Summary
James Wan’s upcoming Lovecraft movie already seems to be facing some rivalry from another horror adaptation. Given how James Wan’s long line of work as a filmmaker primarily includes mainstream films likeFuriosa 7,The Conjuring,Aquaman, andInsidious, it is interesting how the director is now pursuing a passion project by adapting HP Lovecraft’sThe Call of Cthulhuinstead of solely focusing on mass appeal. AsJames Wan himself teased, his adaptation ofThe Call of Cthulhuis going to be hard to sell because of the esoteric nature of the ideas in Lovecraftian stories.
Wan’s early comments on the film are a little concerning because they make one wonder about the film’s eventual commercial performance. However, since Lovecraftian stories are supposed to be complex and mind-boggling, it is relieving that Wan is honoring the source material. Wan’s approach to adapting HP Lovecraft’sThe Call of Cthulhumakes the movie an exciting prospect. However, it is hard not to ignore how it will face stiff competition from another promising cosmic horror adaptation.
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Dredge Has A Better Chance As A Lovecraftian Movie Than James Wan’s The Call Of Cthulhu
Dredge Perfectly Balances The Mellow Atmosphere Of A Fishing Adventure Lovecraftian Terrors
While James Wan is directly adapting HP Lovecraft’s renowned tale,The Call of Cthulhu, the upcoming live-action adaptation of the video gameDredgewill also adopt Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos like its source. James Wan may be approaching the story the right way, butDredgeseems to have a better chance of working as a Lovecraftian movie. The reason being that most direct adaptations often struggle to accurately capture the indescribable horrors in the author’s stories.
In contrast, indirectmovie adaptations, likeAnnihilation,The Endless&In The Mouth of Madness, have had a better success rate becausethey do not purely rely on the author’s original descriptions of the fear of the unknown and the unseen. Instead, they present their own unique storylines while only borrowing some Lovecraftian themes and concepts. One of the most recent successful Lovecraftian movies,Color Out of Space, also contemporizes the setting from the eponymous story instead of attempting to adapt it directly.
The game’s blueprint could traverse incredibly well to the big screen because it makes Lovecraft’s complex ideas more tangible.
The originalDredgevideo game treads a similar path by initially presenting itself as a simple fishing adventure game. However, the more a player progresses with its missions, the more the game unravels its cosmic undercurrents by introducing elements from Lovecraftian mythos. The game’s blueprint could traverse incredibly well to the big screen because it makes Lovecraft’s complex ideas more tangible. James Wan’sThe Call of Cthulhu, in contrast, might struggle to achieve something similar because it bears the responsibility of being a direct adaptation.
What The Call Of Cthulhu Can Learn From Dredge’s Portrayal Of Lovecraftian Mythos
Dredge Captures How Lovecraftian Themes Can Be Made More Tangible
Just because Wan’sThe Call of Cthulhushares its name with the HP Lovecraft story does not mean it has to accurately adapt all its story beats. It can takeDredgeandColor Out of Space’s approach bystaying true to the cosmic essence and spine-tingling ambiguity of its source while adding a layer of originality and modern interpretation. SinceDredgeandColor Out of Spacehave both been appreciated by viewers and critics,James Wan’sThe Call of Cthuluwould also be easier to sell and more commercially scalable if it attempts to spin the original tale with a more accessible and contemporary yarn.
Dredge
Dredge is a single-player adventure simulation game from Black Salt Games. Players will head into a mysterious archipelago known as ‘The Marrows’ to fish and salvage fish and treasure to fund their expeditions - but the deeper they go, the more the dark secrets of the deep are revealed, some more strange or terrifying than the last.
