Cullan Hudson's Blog, page 42
September 11, 2011
Modern Film Recalls Silent Film Horror
Released in 2005 from HPLHS films, the $50,000 "The Call of Cthulhu" is a faithful adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's seminal work that relates the tale-within-a-tale-within-a-tale-within-a... Anyway, it traces the vestiges and hints of an ancient, murderous cult in worship of an even more ancient and deadly being from beyond time and space.However, unlike any would-be attempt to modernize the effort with barely-clad neophyte actresses and stilted performances from some young Keanu Reeves-esque thespian, this film imagines the story as it might have been revealed to audiences when the novella was first released in 1926.
The cinematography is a flawless verisimilitude of silent classics from the silver screen; and the art direction is almost fetishistic in its decadent pastiche. It's all there: from the luminescent halation of bright whites to the scratches and flecks one would expect to find in early 20th century cinema. Only rarely does some digital nuisance intrude to betray this film's modern origin, but so inconsequential are these that they are dismissed and forgotten almost instantly.
You can watch the entire film (it is not a feature-length work) at IMDb by following the link below:
CALL OF CTHULHU
September 10, 2011
Saturdays Are Silly
Since tomorrow you will once again be confronted by how sucktastic today's newsprint comics are, I thought I would bring something better to the table. Cyanide and Happiness is one of the better strips around--and it's only online.
September 9, 2011
On Ignorance, Knowledge, And The Future.
Bear with me; I'm on a Lovecraft kick this week... "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or fleed from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." -- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" As we chase the weirdness of quantum phsyics like a white rabbit down the wormhole of strange implications, I see moments when these words could ring horribly, horribly true. But enough of that! On to tentacles in the sky....Apparently, this was released last year. I think I will look for it. Read more HERE.
Just For Fun Friday
You know what disturbs me the most about The Shining? Shelley Duvall's wardrobe. Therein lies the horror, my friends. Sometimes, I lay awake at night with horrible visions of red jumpers beneath gingham prairie dresses surmounted by stringy tendrils of hair that surely gave inspiration to Lovecraft when describing those horrid Cthuluian tentacles.
Saving The World, One Ugly Book Cover At A Time
I don't have ads on here. I have me. I use this space to plug me. Wait... Let's rephrase that: I don't assault you with ads you couldn't care less about and that only serve to clutter up the website until it loads slower than an elderly hooker. No, if you see something on here, it's either topical or my own promotion (which usually means it's tangential to the general theme anyhow). To that end, if you self-publish or know someone attempting to do so, I'd like to take a moment to let you know that, in addition to writing, I am also a freelance graphic designer--on a mission. I want to save the world one book at a time. So, if you want to avoid the mess illustrated here (no offense to this author), then by all means give me a shout. My rates are reasonable and I think you'll find the product more than satisfactory. To see more of my work, you can check out www.fresheiredesign.blogspot.com
And if you're not writing a book, I can also design corporate graphics for your business (cards, brochures, etc...) or perhaps your paranormal investigation team is looking for an interesting promo. Let me know!
September 7, 2011
Airship Mysteries Remain
One thing that has always puzzled me about old tales of mysterious airships and their strange occupants is how often those same-said occupants have seen it necessary to either lasso a cow from their craft or shimmy down to the ground on a rope, often attached to an anchor. If we assume, as ancient astronaut theorists do, that these UFOs are otherworldly craft that have doubtlessly ventured from far away (a proposition requiring staggering technology), then don't we find it odd that their sole means of getting down on the ground consists of a rope? And no brillant beam of impossible properties is snagging that bovine--just a lasso.
Moreover, these accounts almost never speak of strange beings. They are described as men (sometimes women) in sailor-like suits or uniforms of the ilk expected of a crewman aboard any vessel. Nary a word is written about big heads, big eyes, strange coloration or any other queer feature that would set these aeronauts apart from their contemporaries.
You can read other tales of airship visitors and the like over at Mysterious Universe, including several throughout England and Ireland that seem as if they're retellings on the same parable. There are also those from the 19th Century American West.
