It was a minor stroke of genius when director Andrew Leman of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society decided to film Lovecraft's influential 1925 horror story as a faux silent film. Fake scratches, handsome intertitles, a captivating score, and high-contrast black-and-white images at dramatic angles that recall the best German Expressionism go a long way to further the illusion that the film was made in '25 instead of '05. With one gesture, Leman solved dozens of problems--suddenly, it didn't matter that the special effects weren't quite state of the art, that the story consists of an undramatic pile-on of narratives-within-narratives, that the production couldn't even afford a real boat. The result is an almost-vintage tale of hair-raising mystery full of bizarre dreams, murderous eskimos, and blood-thirsty cultists that culminates in the revelation of an unspeakable horror. "Call of Cthulhu" is a highly entertaining addition to anybody's Halloween library. Watch the trailer.

More horror goodness: "A Tale of Two Sisters" - Top 50 Scariest Movies - The Creepiest Movies Ever - Why do horror movies get no respect? - 100 Greatest Horror Movie Performances - Top 10 Halloween Movies  [posted by Jurgen]