As far as it being the subject matter for a movie, it is perhaps the one story that does both of the folowing:

-It is a great example of the Lovecraftian archetypical story structure (not character driven… A long detailed exploration of history that eventually reveals greater and more unbelievable terrors and then a sudden realization that said terror is standing right next to us and oh god its waking up…)

-It cannot be confused or misunderstood by viewers who have seen so many of the plot elements Lovecraft often uses that have been run into the ground in cinema already (giant monsters, space creatures, degenerate townsfolk, mind-altering parasites, evil wizards). Also, MoMadness is a physical descent into the history, unlike the typical story that involves action-packed trips to the library.

A story like Mountains of Madness might be the only way to really get a new and unbiased reaction from viewers, given that they will have no associations with other genres to provide interpretations and expectations. The only movie that I can think of involving Antarctica and remnants of non-human civilization is, unfortuately, Alien vs. Predator.

Here's crossing my fingers for this movie being made and well-received. We might get to see some of the more vibrant stories produced (my personal favorite being The Case of Charles Dexter Ward). Then again, general audiences might not enjoy that special "Lovecraft" feeling any more than the characters in the books do. At least this movie will be enjoyed by astronomers and evolutionary biologists… theres a huge market right there ;-)

Maybe at the very end of the movie, Hellboy can show up and punch the Shoggoth and say something witty.

On another note, Lovecraft in general and this story in particular has always struck me as being a parallel for the spiritual processes and consequences of being a truly scientific person. When you allow yourself to step outside of your comfortable world of ethics and morality, of religious parables and faith based belief systems, and to truly begin to collect data in an unbiased manner in order to construct as true an understanding of the universe and humanity's place therein, you might not like what you end up finding. The price of truth is loss of your comfort and well-being forever. The universe is enormous, old, and contains forces beyond our comprehension and *we* we are nothing.

rmurdoch

that is curious, buts IMO its more likely that Benito Mussolini & Giovanni Gentile's book A Doctrine of Fascism (1932). In addition too the 1933 Spanish election that had more influence on both of them. Orwell, Hemingway, and Robert Capa all wrote about it at the time.

Dybbuk

Dr_Henry_Armitage

Dybbuk

And its not just that Cthulhu and them don't think about us more then as samiches, but that the good ones think about us just as much. We just are to them. When was the last time you, as a good person, stopped and helped out some worms from being eaten by a bird, or saved some plankton from a whale sharks mouth?

cde

The fact that, in Lovecraft, the bad guys pretty much always win, is one of the most refreshing things about the entire story cycle.

Thomas Ligotti, who has written some excellent Cthulhu mythos work, takes it even farther; his premise is the Gnostic one, that the world is being dreamed into existence by gods (see where it connects with Cthulhu?). His unique slant on this is that the gods are having nightmares.

raincoaster

As for the ethical obligation of superior beings, I really do think it's a matter of perspective. If I'm on a South African shark-watching boat, and a terrified baby sea lion tries desperately to scramble on board, the naturalist in me would stand back, and that would be an ethical thing to do. Predators hunt to eat. The shark's just being a shark, and the sea lion's just unlucky. On the other hand, the fellow mammal in me would reach down and save the little guy, and that would also be ethical. Dying in terror should be prevented, and the shark'll get more out of an old, fat sea lion, anyhow. I wouldn't think the shark evil, however, and an unseen superior being in Lovecraft's world might look at Cthulhu in a similar light. Squidfaces gotta eat.

You know, come to think of it, I should draw Lizzy Caplan, she's much nicer to look at.

Clem

Jeff-Minor

have you read Alan Moore's The Courtyard?

[www.amazon.com]

Dybbuk

I think there's a logical reason behind the scarcity in fiction of thinking, loving beings to act as counterweights to the dark forces. Good superior beings would be more likely to leave us alone, out of politeness, prudence or a prime directive, and could be motivated by self-interest or altruism. It's not that the Good have forsaken or abandoned us; they're just following their own "enlightened" rules. Doesn't help if Cthulhu is hoovering up your family, but there you are.

Clem

If you have a child, have you ever told that child that they aren't significant? I hope not. As a species, I think it is adventagious for us to think/feel that there is meaning and significance for each of us. Feeling like we are significant, even in some small way, might make the difference between living a good life or not. We are all important. Cthulu = the Id.

Jeff-Minor

braak

Because there's no evidence that humanity isn't meaningless cotton candy fluff in a universe that has no regard for them at all?

There's no evidence for horrible ancient gods either, of course - but I always just figured they were metaphors meant to highlight humanity's insignificance.

