A Creeping Mess

 Lovecraft Would Be Horrified

 The Last Case of August T. Harrison (2015) – A retired private detective agrees to help his son investigate a missing person.  He’s not prepared for the strange powers that will stand in his way during the case.

Starring – Jerry Lacy, Maggie Wagner, David M. Graham     

Why I Liked It – There’s an interesting concept here.

I seem to have a lingering case of the “bad movie attraction.”  It’s got to be an aftereffect of the Corona Virus.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

You want to know what the absolute BEST thing about this movie is?  Easy.  It’s only 66 minutes long.  That’s still some 40 minutes longer than it needed to be, but it could have been worse.

More importantly, it could have been better.  There’s a cool idea at the center of this movie.  What if the stories of classic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft were non-fiction?  What if they were about real Ancient Ones and Dark Magic?  What if they were written as warnings to the future and we failed to understand?  Great concept, right?  Almost puts a shiver down your spine all by itself..  What they call “high concept” in Hollywood.

Sadly, it all dies before it bloomed.  Writer/director Ansel Faraj turns the silk purse concept into a sow’s ear movie.  The script is mediocre at its best.  Plodding and lacking any of the creeping horror that is the dark heart of Lovecraft, the movie doesn’t manage a single goosebump.  The awful acting by two of the key members of the cast puts out any light from the story.  Both Maggie Wagner and David M. Graham are, I hate to be mean about it, but the word is – awful.  Their performances are the most horrifying part of the movie.  He’s wooden, and she is beyond description.  Nathan Wilson is one of the producers and plays Lovecraft.  Yes, the author is also a character in the movie.  Wilson is also wooden and awful.

Faraj opts for an ongoing voiceover narration, which is difficult to pull off.  In a classic moment when he should be “showing” rather than “telling”, he insists on telling.  And it’s tedious.  He shot most of the movie using only two basic “shots” – a medium and an almost wide.  It’s a low-budget movie (and you know I have a soft spot for low budget movies), so I’d be willing to cut it some slack for the special effects.  The issue is that there’s a lot of them, they’re 1960s low budget salvage, and they’re poorly used.

But it was only an hour and six minutes long. Thank the Ancient Ones.  Oh, and don’t ask me to explain the multiple “awards” and “nominations”.  I can’t, it’s easier to believe in Cthulhu.

Such a wonderful concept.  So horrifyingly betrayed.

Rating – ** Not Impressed