We know that we're a film podcast, but for this Halloween, our final treat is for the readers: S.T. Joshi, THE preeminent H.P. Lovecraft scholar in the entire world, takes time out of his busy schedule to stop on the podcast and take all things Lovecraft and horror. The author, professor, and all around enthusiast talks with Jim about how he first …

We're knee deep in Spooky Season, so it's about time that we stopped tricking everyone and delivering on the treats. We loved Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham so much that we just had to bring on co-director Sam Liu to talk about his work and influences. The longtime comics and fan and director of many critically acclaimed DC animated titles ta…

"The expendable crew of a corporate space vessel must stop a murderous shape-shifting alien organism that somehow got on board." "The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating an unknown transmission." One of those films is seminal horror film, Alien, and one of them is Japanese anime film, Lily C.A.T. Can you…

Who better to be the logical, unsentimental protagonist of a Lovecraftian journey into discovery than the world's greatest detective? This animated adaptation of a comic miniseries written by Mike Mignola demonstrates how seamlessly the themes of H.P. Lovecraft blend with, compliment, and --- at times -- even subvert the age old themes and narrativ…

If you're anything like us, then you saw the comments about this Portuguese-language horror film being called "one of the goriest films since Braindead" and laughed about it for the 20 or so minutes. Then they dragged Peroá's body into the cabaret in a fish net and boy, oh boy, do the blood and guts start flying! You couldn't exactly call Dark Sea …

If you have no interest in the boys discussing theoretical outcomes for Better Than You Bay Bay, then skip ahead to 12:28. If you have no interest in a horror film with troubling sexual politics and which exploits the protagonist's vulnerability for wanting to be a mom to the point of making her a victim of creature rape, then skip ahead to the end…

Sporting a 4.6/10 on IMDb and a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, Harbinger Down hasn't exactly imbedded itself indelibly in the public consciousness nor has it earned status as a cult classic. Still, costing just a shade over $380,000 via crowdfunding and created by Amalgamated Dynamics -- the guy's fucked over by the studio on 2011's The Thing -- is an adm…

A horror anthology demands a discussion with someone who knows a thing or two about horror anthologies, so Jonathan Inbody of Gray Matter: An Acid Horror Anthology Podcast joins the podcast to discuss the truly weird and difficult to track down Necronomicon: Book of Dead from the long ago time of the 1990s when anthology films were still in vogue. …

The Cast of Cthulhu will be taking a hiatus for June as Jim moves and settles into a new place, so on this episode, the podcast goes out not with a bang, but with a whimper, discussing a prequel that was so atrociously meddled with by the studio that the director retired from filmmaking for a decade. Asking questions that nobody asked, The Thing ca…

Filmmaker, podcaster, musician, and all around good guy, Tim Buel, joins to talk Prometheus, the film that actually first brought Jim and James together so many years ago. The boys all recount what their first impressions (sober or otherwise) were when seeing Ridley Scott's much-anticipated film in 2012 and how their opinions have changed -- or, in…

A film can be forgiven of its crime of being, but it's harder to forgive a film for being boring. Imagine the Sisyphean task of forgiving a film that's both bad and boring? You don't have to imagine if you're Juan Piquer Simon, otherwise known as Spain's answer to Ed Wood and the writer/director of Cthulhu Mansion, a film that, despite its title, h…

Sorry for the unexpected delay in posting, folks - this is what happens when Norovirus rips through a household! Isn't it funny how sometimes a low-budget Italian horror film set in 1943 is written entirely in anachronistic English and stars actors from Canada, Scotland, England, and America (and also occasionally Italy)? Anyways, none of those thi…

The Cast of Cthulhu goes low-budget for this episode to cover Slamdance alum, The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu. An intriguing premise is sabotaged by juvenile humor tinged with homophobia and hamstrung by a budget and scope so small that it never feels like there's a threat to anything (other than good taste). Though the filmmakers were clearly…

Have you ever wondered why we take seriously people who believe in ghosts but think believers in UFOs are nuts? Did you watch and have opinions on AEW's Revolution? If you've answered "no" to either of these questions, better skip ahead to 18:24. No use beating around the bush: Gareth Evans's Apostle is not Lovecraftian in the slightest. However, t…

David Bax of Battleship Pretension returns for his third sleepover in the witch house where he witnesses Jim have an existentialist crisis in real time as he realizes that perhaps Mia Watkins' and Catherine Hardwicke's supremely unfaithful adaptation is not very good. Keziah Mason looks cool no doubt, but this adaptation in name only ditches the fa…

New year, new Cthulyou! The boys at The Cast of Cthulhu ring in 2023 by tackling "Pickman's Model," the first of two Lovecraft adaptations featured in the Netflix-exclusive horror anthology, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. One of the longest entries of the anthology, "Pickman's Model" feels like a TV episode trying to be a feature film…

Just in time to celebrate spooky season, we've got our final episode of the year talking about David Bruckner's reboot/legacy sequel, Hellraiser. Improving upon Clive Barker's original in just about ever way -- the puzzle box is an actual puzzle! -- this heart-wrenching story has some gnarly new Cenobites and one of the most emotionally mature and …

