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Lovecracked! The Movie
Directed By Elias & Others
Released: 2006
Starring: Elias, Chad Bernhard, Nick Basile, and Ryan L. Johnston
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Provided By
Biff Juggernaut
Lovecracked! The Movie
is an anthology horror film tied together with segments of a documentary
about the life of horror and science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft. Or at
least it tries to. The combination of the show’s lack of production values
and the ineptitude of its host (Elias) spells disaster as the taping
degenerates into complete chaos.
Talk about the kitchen sink! I can’t think of anything that
Lovecracked! The Movie
doesn’t have packed into its modest running time. From goopy gore to
ridiculous comedy to outlandish animation to softcore (make that softgore)
porn, this one’s got it all. The short films are all over the place but
the bad films are usually bad on purpose so even if a segment isn’t
winning you over with its cheesiness then it is saved by its goofy charm.
There are a couple of film school-ish arty pieces that registered on my
pretension meter but these are thankfully short.
My only major complaint is that a couple of the films were pretty far from
the world of Lovecraft but their inclusion didn’t turn me off. Like most
H.P. fans, I am pretty much insatiable and wanted more adaptations of his
works to be included. The inclusion of the pornographic
Re-Animator parody,
"Re-Penetrator", seems superfluous in its abbreviated state but it is
definitely one of the most intriguing inclusions here. But hey, why split
hairs? A pornographic remake of a film that is loosely based on a short
story by the author in question pretty much fits right in, right?
All roads lead to Troma. Once again, Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Studios is on
hand in a substantial cameo to promote… (What else?) Troma! Other standout
performances come from Chad Bernhard as the 70’s Journalist who schools
Elias on his lackluster investigative reporting. Speaking of Elias, his
character’s desperate and failing attempts at real journalism (“This, is
not his cow.”) are quite amusing.
I couldn’t help but get into Lovecracked!
The Movie. The humor is definitely corny
but satirizing obscure writers is just my kind of humor (not a joke, I
meant that) so I was tickled by the silly parodies of “The Outsider” and
“The Thing On The Doorstep”. Standout segments include the slimy take on
Kafka’s The Metamorphosis called “BugBoy”, the also black and white and
very minimal “Chaos Of Flesh”, and the nutty “History Of The Lurkers”
(which features actual lurking).
Lovecracked! The Movie is a fun horror
comedy anthology with some surprisingly sobering moments of horror in the
mix.
DVD Stuff:
The Lovecracked! The
Movie DVD is quite professional for the
indie world. Despite the varying source materials and film stocks (from DV
to 16mm), the video is very clear. Audio is also in good shape here and I
never had to strain to hear dialogue during the film. Extras include extra
short films (Elias's sickening "The Voice Inside" is here as well), a
blooper reel, music videos, and the film's trailer. Good stuff.
Links:
Check out the Lovecracked! The Movie site
right here.
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