This indie horror-comedy has huge aspirations: one of the most unfilmable authors is HP Lovecraft and only few, Stuart Gordon, for example, can pull it off with a real sense of authoritarianism. And not only are Lovecraft’s works filled with multiple histories of ancient gods and demons, to truly capture their look, it would take a nice effects budget, headed by a team of pros. So already, LovecraCked should have those two strikes against it.

But I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pull it off.

Filmed anthology-style with numerous directors, LovecraCked is an ambitious collection of Lovecraft stories, some comedic, some horrific, but all watchable. “Remain” is an eerie, stop-motioned mini-masterpiece, while, in one of the wrap around segments, our host interviews Troma head Lloyd Kaufman, who, in his indomitable way, avoids all Lovecraft questions in favor of pitching Troma goods. An excerpt from the goronographic film “Re-Penetrator” is a sex’n’blood drenched mindfuck and the subtle “The Witch’s Spring” is a genuinely creepy take on what is a quite boring written tale.

That’s not to say that the film doesn’t have a few segments that don’t work:  “Bugboy”, one that could have been really effective, instead suffers from shoddy production values and the minorly incomprehensible “Alecto” will tempt your finger on the fast-forward button. But don’t. The artistry and attitudes, so varied and diverse, makes this like a filmed issue of an old, yellowed pulp Lovecraft would have written for, and that’s a good enough tribute for me.