LovecraCked is Very
Strange, Disjointed and Difficult to Watch…The First Time.
After the second viewing of LovecraCked,
however, some flashes of brilliance shine through.
Review by: BHM Editor Don
Sumner November 16, 2006
Release:
2006 Written and Directed by: Elias
Starring: Elias as The Journalist Joanna
Angel as Corpse Girl (segment "Re-Penetrator") Adam
Armstrong as Carter Ward (segment "Chaos of Flesh") Nick
Basile as H.P. Lovecraft Brian A. Bernhard
as Sci-fi Nerd Chad Bernhard as 70's
Journalist Many others…
I just got finished with my second viewing of LovecraCked,
the Movie. I’m not exactly sure what to think
really. Perhaps it is that I am a bit stunned. More on that later.
LovecraCked is a series of film shorts designed to
explore the
life and works of H.P. Lovecraft. Oh, and make fun of him too. The
elements of complete psychosis and images of erotic deviant acts
intermix with over-the-top humor, imaginative animation, gritty music
and camp.
The film starts out slowly
with “The Journalist” (played by
Elias) trying just a bit (a lot) too hard to portray a second-rate
bumbling investigative reporter. Then we begin the first film short, The
Statement of Randolph Carter.
Although there are some funny gags the scene is not particularly
professional looking. In fact, I got to this point and was asking
myself what the heck I was doing watching it…
Then The History of the Lurkers
started up, and my attention was again focused. I had always wondered
about the origins of those creepy guys that hang out in porn video
arcades. But really, this segment was done with wit and a cleverness
that led me to suspect that LovecraCked had
something to say.
The film
shorts from this point were progressively better and more
interesting. Well acted, interesting angles and lighting, and even some
stop-action photography and animation that compels you to keep
watching. Each is disturbing, shocking and in some cases even touching.
Then there’s Return of Re:Penetrator.
Those fans of Re-Animator
will certainly recognize the scene, complete with glowing green
syringes and a spectacled crazy doctor determined to create life. What
you won’t recognize is what follows. Can anyone say
“Zombie
Sex”? It is truly disturbing. And…each moment of
the
bloody love scene gets more and more deranged and, well, gross. It must
be seen to be believed. This is the segment that earned the descriptor
“stunned”.
Overall the short films are
arranged to take the viewer on a ride
through the deranged minds of both H.P. Lovecraft and film creator
Elias. The Journalist is meant to bring a common theme to the film
segments, ever seeking to create a documentary about the life of an
“obscure Sci-Fi Horror writer. LovecraCked comes very close
to
the mark on several occasions, but doesn’t stay there
consistently.
The Journalist, as stated earlier, is played by film-maker Elias
himself. The performance is meant to be funny, and to portray the
Journalist as a clueless bumbler. That’s the
problem…the
character was played that way…to the extreme. Elias over-did
the
clueless qualities so much that The Journalist becomes an annoying
distraction to the shorts instead of being the yarn that weaves the
individual films into a quilt that is a finished movie.
The net result of my
multiple viewings of LovecraCked is that I am now
a certified Elias fan. I will likely watch this film several more
times, turn my friends on to it and anxiously await the next product
from this developing and talented film-maker. I have no doubt that his
craft will mature and improve over time. I just hope that next time
Elias is satisfied playing just a bit part. Questions
or comments about LovecraCked, The Movie? Contact
us!
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The film starts out slowly
with “The Journalist” (played by
Elias) trying just a bit (a lot) too hard to portray a second-rate
bumbling investigative reporter. Then we begin the first film short, The
Statement of Randolph Carter.
Although there are some funny gags the scene is not particularly
professional looking. In fact, I got to this point and was asking
myself what the heck I was doing watching it…
The film
shorts from this point were progressively better and more
interesting. Well acted, interesting angles and lighting, and even some
stop-action photography and animation that compels you to keep
watching. Each is disturbing, shocking and in some cases even touching.
Overall the short films are
arranged to take the viewer on a ride
through the deranged minds of both H.P. Lovecraft and film creator
Elias. The Journalist is meant to bring a common theme to the film
segments, ever seeking to create a documentary about the life of an
“obscure Sci-Fi Horror writer. LovecraCked comes very close
to
the mark on several occasions, but doesn’t stay there
consistently.
The net result of my
multiple viewings of LovecraCked is that I am now
a certified Elias fan. I will likely watch this film several more
times, turn my friends on to it and anxiously await the next product
from this developing and talented film-maker. I have no doubt that his
craft will mature and improve over time. I just hope that next time
Elias is satisfied playing just a bit part. 
Blink
Del.icio.us
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Simpy
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