Jim and James were out of commission this week, so friend of the show, writer, and composer Jerry Smith steps in for this interview with Gwen Callahan, co-director of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival taking place from October 7 - 9 in Portland, OR! Fans of Lovecraft or even horror in general will want to hear all about what this year's festival has…

Jessica Scott returns to discuss yet another Shudder exclusive, the glory hole horror film, Glorious. What begins as a film about a sympathetic man trying to work his way through a difficult breakup becomes an often comedic and horrifying examination of a toxic man who thought so highly of himself and so little of his victims that he believed his g…

First and most importantly, Battleship Pretension co-host Tyler Smith needs our help. Visit CaringBridge to stay updated on his condition and to leave some support and encouragement to his friends and family and please give what you can to his GoFundMe to contribute what you can to his family. There is hope and reason for optimism and y'all can be …

Viewed through the lens of the Lovecraft Mythos that was expanded on after his death, The Ritual is a very well written, acted, and directed neo-Lovecraftian inspired film, its jötunn serving as the Cthulhu of the Scandinavian woods. This 2017 adaptation of the Adam Nevill also serves as an inadvertent entryway into the interconnected world of earl…

Is it accurate to describe X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes as "Cyclops but addicted to drugs?" Not entirely, but it's a more accurate description than calling the pre-Haunted Castle Roger Corman flick "Lovecraftian." Featuring Ray Milland as a man of science who gets more than he bargained for when he experiments on his own eyes, this low-budget, unoffi…

The podcast. You downloaded it. We came. On this episode, we discuss Clive Barker's feature film directorial debut that rubbed all sorts of Reaganites the wrong way with not only its depictions of chains, leather, and torture, but also with its ideas that the lines between pain and pleasure are blurred in the eye of the beholder. While the franchis…

Battleship Pretension's David Bax returns almost two years after his first appearance to talk about yet another adaptation of "Dreams in the Witch House" (and also his latest podcast, The One Where I Met Your Mother and also his thoughts on NHL free agency). Basically everything from the production quality to narrative logic in Bobby Easley's H.P. …

There are some real life horrors manifesting in the world today - horrors that mean many women are not sleeping soundly at night out of fear for themselves and future generations. The Cast of Cthulhu finds the recent SCOUTS ruling on Roe v. Wade to be as terrifying as any eldritch creature that Lovecraft imagined and we dedicate the opening of the …

Not really sure what one should expect from a movie whose genesis began with the premise "there's a castle and there's a freak", but prepare yourself for a pretty emotionally mature exploration of loss, grief, and inescapable fate handed down through a cursed family's bloodline propped up by admirable performances from Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Cra…

Spring has sprung, so what better time to cover Benson & Moorehead's Spring than right now? There is no better time, obviously. Silly question. How foolish of you to ask. Anyway, Corinne Corrosive returns after The Shunting to discuss arguably the most emotionally mature film from the directing duo and to join the boys as they wade into a discussio…

Just like the titular John, we didn't die at the end! We return from an entirely unplanned lengthy hiatus to (hopefully) get back to regularly scheduled programming with the cult horror/comedy John Dies at the End, which currently stands as the last feature directed by Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli. The 2012 adaptation of Jason Pargin's webserial…

Is Gareth Edwards' directorial debut Lovecraftian? Not in the slightest! Did the 6-person crew have a shooting script? Absolutely not! Do the effects, direction, and performances still hold up after 12 years? You betcha! Entirely improvised and largely featuring locals and non-professional actors, Monsters may leave Lovecraft fans yearning for more…

Friend of the show, Thomas Campbell, returns to The Cast of Cthulhu to discuss his latest creative endeavor spawned from the pandemic, the indie Lovecraftian comic, Abyssal Albion. Half Lovecraftian horror and half The Road, Abyssal Albion is currently crowdfunding for its third issue, which you can support on Kickstarter. Want to get caught up on …

This week the boys chat about their peripheral interest in the Winter Olympics and their excitement about what's potentially going down in AEW* before getting into a discussion on Spiral, the film adaptation of Junji Ito's manga, Uzumaki. Skip ahead to 17:48 to avoid all the rasslin' talk and get straight to the discussion of madness brought about …

Since our Pateron now sleeps with dead Cthulhu in his house in R'lyeh, we can unleash this fresh madness onto the world. Recorded last summer and only previously available on the Patreon feed, we're releasing this conversation with Starfish writer/director, Al White, for the main feed's enjoyment! This laid back and wide-ranging conversation touche…

Well, it's our first episode of the new year and boy, do we have a kick ass guest to help ring in 2022! Stopping by to drop some knowledge on us about Mycenaean architecture and Lovecraftian horror is author, film critic, and desktop game designer, Josephine Maria Yanasak-Leszczynski! Dark City may not seem like your standard Lovecraft-inspired gen…

