mythos hardly translate well to the silver screen. What I suggest is that you pick up a paper back of some of Lovecraft's stories, read a couple and feel what it is about, before you turn your CoC game into just another horror RPG.

Innominandum wrote:Despite what Sticks said, try the following that I dare to vouch for;

Dagon
In the Mouth of Madness
The Ninth Gate
Angel Heart
It
Re-Animator

These are not necessarily movies based on Lovecraft's fiction, but often they merely capture the feel that Chaosium want to go for with their game.

Well I'll tackle this list.

Dagon. The feel they were looking for was fucking stupid right? No wait maybe it was so gawd damned fucking stupid you laugh. Wait, can you tell I hated Dagon?(They managed to totally fuck this one up, even if its supposed to be pretty heavily based on his stuff.)

It? You're serious? Wow.

Re-Animator....I guess if you ignored a lot of the movie I could see this.

Other than that I'd say great choices. As always my post is subject to my personal bias.

What I suggest is that you pick up a paper back of some of Lovecraft's stories, read a couple and feel what it is about

You mean kinda like what I said I was doing?

In the Mouth of Madness was an excellent movie. I'm all for an excuse to watch that again.

The Ninth Gate was a /horrid/ movie. /Horrible/. Everyone involved with it should be shot. Except Depp. He just barely won a second chance with Pirates. Read the book. After reading the book, you to will curse the names of those involved with the movie.

I guess I should've added that the movies aren't good. In fact, there are very few good Lovecraft movies out there because they'll never ever receive the funding for it from those craven Hollywood pagans.

Dagon was a bad movie because it had no budget, and because it was a Spanish production. Not that the Spanish have some genetic predisposition towards making bad films, but there might be a cultural difference at work.

"The Ninth Gate" was a...well, less than good film. However, it had all the elements featured in many of Lovecraft's stories. You might have your reservations about "It", but the New England setting was well done, as were some of the insanities that the children were afflicted by. In the same vein I'd call upon Salem's Lot and Silver Bullet for feel.

Again, Lovecraft's stories translate so incredibly poorly to the silver screen that you'd be better off reading the books. Oh, and I'm sorry, Moo, I hadn't read your entire post before I started answering.

The Ninth Gate" was a...well, less than good film

Have you ever read the book? The Club Dumas is a very good read. I think the reason why the movie was so bad is that "subtle horror" just doesn't translate to the silver screen.

Oh, and I'm sorry, Moo, I hadn't read your entire post before I started answering.

No probs. I appreciate the movie suggestions. Obviously the books are the key, but movies/TV can give you a different perspective on a genre that's useful for understanding it.

After being a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and a CoC-keeper for more than seventeen years, I can safely say that I have yet to see any movie or t.v.-show that acurately portrays Lovecraft's and the rest of the Mythos-circle's visions. The two that have come closest are In the Mouth of Madness and a episode of the "new" Twilight Zone, written by Stephen King, who is an avid fan of Lovecraft himself.

Take my advice...get as many Lovecraft stories as you can lay your hands on, light some candles at night and read them all. That's the best way of getting a feel of the intended atmosphere.

All of his stories are worthwile. but my personal recommendations are:

At the Mountains of Madness
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Pickman's Model
The Call of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Haunter of the Dark
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Shadow out of Time

Not a Randoplh Carter fan, eh?

Well, I must admit that some of his Dreamlands-stories aren't too bad. Though I think you'd be better of reading some of Lord Dunsany's work if you are into that genre.
However, if you want to get a taste of the cosmic horror that made Lovecraft famous and which should be the major inspiration for any CoC-campaign, I would recommend the stories I listed.

Other authors that have contributed to the Mythos and are worth checking out are:

John Ramsey Campbell
Clark Ashton Smith
Robert Ervin Howard (yes, the creator of Conan)
Frank Belknap Long
Robert Bloch (he of Psycho-fame)
Henry Kuttner
Colin Wilson
Brian Lumley
August Derleth (Lovecraft's closest friend)

Brian Lumley should've never put his hands on the Mythos.