As for suicide... I don't know why people have so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that they aren't significant (in any macro sense, anyway). It doesn't really bother me.
-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

I do the Benicio translation every time I read his name as well.

I don't care how dry it is, could be creepy as hell. That dude with the eyeballs in his hands from Pan's Labyrinth still freaks me out.

Lovecraft fans should check out Neil Gaiman's Only the End of the World Again. I loved it.

[www.amazon.com]

engtech

this has me jazzed. since 'pan's labyrinth' showed he's not necessarily all about a happy ending, he and lovecraft should get along famously.

geekgrrl

Yet i could be wrong on that last part.

Dybbuk

Obviously, there are two ways to approach this. One is that the story itself is an ends, the other is that it's a means. Is writing (and, ultimately reading) horror an end in itself? Or is it mean to achieve a particular purpose?

There is certainly a lot of storytelling that explores the manichean dynamic between Good and Evil, but I'd hesitate to say that all stories should be that way, or even that stories that suggest a lopsided perspective don't have some kind of merit.

braak

Jeff-Minor

(Why wasn't it Cthulu in Cloverfield *sniff Why?)

Klappstuhl

Dug

BRAAK great job you explained it much better than i could. comparative literature aint never been my strong point.

Dybbuk

In the first place, horror is a powerful human social elements--since the times of the Greeks, artists have recognized the fact that terror of the unknown and of the supernatural has a bonding-effect on small social groups (it's one of the reasons why horror movies are so popular as date movies). Lovecraft's representation of an infinitely massive and terrifying universe is, in one respect, simply a mechanic for achieving the effect of stimulating social fear.

From a more intellectual/epistemological perspective, part of the point of the stories is to promote the idea of human humility. There doesn't especially need to be any focus on Goodness, because in the first place not all artists are required to talk about all things, but in the second place, there's already a huge body of literature that describes the universe as being full of omnipotent, beneficent entities (it's called religion).

The problem is that this body of religious literature tends to make people think that we're at the center of the universe, and that we occupy some special position in terms of its operating principles. Lovecraft's stories are a way of positing that this simply isn't true: mankind is far from the center of the universe, and the best-case scenario is that those entities that rule the universe won't notice us.

In many ways, this is no different in principle than Sophoclean tragedies like Oedipos Tyrannos, or more frenetic, even less optimistic tragedies like Euripides' Bakkhai.

braak

Jeff-Minor

Del Toro could bring it off. He shouldn't do CGI giant penguins, though. They should be played by Ron Perlman.

Clem

Hmmm, you know this means yet another movie with CGI penguins. Only this time they'll be giant scary ones.

Sneggleblech: Yes, do. Great movies. But not feel good movies. Oh no, definitely not. The Orphanage could almost be called a tear-jerker, except the jerking is done by jabbing electrodes into your tear ducts, so you just kind of sit there stunned.

stefan_jones

Defendant

Supernintendo

Actually, movie probably would have been more amusing with HUD's mangled, mad commentary XD Plot to save the girl? Totally subverted. Roll for sanity?

Lizfu

Cloverfield = Cthulhu - not even close - The Great One would only have to appear and NYC would destroy itself.

"Yet He shall rise and His kingdom shall cover the Earth."

Littlebitsofpaper

(shrugs) i actually still kinda think it. giant tentacle octopus style monster=Cthulhu in my book.

jrghoull

Skeller

rockosolido

cde

victheremin

Erzengel

Loved "At the Mountains of Madness", though it took me a long time to get trough as it was my first Lovecraft story. Only one that was harder to get trough was the letters in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". Spent a good time trying to figure out exactly what was written in those letters

FourEyes

Sorry, i got carried away, hehehe, we been waiting for a chance like this for ages.

Hellboy has a LOT

Erzengel

Dr_Henry_Armitage

Marcus117

Marcus117

ashadowcastinred

Ah, my bad. I thought he was more of a hands on producer. Also, I thought he was from Spain, obvs. "Mexican Overlord" has a better ring anyways.

Tommmcatt

Tim Faulkner

Del Toro is a master of atmosphere. I think this is a match made in R'yleh.

SurlyGirl

elizabethm

rjray

Plague

"drier than a thousand-year-old Saltine cracker." WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!!

O wait just ignore me i enjoy reading product user guides.

Dybbuk

theghastlyfop

I WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE, as I have loved Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, and even The Orphanage. Know why? There is a coherent vision driving them, and that vision, for the first time in years, is not geared to the lowest common denominator.

I, for one, welcome the new Spanish overlord of our collective imaginings.

Tommmcatt

Sleepyhead

iJake

notquiteunderground