Editorials
Celebrating 100 Years of the Cthulhu Mythos!
Howard Phillips Lovecraft has posthumously become a pop culture celebrity over the years, for better or worse. The influence of his writing has spread far beyond literature, invading movies, comic-books, video games and even tabletop RPGs. Nowadays, it’s hard to pinpoint any specific piece of media that doesn’t carry at least a pinch of Lovecraftian concepts. While the master of cosmic horror has authored countless chilling tales, he’s most famous for the creation of the infamous Cthulhu Mythos, a literary universe connecting some of his most terrifying work. Now, in 2017, the Mythos is celebrating a whopping one hundred years, and it’s about time that we appreciate that fact.
Back in 1917, Lovecraft had just begun his career as an author, and penned the first Cthulhu Mythos story, Dagon, inspired by a nightmare (which is something of a recurring theme with his best stories). While it probably wasn’t intended to be the start of a terrifying universe of interconnected tales, Dagon sets up a lot of what the Mythos would eventually become. The story of a man driven insane after witnessing an eldritch abomination rise out of the sea to imply mankind’s impending doom contains all of the classic Mythos tropes, and Dagon himself would become a recurring figure in later tales.
From there, the world was soon treated to further tales of Elder Gods and forgotten horrors, though it was only in 1928 that The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft’s most famous and influential tale, would see the light of day. The story expanded upon the established mythology (even briefly mentioning the ill-fated narrator of Dagon), and introduced the world to everyone’s favorite octopus-faced Old One, the darkly dreaming Cthulhu.
By his untimely death in 1937, H.P. Lovecraft had amassed quite the pantheon of unfathomable beings that were here long before mankind, and would undoubtedly still be around once we’re gone. Stories like The Shadow Over Innsmouth and At The Mountains Of Madness perfected Lovecraft’s iconic formula for cosmic horror, and are still referenced in modern horror to this day (though everyone is still bitter about Guillermo Del Toro’s failed adaptation of the latter tale).
While the eccentric author never shied away from grotesque monstrosities in his work (hell, he certainly created some of the scariest creatures ever described), what set Lovecraft apart from other horror writers of his time were the disturbing philosophies underlying most of his tales. His belief in an indifferent and uncaring universe resulted in complex stories that avoided the usual trappings of good versus evil and even tapped into relatively modern concepts like existential dread. For example, the Great Old Ones wouldn’t necessarily make it their business to destroy humanity, we’d just be too small and insignificant to survive their inevitable return to this world. There lies the seed of cosmic horror that has frightened so many readers over the last hundred years.
The recurring themes of insanity, suicide and suspicion over humanity’s place as the dominant species of the planet have resonated with many other artists over the years. That’s why it’s no surprise that most people now know Lovecraft from works that reference him, rather than from his original stories. Even before his death, authors like Robert E. Howard (who was a dear friend of the troubled writer) incorporated elements from the Cthulhu Mythos in their own stories, which is why some argue that the Conan the Barbarian tales take place in the same universe.
Thulsa Doom was obviously one of the Serpent Men of Valusia, right?
August Derleth, another one of Howard’s literary friends, went to great lengths to keep the Mythos alive after the author’s passing, going so far as to add his own spin on cosmic horror. It was only after his founding of the Arkham House of publishing that Lovecraft became a household name, as, despite limited critical acclaim, the author had previously never been able to support himself purely through writing. Thanks to Derleth, many other authors and artists gained access to Howard’s tales, which ultimately resulted in the Lovecraftian influence on nearly all facets of modern popular culture.
From Batman’s infamous Arkham Asylum to the terrifying films of John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon, it’s hard to imagine a world without Lovecraft. Could geniuses like Clive Barker or Stephen King even exist without taking lessons from the master of tentacled terror? Even bands like Metallica have devised musical homages to the Mythos’ eldritch abominations. Howard himself almost certainly couldn’t have predicted the impact his imagination would have on media as a whole when he came up with iconic monsters and objects like shoggoths or the Necronomicon.
Nevertheless, it’s important to note that, as a human being, H.P. Lovecraft was an incredibly complicated and controversial figure. It’s clear that he held several racist and xenophobic beliefs, and you couldn’t quite label him as a mentally balanced individual either. Many of these unfortunate ideals bled into his stories, and it’s easy to identify his (sadly all too-contemporary) anxieties surrounding immigration and the “invasion” of foreigners that might eventually replace the American population. However, there is evidence to suggest that, by the end of his life, the author had grown more accepting of diversity and at the very least tolerated the melting pot that the United States had become at the time.