Don't dismiss Lumley too quick, Deev. Though I'll agree some of his Titus Crow-stories took the Mythos one step too far in the wrong direction, he has made several worthwile contributions to the genre.

DV8 wrote:Brian Lumley should've never put his hands on the Mythos.

Awww c'mon man, don't tell me you don't like Lumley's "Good" Cthulhu? He so cute and fluffy, they should make plush dolls and manga with him!

MooCow wrote:So I may start up a Call of Cthulhu game. Anyone got recommendations of movies to watch to help get the feel? I've got the books, and I'm starting to read those, but movies are always good too. Any era will be helpful, though we'll be primarily be playing in the 1920's I think.

Well watch anything 20'ish, any movies dealing with prohibition. That'll give you enough tips on how the normal world works. As for the UNnormal world... as was said earlier, read as many Mythos tales as you can. There are no good movie recommendations on the Mythos, only age (20's) and genre (horror).

Ah, "The Thing". Just take out the "takes over humans/looks human" part.

I'm trying to remember if I've seen any movies that captured a feel for the Cthulhu mythos, but I'm failing. Dark City is so-so for Moo's purposes, it's an excellent movie, but lacks the whole insanity and overwhelming horror.

Edit: That link isn't any good for stories, there used to be a webpage with all of the stories, but I can't seem to find it, will post it when I do. That is, if it's still in existance.

try Donnie Darko, I know it's gotten really popular with all the little teenie-boppers, but it's got the same kinda over-your-shoulder feel for it. Not really a 20's setting though.

For ancient, forbidden, diabolic tomes you could try The Ninth Gate.

For ancient, forbidden, diabolic tomes you could try The Ninth Gate.

*Shudder* Horrid movie. The book was /so/ much better. (Especially considering the book never confirms who the young girl is)

The book is always better. But do you have a better movie for forbidden tomes?

Army of Darkness

I knew you'd say that.

Okay, I'm not exactly any font of knowledge on Lovecraft or the Mythos here, like some of the others. (If we were talking modern day or more specifically, Delta Green, I'd be all over this.) But I'll try my hand to help.

Obviously, In the Mouth of Madness was already mentioned. I'd also agree with whoever mentioned earlier Stephen King's IT, most specifically for some of the quirks and insanities expressed as the children age and grow. Although if you've never read the book, I'd strongly, strongly push for you to do so. I think that Pennywise/IT is probably the closest creation from King that resembles something from the Mythos. I'd also agree (I think it was Sal who said it) strongly with Event Horizon, if only for the first three quarters of the film. Everything up until the moment where the doctor (Sam Neil) becomes the villian (rather than the ship/the force itself) and blood starts flooding the ship...everything preceding that is a wonderful study in the kind of terror you want to evoke in your players. Here's a few other miscellaneous reference mentions.

1. If you can get your hands on any MP3s or actual CDs, find some old radio drama broadcasts. The Shadow, anything from the old CBS radio show Suspense, I think even Weird Tales had a radio show at one time. Lights Out is another excellent example, and of course, much of Orson Welles material.

2. There was a Batman comic out not that long ago (I couldn't tell you the name or the exact timeframe, I just simply remember reading the graphic novel/trade paperback) in which Batsy ends up being trapped or spending some time in Arkham Asylum with all of his old foes. I seem to think it was Frank Miller who did it, but I could be wrong. It's very dark, shows what I felt was the perfect Mythos style feel for how cities and institutions should be played in CoC, and shows a rather complete degeneration of a man's psyche into stark, raving madness.

