2009 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Begins

Death wraps its shadow around the leaves, winds hurtle down from the north, and the membrane between worlds grows weaker. Fall has arrived, and with it familiar rituals strange and fantastic. As if it needs any further introduction, this year's H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & Cthulhu Con has officially begun in Portland, Oregon. The premier Lovecraftian event in this hemisphere continues its nearly decade spanning trek of excellence in serving as a venue for the best in weird art, especially cinema and Lovecraftiana. As with previous festivals, it's a weekend long event from October 2-October 4 at Portland's Hollywood Theater.

Since its inception, the HPL Film Festival has maintained its old locale. Their philosophy seems to be "don't fix it, if it isn't broken," and it works. Portland's innocuous looking theater is again the staging grounds for the most recent crop of Lovecraftian films hatching from the minds and cameras of producers. And their format is following the old, but effective trajectory as well: a block of major motion picture length "features" alongside a larger lineup of short movies.

With the usual deficit of Lovecraftian or weird fiction based blockbusters, the festival's main draw is its inspired block of short films. Many of these have been building interest this past year--shorts like "Dirt Dauber" have been featured here on "Grim Reviews." These shorts, like potent shots of strong liquor, also tend to be the most aesthetically developed, while others are arguably the most Lovecraftian compared to the feature films. The aficionado of weird cinema will find styles ranging from animations to black and white live action movies that all cloak an atmosphere-heavy pincer attack on the senses.

Needless to say, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival is the place to go this weekend be for travelers who have made their arrangements already, or those who are fortunate enough to be locals. For the rest of us, there's always the vibrant photos, excited blog entries, and slow trickle of publicized Lovecraftian motion pictures to look forward to.

-Grim Blogger