Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom
Directed bySean Patrick O'Reilly
Written bySean Patrick O'Reilly
Produced bySean Patrick O'Reilly Michelle O'Reilly
StarringChristopher Plummer
Mark Hamill
Scott McNeil
Jeffrey Combs
Ron Perlman
Edited byChris Trinh
Music byGeorge Streicher
Production
company
Distributed byShout! Factory
Release date
  • October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom is a 2017 animated direct-to-video film based on the graphic novel of the same name.[1] The inspiration comes from the writings of American horror author H. P. Lovecraft.[2] The sequel to 2016 film Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom, itself was followed by sequel Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness in 2018.

Plot

After the events of the Frozen Kingdom, Howard Lovecraft is now home.

A terrible curse is placed upon his loved ones and he must travel to the Undersea Kingdom in order to free his mother who has been captured by an old foe. On his quest he gains help from Dr. Armitage, his father Winfield, and his best friend Spot.

Production

On January 18, 2017, it was announced that Mark Hamill, Christopher Plummer and Jeffrey Combs and Doug Bradley would be joining the voice cast in this animated feature.[3] Mark Hamill was cast as Dr. Henry Armitage while Christopher Plummer, Ron Perlman, and Doug Bradley reprise their respective roles as Dr. Herbert West, Shoggoth, and Nyarlathotep.[4]

Shout! Factory had acquired the distribution rights to the series including theatrical, digital, broadcast, home entertainment.[5][6]

Cast

Release

The film was released on October 1, 2017.

It also was screened at H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Oregon,[7] FearNYC Film Festival and Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival.[8]

Home media

Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 5, 2017 by Shout! Factory which is a part of their three feature distribution deal with Arcana Studio.[9]

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes has an approval rating of 40% and it has a weighted average vote of 7.5/10 out of 392 votes on IMDb.

Critics says [10]"Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom does a lot of things right; it’s fun, packed with high adventure, and manages to soften the Lovecraft mythos to make it palatable to younger viewers (...) the story is muddy in some areas with a myriad of story points going on simultaneously over a rather short runtime". Fans and viewers of the film praised the voice talent of the movie but have criticized about the quality of the animation in the film[11]

Accolades

The film took home Best in the Festival: Scifi at Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival and Best Director at FearNYC.[12]

References

  1. ^ writer), Brown, Bruce (Comic book (2011). Howard Lovecraft and the undersea kingdom. MacPherson, Dwight L., Boatwright, Thomas. Burnaby, BC: Arcana Comics. ISBN 9781926914848. OCLC 806487556.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Interview with Bruce Brown, Author of the Howard Lovecraft Graphic Novel Series". WIRED. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  3. ^ Busch, Anita (2017-01-18). "Mark Hamill, Christopher Plummer Lead Voice Cast Of 'Lovecraft' Feature". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  4. ^ "Mark Hamill, Christopher Plummer Join Stellar LOVECRAFT Voice Cast | Nerdist". Nerdist. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  5. ^ Busch, Anita (2015-10-07). "Shout! Acquires All U.S. Rights To Arcana Studios' H.P. Lovecraft Animated Film". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  6. ^ Busch, Anita (2016-03-22). "Animated 'Lovecraft' Finds Its Voices For Arcana, Shout! Factory". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  7. ^ "Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom | H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthulhuCon". hplfilmfestival.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  8. ^ "On the Slate: Arcana". Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  9. ^ "Arcana, Shout! Factory extend deal for HP Lovecraft trilogy". Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  10. ^ "Movie Review: Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom Brings Classic Horror Literature to a New Generation - horrorfuel.com". horrorfuel.com. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  11. ^ Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom (2017), retrieved 2018-09-20
  12. ^ "Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom: Kiefer O'Reilly to Voice Lead Role Alongside Mark Hamill, Ron Pearlman and Christopher Plummer". Fan Fest | For Fans, By Fans. Retrieved 2018-09-20.

External links

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