3. The movie The Haunting of Hill House. I'm talking the original here. The novel was written by Shirley Jackson (and short of Ghost Story by Peter Straub, I haven't read a better haunted house novel yet). The original version of the film was done by Robert Wise, under the shortened name The Haunting (ignore the House on Haunted Hill remake by Walter Hill and crew). It is exactly the short of unseen, barely present, hinted at terror that CoC requires IMO. It's shivers and chills in the dark, the sort of maddening night time touches that you believe to be your bedmate's but find them asleep downstairs on the sofa the next morning. The most spectactular element of the movie? The door upon which that terror hides, both figuratively and literally, is never opened on screen. The terror itself, the source of that insane fear, is never once revealed. That was what I enjoyed about CoC so much. The games/jobs/missions/adventures in which we failed, never having found the Mythos influence, were never able to find something to combat that influence with, or simply fled the town in stark terror. The thing that goes bump in the night that you can't see or hear, but can feel in your guts, that's the most terrifying monster.

Edit: The Phantom should have been the Shadow, if I could keep the names straight in my head today.

And since I just completely forgot in my last post, it's not CoC until you read the Call of Cthulu, obviously, but most important of all of Lovecraft's tales would be The Rats in the Walls and at the very peak of Lovecraftian Mythos, The Colour out of Space. (Here's to hoping I didn't screw up the story name, which is possible.)

And since ironically enough, I am in the process of reading Danse Macabre by Stephen King, I'll heartily recommend it. It gives some great resources, though dated, in the realm of terror, horror, and the gross-out. Knowing the difference between these three reactions/styles and resources for each is a great help.

I haven't really touched much on the actual CoC side of things, but all of the Delta Green fiction anthologies, and the full-length novella Rules of Engagement were pretty good.

<img src="http://celeloriel.rooms.rubberrooms.net ... elight.gif" width=250 height=200" align="Center">

Oh squee, my very favorite subject!


I'd say watch the movies "Dark City", "Hellboy", "Suspiria," "The Exorcist", "The Haunting" ( I mean the 1960s version, not that abortion that was released recently), "The Ring," (it's such a classic Cthulhu plot), and "Rear Window", for the suspense factor (again, the older version).

Cthulhu for me has never ever been about JUST scaring the holy hell out of my players. It's also been about slowly unfolding a mystery whose implications are so terrible the characters are stunned and horrified at the new shape their world takes.

And if you want character pictures, let me know; I've got a lot of good silent movie star sites bookmarked, and generally the "C" list celebs of the 20s are good NPC photos.

Patience wrote:
Oh squee, my very favorite subject!


I'd say watch the movies "Dark City", "Hellboy", "Suspiria," "The Exorcist", "The Haunting" ( I mean the 1960s version, not that abortion that was released recently), "The Ring," (it's such a classic Cthulhu plot), and "Rear Window", for the suspense factor (again, the older version).

Cthulhu for me has never ever been about JUST scaring the holy hell out of my players. It's also been about slowly unfolding a mystery whose implications are so terrible the characters are stunned and horrified at the new shape their world takes.

And if you want character pictures, let me know; I've got a lot of good silent movie star sites bookmarked, and generally the "C" list celebs of the 20s are good NPC photos.

*lets you know*

The best site I have: http://silent-movies.com/Gents/Gents.html

For really young NPCs: http://www.classicmoviekids.com/

For the ladies: http://www.bombshells.com/

...and that's all I've ever needed. I generally play with the backgrounds in photoshop to make them less "studio" if I need to. Let me know if you need anything else; I'll be glad to help.

Patience wrote:The best site I have: http://silent-movies.com/Gents/Gents.html

For really young NPCs: http://www.classicmoviekids.com/

For the ladies: http://www.bombshells.com/

Hey, I knew the first one, but I didn't know the last two. Good shit, thanks Patience.

Patience wrote:The best site I have: http://silent-movies.com/Gents/Gents.html

For really young NPCs: http://www.classicmoviekids.com/

For the ladies: http://www.bombshells.com/

...and that's all I've ever needed. I generally play with the backgrounds in photoshop to make them less "studio" if I need to. Let me know if you need anything else; I'll be glad to help.

Interesting... many thanks Patience

Oh, completely welcome, SA. It's my favorite game; I'm always trying to spread the Gospel..I mean, yeah, you're welcome.

