CC: Chris LaMartina and Call Girl of Cthulhu (2014)

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Friday, November 7, 2014

CC: Chris LaMartina and Call Girl of Cthulhu (2014)

Chris LaMartina is an American director, writer, and producer that works out of Baltimore, Maryland.  He studied film at Towson University, during which time he filmed the 2007 movie Dead Teenagers.  As hard as I tried using various search techniques, that is pretty much the extent of information I can find on the man other than a few interviews but no real background.  Other than his Midnight Crew Studios being responsible for the two films I will discuss tonight and my respect will just have to do for now.


WNUF Halloween Special (2013)

  • Genre: Comedy – Horror
  • Directed: Chris LaMartina
  • Produced:
    • Mike Baldwin 
    • Jimmy George 
    • Chris LaMartina 
    • Charles Zimmerman
  • Written:
    • Chris LaMartina 
    • Jimmy George 
    • Pat Storck 
    • Michael Joseph Moran 
    • Jamie Nash
  • Starring: Paul Fahrenkopf, Aaron Henkin, Nicolette le Faye, Leanna Chamish, Richard Cutting, Brian St. August, Helenmary Ball, Robert Long II, Sabrina Taylor-Smith, Thomas Lee Johnson, Kendra North, Frederick Cowie, Bob Creager, Ron LaMartina, George Stover, Paul Sieber, Joe Ripple, Cary Anderson, Patricia Mizen
  • Music: Bruce N. Farquharson
  • Cinematography: Chris LaMartina
  • Editing: Chris LaMartina
  • Studio: Midnight Crew Studios
  • Distributed: Unknown
  • Rated:
  • Release Date: 18 October 2013 (USA)
  • Running Time: 83 minutes
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English

I will return to this film at a later date but suffice it to say, this is a perfect example of how a good story is far more important than a large budget.  While filming, director Chris LaMartina tried to make the film closely resemble 80s footage and shot on vintage tape stock.  Of the WNUF Halloween Special, LaMartina stated that as most viewers would be able to instantly tell that the movie was not an actual broadcast from the 1980s and instead tried to "make people remind themselves why they fell in love with VHS and blatant localism in the first place" and that the movie is "a love letter to VHS and public access TV."

The WNUF Halloween Special is a 2013 comedy horror film.  The main portion of the film was directed by Chris LaMartina, who also helped to co-write the film.  Parody commercials are shown throughout the film, some of which were written and directed by persons other than LaMartina.  The movie's plot follows a television personality that decides to investigate strange supernatural occurrences at a house purported to be haunted.  WNUF Halloween Special was given a limited VHS run of 300 copies on October 18, 2013, and was given a DVD release in November of the same year.

Originally broadcast live on October 31, 1987, the 'WNUF Halloween Special' is a stunning expose of terrifying supernatural activity that unfolded at the infamous Webber House, the site of ghastly murders.  Local television personality Frank Stewart leads a group of paranormal investigators including Catholic exorcist, Father Joseph Matheson and the prolific husband-and-wife team Louis and Claire Berger.  Together, the experts explore the darkest corners of the supposedly haunted Webber House, trying to prove the existence of the demonic entities within.  Did they find the horrific truth or simply put superstitious rumors to rest?



Call Girl of Cthulhu (2014)

  • Genre: Comedy – Horror
  • Directed: Chris LaMartina
  • Produced:
    • Larry Angrimson 
    • Helenmary Ball 
    • Julian Ball 
    • Paul Fahrenkopf 
    • Jimmy George 
    • Chris LaMartina 
    • Michael Raso 
    • Bob Rose 
    • George Stover 
    • Charles Zimmerman
  • Written:
    • H.P. Lovecraft (Inspiration) 
    • Jimmy George  
    • Chris LaMartina
  • Starring: David Phillip Carollo, Melissa O'Brien, Nicolette le Faye, Dave Gamble, Helenmary Ball, Sabrina Taylor-Smith, Alex Mendez, Craig Peter Coletta, Elena Rose, George Stover, Leanna Chamish, Troy Jennings, Stephanie Anders
  • Music: Chris LaMartina
  • Cinematography: Nick Baldwin
  • Editing: Chris LaMartina
  • Studio: Midnight Crew Studios
  • Distributed: Camp Motion Pictures
  • Rated:
  • Release Date: May 2014 (USA)
  • Running Time: 92 minutes
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English

Call Girl of Cthulhu is a 2014 horror movie that was directed by Chris LaMartina.  The film had its world premiere on May 8, 2014 at the Maryland Film Festival and stars David Phillip Carollo as an artist that falls in love with a woman that ends up being the chosen bride of Cthulhu.  The movie is very loosely based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.

Artist Carter wants desperately to lose his virginity, but only to the right person.  He thinks that he's found the right person in Riley, a call girl with a strange birthmark on her rear end.  Carter's dreams of romance are soon ruined, as several Cthulhu-worshiping cultists see this birthmark as a sign that Riley is destined to become the bride of Cthulhu and bear his child.  It's up to Carter, aided by Edna Curwen and Squid, to find a way to stop the cult from fulfilling their plans.

I cannot pile enough praise on this film.  It is low-budget without looking cheap.  The acting is big studio quality and the writing is far better than you would expect for a small movie shot in the Delaware valley but I would expect no less from Chris LaMartina.  I apparently have seen almost all his movies without realizing I had.  This film is obviously made by people not only familiar with the Mythos but willing to write a sly love letter to the Mythos authors.  Not to give anything away but there is a scene where Erica gives Carter a CD of the songs she had been working on.  Carter asks her the title and she response it doesn’t have one so he writes on the disk “The Music of Erica Zann” and I fell over laughing because I should have seen that coming but didn’t.  The film is full of little winks like that. 

The film is also not safe for the kids due to nudity and language but if your kids are watching Lovecraft related films then they have been there and done that already.  It is also low-budget gory and gross at times but nothing you wouldn’t expect to see in a film dealing with Cthulhu and other Mythos horrors.  Really, wouldn’t it be weird if a Cthulhu movie didn’t have tentacles and quivering masses of unidentifiable bio matter?

HOLY CRAP THIS MOVIE ROCKS!

 

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