Regardless of his personal flaws, Lovecraft has also been criticized for his overreliance on convoluted wording and repetitive formulas. Some critics even argue that once you’ve read one Lovecraft story, you’ve read them all. These are valid points, to an extent, but these flaws might also be considered some of Howard’s defining attributes. While it’s understandable that some people might be put off by these techniques, complaining about them would be like arguing that slasher movies are too bloody, or that Kubrick’s direction is too meticulous.
Whether or you love him or hate him, there’s no denying Lovecraft’s influence on culture as a whole. Hell, the fact that there are still legions of readers worldwide swearing that Lovecraft’s writings were secretly non-fiction (despite his numerous attempts at explaining otherwise) is a testament to the author’s status as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. With that in mind, why not re-watch, re-read or even re-play some of our favorite pieces of Cthulhu Mythos media in honor of this most terrifying anniversary? After all, the only side-effect is impending insanity, so what’s the worst that could happen?
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.
Can you believe it’s already been fifteen years since 2009? I feel older than Jason’s mother’s head. But never mind all that. We’re going to look into the past in celebratory fashion today and take a month-to-month look at what the world of horror looked like back in 2009.
The dreaded month of January kicked things off in usual January fashion with a forgettable title, The Unborn. A David S. Goyer picture that’s not very memorable but managed to be the sixth most successful horror film of 2009 domestically, raking in over $42 million at the box office.
Right behind it on the calendar was Patrick Lussier’s My Bloody Valentine 3D starring “Supernatural” actor Jensen Ackles. This slasher remake took the idea of January horror and embraced it, making a silly and gory slasher that was the world’s first R-rated film to ever use Real3D technology. Anyone looking for legitimate scares was probably pissed (the film has a 44% Rotten “Audience” rating) but genre fans had fun with it to the tune of over $51 million at the box office (on a $14 million budget).
Next up, releasing on January 30 was the sleepy PG-13 horror flick The Uninvited. For the life of me, I’ll never understand the choice to release a movie called The Uninvited two weeks after a movie called The Unborn; to be fair, most of us are unable to remember much about either of them.
The reboot of Friday the 13th was served up to us for Valentine’s Day Weekend 2009. A slasher movie that made a ton of money and had fans begging for a sequel… that never came. The Platinum Dunes reboot may not be universally beloved, but I know a fair share of fans (myself included) who thought the new Jason, Derek Mears, and team made a film that was both fun and brutal. And it was juicy enough to come in as the number three most successful domestic horror film in 2009 to the tune of over $65 million. Friday the 13th ’09 was nowhere near perfect but it was a damn fun time with some underrated Jason Voorhees moments and a sleek plan to tell Jason’s origin story quickly via flashbacks that some superhero franchises could learn from. Oh yeah, and it starred the other “Supernatural” bro, Jared Padalecki. I’m sensing a pattern here.
‘Last House on the Left’
Next up, yet another remake of a classic horror film: The Last House on the Left. Wes Craven wanted to see what his low-budget horror film would look like with a little walking around money and the results were that we, the audience, got to see a dude get his head microwaved. The critics weren’t huge fans but let’s be honest, it could have been a lot worse given the subject matter and lack of nuance in the 2000s. Last House went on to land itself in the top ten horror box office returns of the year.
March would also feature one of the many notches in Kyle Gallner’s horror belt, The Haunting in Connecticut, a movie with maybe too many generic possession genre moments to make a major dent in the status quo but enough to make it memorable. I’d take it over many of The Conjuring franchise spinoffs of today, personally. Though, they’re all very much alike.
April Horror would conjure nothing for audiences but Sam Raimi would bring the loud, scary, and funny back to the genre with Drag Me to Hell on May 29. This film that was somehow still PG-13 even with a cat murder, flying old lady eyeball, and mouth-to-mouth puke action was a blast to experience in the theater. Audiences agreed as the film ranked #7 on the horror box office of the year, cashing out at $42 million thanks to a loveable lead in Alison Lohman, the forever horror victim Justin Long, and some good old-fashioned, Evil Dead II-type fun.
‘Drag Me to Hell’
July would shock horror fans in a completely different way with adoption horror flick Orphan. The ending may have had all of us feeling super uncomfortable and shocked but the movie itself had adoption groups majorly upset at how the film depicted the dangers of adoption. So much so that the studio had to add a pro-adoption message to the film’s DVD. No matter, the performance of Isabelle Fuhrman would carry the film to a $41 million box office run and later spawn a decent prequel in 2022.
Speaking of collecting, The Collector was also released in July 2009 and was a pleasant surprise featuring a shitload of originality and some scares to boot. Yet another horror success that would make $10 million on a $3 million budget and spawn a sequel. We’re still waiting on third installment, which abruptly stopped shooting several years back under strange circumstances.
