Pickman's Muse review...

There have been several excellent Lovecraftian features released over the last two or three years (Ivan Zuccon's Colour from the Dark and Dan Gildark's Cthulhu come to mind), and in the last week or so, the always informative Grim Reviews blog has reviewed two of the more recent releases...

Last week it was David Schmidt's House of Black Wings (check it out here) and this time around, the Grim Blogger tackles Robert Cappelleto's atmospheric masterpiece Pickman's Muse...

"...it relies heavily on an ominous atmosphere steeped in strange imagery. It may, in fact, be the most strictly atmospheric movie of this type to surface for a long time."

- Grim Reviews



(Thanks to grimreviews.blogspot.com)

It's been a while

Hi guys! Time for another set of links to Cthulhu stuff in the world of gaming.

Over at Vynom Links they have a handy character generator for you folks playing Call of Cthulhu.

There's also a Cthulhu d20 Character Generator over at Pathguy's website.

Soda Bob has a neat little site that also includes a Call of Cthulhu section.

David Rodgers site also has a Cthulhu related rpg called Yellow Dawn set after the collapse of the world.

I'm sure most of the Arkham Horror gamers know about the Wiki, but I thought I'd add a link to it anyway.

I think I also mentioned the Strange Eons program that lets them make fan content for it, but in case I didn't here's the link.

There's another Arkham Horror Fansite at Arkham Investigations.


For the Heavy Metal Fans Cthulhu is apparently being made as a guitar design these days. he's even inspired a Ukelele.

That's all for now. Next up I hope to review a few films cosmic horror fans may like but that aren't well known in the U.S.

Cool giveaway from Strange Aeons...

Here is some cool news from the folks over at Strange Aeons Magazine...an exclusive King in Yellow miniature (figure comes unpainted, but there will be a painting tutorial included) for use in the Strange Aeons miniature skirmish game will be shipped with the first 100 issues of SA #3! The issue will also contain an exclusive King in Yellow game scenario for use with the Strange Aeons game...

Pre-order information is forthcoming...


(Thanks to Kelly Young)

Outpost Doom DVD out now...

Outpost Doom, the feature length film from Dead Lantern Films, is now available on DVD! DVD extras include deleted scenes, audio commentary tracks, Drunken Zombie Film Festival documentary, photos, easter eggs and more. The DVD is $10 (includes free shipping) or $13 for overseas orders...

About the film: Two escaped cons, running from a horrific tentacled monster, seek refuge in an enormous barn. Once inside, they discover a decapitated corpse and a group of strangers who are highly suspicious of their presence. It doesn’t take long before people start dying in vicious ways. Someone is not who they appear to be...meanwhile, the tentacled monster is trying to find its way inside...

Click here to purchase...




(Thanks to Mat Kister)

John Cusack cast as Poe...

John Cusack announced via twitter that he has been cast as Edgar Allan Poe in an upcoming adaptation of The Raven...

Check out his announcement below (misspellings are his, not ours!)...

"officiali- will play edgar allen poe in fall-a-film called the raven, send any poe- gold - my way as i begin this journey into the abyss"

(Thanks to Dread Central)

The Island poster revealed...

Coming soon from writer/director Nathan Fisher and Gonzo Entertainment is their latest foray into Lovecraftian cinema, The Island! Check out the amazing 70's throwback poster for the film, courtesy of Dooby tomkins (illustration) and Brando Gnetz (graphic design)...

More as it becomes available...


(Thanks to Nathan Fisher)

The Investigators...

With the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast currently on break, they used this week to post links to a Lovecraftian animated show they created about ten years ago for Atom Films. The show, titled The Investigators, lasted just four episodes and was never completed...

Check out episode one below, and click here for episodes 2-4...



(Thanks to hppodcraft.com)

Updated: James Cameron talks Mountains of Madness...

Oregonlive.com caught up with James Cameron to talk about the Avatar re-release, which comes out today, and this is what he had to say about At the Mountains of Madness. Nothing really new, but still worth mentioning...

"Well, that's more of a personal thing. Guillermo and I have been friends, and we've looked for opportunities to work together. And when he fell out of "The Hobbit" project, we were talking, just kind of commiserating -- and he had spent a lot of time on that, and he wanted to go work on something that would sort of feed his soul as a filmmaker.

I said, "What's your favorite project? What do you want to do?" He said, " 'At the Mountains of Madness.' " And I was a huge Lovecraft fan, always have been -- just read him voraciously in college. And I said, "Let's do it!" Who doesn't want to see Cthulhu? (Laughs.)"

- James Cameron

Update: James Cameron also spoke with Wired.com today, about Avatar and At the Mountains of Madness...

"It's going to be an epically-scaled horror film and we haven't seen anything like that in a really long time — I guess since Aliens," Cameron told the site. "The thing about Lovecraft is that he left a lot to the imagination. He never told you what they looked like. He managed to create a sense of creeping horror without specifics. Guillermo brings an eye for design that is so original and so quirky and so steeped in the lore of movie design and horror design, but always fresh and unexpected. Frankly, I just want to see what he comes up with and I want to enable the nuts and bolts of the production so he doesn't have to worry about that. I want to help him how to work in 3-D."

Click here for more...

(Thanks to Dunwichsouth, oregonlive.com and wired.com)

The HPLFF 2010 takes shape...

Another feature and several more shorts have been added the Portland, Oregon H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival! Stuat Simpson's Australian feature El Monstro Del Mar, and the following shorts; At The Reefers Of Madness (by Brian Clement), DemiUrge Emesis (by Aurelio Voltaire), Doomsday Catch Phrase (by Pete Sleeper), Silas and the Tomb (by Conor Casey), The Silver Key (by Conor Timmis and Gary Fierro) and The Tell-Tale Heart (by Michael Swertfager) have all been added...

Look for further updates as the festival draws near...


(Thanks to hplfilmfestival.com)

Del Toro to produce The Captured Bird...

Former Rue Morgue editor Jovanka Vuckovic announced today that her first post-Morgue project will be The Captured Bird, a short film produced by Guillermo del Toro! Other individuals involved in the film include effects team Spectral Motion (Hellboy), editor Douglas Buck and director of photography Karim Hussain...

In a press release that came out today, Guillermo del Toro had this to say, "Jovanka's vision has been honed to perfection and combines true poetry with savage instinct. [It's] lyrical and brutal. Just what the doctor ordered."

Vuckovic added, "Having Guillermo [del Toro] on board as Executive Producer is like a dream come true for a first time filmmaker. His well of inspiration is as limitless as his generosity. Plus, The Captured Bird is just too ambitious to make without his guidance. I'm very grateful to have him as part of the team. The Captured Bird is inspired in part by a childhood nightmare, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, the fables of the Brothers Grimm and the paranormal phenomenon referred to as The Shadow People," explains writer-director Vuckovic. "It's sort of a dark fable that I hope people will find haunting, poetic and beautiful."

The film is scheduled to shoot in the spring of 2011...


About the film: The Captured Bird is a darkly poetic fable that begins with a little girl drawing figures of people with chalk on the cement of a playground. She takes notice of an unusual crack in the pavement that is seeping a mysterious black fluid, which she follows to an ominous building. Inside, she encounters several bizarre phenomena, including walls that bleed black and tentacles that emerge from the ceiling to touch her. She then witnesses the birth of five terrifying supernatural beings that threaten the existence of her world...

Check out the official site for concept art, crew info and how you can help "Capture the Bird". Jovanka Vuckovic reveals more about the project and website in the video below...

Welcome To TheCapturedBird.com from The Captured Bird on Vimeo.

(Thanks to shocktillyoudrop.com and twitchfilm.net)