Need some light in the Winter Solstice? Some merry for your Christmas? Some Guillermo del Toro for your life in general? Then The Cast of Cthulhu has the perfect gift for you! Joining Jim and James are a fantastic collection of writers, podcasters, and just all around awesome horror fans to present a virtual table reading of Guillermo del Toro's un…

It's a bit of a shame that there's no James on this episode seeing as obscure foreign horror films are right up his alley, but we've got a Brian Muldoon from the Happy Harvest Horror Show to make up for it! Who is Mariano Baino, the co-writer and director of the somewhat incoherent and possibly maybe blasphemous Dark Waters? Allegedly he's the "unh…

After a long delay caused by the non-zero chance that the boys were marooned by weather in an eldritch beacon, the boys found someone who likes their lobster in Stephen Foxworthy, co-host of the Disenfranchised podcast! 2019 was a banger of a year for films - The Farewell, Parasite, Uncut Gems - and the fact that the claustrophobic, tense, paranoid…

After basically two months of tricks, boy do we have a treat for you! The Cast of Cthulhu presents its first ever commentary track: 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Watch along with the boys on Shudder, the perfect streaming service for the spooky season, as they poke fun of a mad Dr. Loomis' return to Haddonfield, sympathize with t…

Quick episode here to update you on why there's been radio silence from CoC, the expected planned hiatus for September, and assurance that we'll be back in mid-October once things settle down. As CoC awaits dreaming in the depths of R'lyeh, just a reminder that we've got a few cool things on our Patreon including an interview with Al White, the wri…

Okay, first off, we're sorry that there's been such a gap between episodes. Life happens. Second off, we launched a Patreon! Our first exclusive episode for patrons is an interview with friend of the show, BJ Verot, as he talks about directing his feature film debut, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Best Feature winner, The Return. After getting th…

First and foremost, we have to pour one out for Lovecraft Country, which was officially canceled by HBO, robbing us of the vision Mischa Green would have unleashed untethered from the source material. But if you're not the sentimental type, skip ahead to 11:32 to get to the discussion of The Unnameable, a bizarre, tonally mixed, low-budget adaptati…

Well, now that it's actually summer we can talk about a film that actually deals with summery things and we've got not only the perfect film, but also the perfect guest! Jessica Scott joins The Cast of Cthulhu to talk about Jeffrey A. Brown's feature directorial debut, The Beach House and boy, oh boy, does this film dive deep into Lovecraftian them…

There's something ironic about reviewing a film due to its titular tie in to beaches only to discover upon viewing that it takes place almost entirely in snowy Colorado. After Jim apologizes for that, he implores the Internet to help him stop getting Twitter notifications about The Snyderverse (4:18) and delves into the world of hurt people hurting…

We're covering a weird, ambitious movie, so it's only fitting that we've got a weird, ambitious episode. Jay Alary from Grumpire and Daily Grindhouse joins The Cast of Cthulhu to discuss Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce, the first of a 3-picture deal and a weird, ambitious failure of a sci-fi film that may have signaled the beginning of the end for Hooper's…

We went into The Empty Man expecting a subpar knockoff of the Slender Man story and were we delightfully surprised to see that it was anything but! Receiving a similar fate to another overlooked horror film that Disney unceremoniously dumped after acquiring Fox, this "rough edit" release - as writer/director David Prior considers it - foregoes jump…

Sincerest apologies for both the episode delay (life stuff) and audio quality of Jim's vocal track (forgot mic due to life stuff), but if you're able to forgive us for those hiccups, we are excited to have Council of Zoom's Kieran Fisher join us to discuss Clive Barker's third and final directorial effort, Lord of Illusions! The delayed release als…

Seeing as Jim made his triumphant return to the movie theater for the first time in well over a year, it's only fitting that the boys spend a little time talking about the (very dumb) film ushering people out of the pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong. Skip ahead to 26:30 to avoid spoilers and a discussion of all things related to large beings destroying t…

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." - H.P. Lovecraft "Adding a Lovecraft quote to your film doesn't make your film Lovecraftian." - The Cast of Cthulhu So, we're talking about The Endless, a film that pays lip service to Lovecraft, but we're also talking about so m…

The first episode in the Benson/Moorhead back-to-back is here with this review of Resolution, though as we're wont to do, there's a fair bit of banter before the episode begins, this time on beer and breweries and pouring one out - figuratively - for the bankrupt Alamo Drafthouse (jump ahead to around 10:19 to skip over it - you'll know the discuss…

Before you ask or complain, no - WandaVision has absolutely nothing to do with H.P. Lovecraft and we don't even make an attempt to connect the two. Instead, this is just an episode to dive into our thoughts on the recently wrapped WandaVision with a very special guest, Jim's lovely wife, Emma Aarnes! From our shattered expectations to our satisfact…

A fair bit of dillydallying on this episode before the discussion on Alex Garland's criminally underseen Annihilation including a (very) lengthy discussion on WandaVision and the Disney's grey morality as a content/art provider, a less lengthy discussion at 27:46 about why we'd rather fight with Cthulhu than Haku, and the least lengthy news at 34:3…