DV8 wrote:Hey, I knew the first one, but I didn't know the last two. Good shit, thanks Patience.

Oooo! That made my day. You're very welcome.

Jeff Hauze wrote: 2. There was a Batman comic out not that long ago (I couldn't tell you the name or the exact timeframe, I just simply remember reading the graphic novel/trade paperback) in which Batsy ends up being trapped or spending some time in Arkham Asylum with all of his old foes. I seem to think it was Frank Miller who did it, but I could be wrong. It's very dark, shows what I felt was the perfect Mythos style feel for how cities and institutions should be played in CoC, and shows a rather complete degeneration of a man's psyche into stark, raving madness.

It's called (surprisingly enough) "Arkham Asylum". It's so creepy and fucked up. I know because Patience bought it for me as a birthday present. She's so sweet. Sweet and twisted, but very very sweet.

Another really good Batman graphic novel to chart the progression into madness is "The Long Halloween"

As per movies to get back on topic,
"The Serpent in the Rainbow" (I'm pretty sure that's the title)
"The Cell"
and
The scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when they're riding the ferry through the tunnel. Creeps me out every damn time.

Patience wrote:

DV8 wrote:Hey, I knew the first one, but I didn't know the last two. Good shit, thanks Patience.

Oooo! That made my day. You're very welcome.

I use a lot of those graphics for my Dark Aeons website.

DV8 wrote:I use a lot of those graphics for my Dark Aeons website.

I had "http://coc.dv8.nl" bookmarked for a while, but then it 404'd on me. Good to have the new one.

I generally end up making my own, but I love the way your site's laid out. Go sepia.

You've got some awesome images in that collection, Patience.

Patience wrote:I'd say watch the movies "Dark City", "Hellboy", "Suspiria," "The Exorcist", "The Haunting" ( I mean the 1960s version, not that abortion that was released recently), "The Ring," (it's such a classic Cthulhu plot), and "Rear Window", for the suspense factor (again, the older version).

Read the book, and as I said above, and Patience said above, view the original film of the Haunting. The Haunting of Hill House is phenomenal, and straight from Lovecraft's playbook. Scary thing on other side of the door, and the door is never, ever opened. Not knowing, and never having the courage to know...I think that scares me more. As for Hellboy, well, I'd give the occult trappings a ten for Cthulu relevance, but that movie was a bit too campy (don't get wrong, I loved it) for Cthulu for my tastes. Suspiria I don't know. And for me to not know a movie, means I must immediately find and watch it. Thanks for that Patience.

Jeff Hauze wrote:Read the book, and as I said above, and Patience said above, view the original film of the Haunting. The Haunting of Hill House is phenomenal, and straight from Lovecraft's playbook. Scary thing on other side of the door, and the door is never, ever opened. Not knowing, and never having the courage to know...I think that scares me more. As for Hellboy, well, I'd give the occult trappings a ten for Cthulu relevance, but that movie was a bit too campy (don't get wrong, I loved it) for Cthulu for my tastes. Suspiria I don't know. And for me to not know a movie, means I must immediately find and watch it. Thanks for that Patience.

Hey Jeff. Only reason I didn't tell him to read the book is 'cause he specifically asked for the movies. I figured now was not the time to get into my mad crush on Randolph Carter.

Regarding Hellboy? I love Mike Mignola (yes, I am a comic geek)'s work, and the movie was loved for that reason too. However, [spoiler]Scary Nazi Plots and Things With Tentacles [/spoiler]are practically par for the course in any self respecting Cthulhu game , no matter how campy they may be/become.

Would you believe that outside this little slice of weird, I really generally don't like movies? Just watch it, let me know what you think.

DV8 wrote:You've got some awesome images in that collection, Patience.

Aww, aren't you a doll. Thanks. If my FTP weren't being a little slut (yeah, you heard me, AceFTP, what are you gonna do, get MORE broken?!) I'd be able to actually put up my site with scary ominousness all over the place.

Don't hesitate to let me know when you do.

Yup.

Hey Moo? Did you ever start up that game?