December 26 2007
The Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft
The Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft is a French “documentary” about titular Weird Tales author. Though H.P. Lovecraft is a fascinating subject ripe for a cinematic biography, this films errs deeply on the side of pretension. Murky, and often bizarre and nonsensical, black-and-white imagery flickers across the screen while a voice provides an oddly-chosen second person narration. I’m also hoping that something has been lost in translation from the original French, as some of the voice overs are (unintentionally) hilarious. (”H.P. Lovecraft…you were a regular bastard!” or somesuch.) Thankfully, clocking in at around forty-five minutes, The Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft is at least blissfully short. Still, that time could be better spent reading any of S.T. Joshi’s writings on Lovecraft, making this movie for completists only.