The fourth Final Destination film graced us with its predestined presence in 2009 as well with The Final Destination; the 3D one with the race car track opening. The film was (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) a financial success, raking in over $186 million (worldwide) on a $40 million budget.
Rob Zombie went Rob Zombie’ing as hard as he’s ever Rob Zombie’d with Halloween II later that month. He’d Rob Zombie so hard that we wouldn’t see Halloween on the big screen again until almost ten years later with Halloween 2018. And nothing controversial ever happened in the franchise again. *Shuts book* Stop trying to open it! NO! NOOOOOOOO!
‘Halloween II’
Another remake in Sorority Row was the first film to follow Rob Zombie’s divisive stab-a-thon with a schlocky Scream-esque slasher flick that had a good enough time and even boasted a few neat kills. Critics weren’t fans of this one but if you were? You’ll be happy to hear that writer Josh Stolberg just announced he’s working on the follow-up!
Sexy Horror September continued a week later with Jennifer’s Body and an all-new, emo kind of Kyle Gallner. Jennifer’s Body didn’t exactly crush it for the critics or the box office but has success in its own right and is considered somewhat of a cult classic thanks to some hilarious writing and leading performances from Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Also, shout out to Adam Brody’s band Low Shoulder. Machine Gun Kelly could never.
Part of the low box office for Jennifer’s Body could have had something to do with what came next as Paranormal Activity would rock the horror world a week later. The genius marketing of the low-budget film would feature clips of audiences on night vision cameras losing their minds. Whether it scared you to death or you found the entire concept ridiculous, you had to see it for yourself. Paranormal Activity would bring in almost $200 million worldwide on a 15 THOUSAND dollar budget. I’m no mathematician but I’m pretty sure that’s good. The horror game changer may just be the most remembered of all the 2009 films and it’s one every studio in the world wanted to replicate.
‘Paranormal Activity’
One film’s game changer is another film’s flop as Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster’s space horror Pandorum had the unfortunate scheduling of lining up against Paranormal Activity on that fateful day and in turn, being mostly forgotten.
Spooky Season 2009 kicked off with the beloved horror-comedy Zombieland in October, complete with Jesse Eisenberg’s meta-rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse, Bill Murray, and Woody Harrelson who just wanted a fuckin’ Twinkie. There’s nothing like a good horror comedy and Zombieland proved that all the way to the bank, making $74 million domestically en route to a second film that brought back the entire cast.
It’s only been twelve seconds since I said the word remake, so let’s fix that. The Stepfather remake would follow a week later and be met by an audience getting a little sick of them. Unlike some of the other spirited remakes that surrounded this era in horror (not that they ever stopped), The Stepfather felt like an uninspired retread of the understated but completely messed up 1987 Terry O’Quinn horror cult classic. It’s largely been forgotten over the years.
“Who am I here?” Oh yeah, it’s October in the 2000, there’s bound to be a Saw movie around here somewhere. Saw VI would be released on the 23rd of October and continue the story of Detective Hoffman while adjusting the rates of some shady insurance adjustors. Saw VI would also fall victim to a little bit of Paranormal Activity mania with the film being bested by the continued rollout of its predecessor. Things were looking a little bleak for the franchise at this point. Probably none of us would have imagined that fifteen years later we’d be talking about the same director (Kevin Greutert) returning for the eleventh movie in the franchise.
‘The House of the Devil’
After all these humongous box office successes, sequels, and remakes it would be three memorable indie flicks that would round out October of 2009; the ultra fucked up Willem Dafoe, Lars von Trier sex/horror flick Antichrist, followed by Ti West’s ’70s haunter The House of the Devil and rounded out with some Australian torture horror in Sean Byrne’s The Loved Ones. All three movies each make their mark in their own special ways. What a way to end October.
But it was November that would bring the movie that scared me more than any other on this list: The Fourth Kind. A lot of you are assuredly rolling your eyes right now but this one messed me up on a cellular level despite it being a complete and total fake. The Fourth Kind decided to meld a traditional horror film with the stylings of The Blair Witch Project in an opening designed to make you believe it was based on a true story. An embarrassing attempt but the film itself had me afraid to sleep near windows at night after seeing those found footage abductions. It still messes with me, to be honest. WHY ARE THEIR MOUTHS STRETCHING SO MUCH?!?!
December was too busy doing Avatar and Alvin and the Chipmunks-type family affairs for any horror movies but even without it, 2009 was quite a year for horror. I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention some other memorable films that were released either straight to video, limited or overseas that year including Case 39 (that oven opening!), Exam, Daybreakers, Splice, Dead Snow, The Hills Run Red, The Descent 2, Blood Creek, Cabin Fever 2 and [REC] 2.
What were your horror favorites from 2009? Comment below and let us know!
‘My Bloody Valentine’
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