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Rough Magik is about the Night Scholars, a clandestine organization set up to monitor the ancient cult of Cthulhu (pronounced “Kath-hool-hoo”). After decades of compiling an enormous database of arcane information, they have come to the conclusion that the sleeping god is waking.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. His major contribution to the craft was cosmic horror, the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds, and that the universe is fundamentally alien.
He has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of interconnected ideas that feature bizarre human-nullifying entities. His protagonists tend to reach the opposite of spiritual enlightenment by glimpsing the horror of reality. While his readership was limited during his lifetime (1890-1937), he is now considered one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century, and the successor to Edgar Allen Poe.
Dreams of Cthulhu (The Rough Magik Initiative) was intended to be the pilot for a BBC series. It stars Paul Darrow (Blake 7, Doctor Who) as Mr Moon, Gerrard McArthur as Kenneth Reese Warren, Tim Kerby as Colonel Shaw, Justine Glenton as Mrs Machen, and Michel Poole as Mr. Wilson.
The story starts out with a Dreamer on a South London housing estate who performs a ritual sacrifice of her two young children to a grotesque sculpture. Mr. Moon closes down the police investigation and moves the woman to a secret location. He takes the statue to Kenneth Reece Warren, a man who already knows too much. He was a psychiatrist, and former night scholar who owns an art gallery. Mr. Moon uses an experimental truth drug on Warren to try to get more information from him on the Sleeping God and the Dreamers. It is here that Warren tells his disturbing tale.
Not having seen the first volume, which I understand was great, I found Dreams of Cthulhu (The Rough Magik Initiative) to be very entertaining. In fact the entire package is well done. The actors are well cast and the script keeps things moving on a good pace.
The two shorts by Bob Fugger are entertaining as well. The Terrible Old Man is a story about three criminals who take an old man as an easy mark, but find they are sadly mistaken. From Beyond takes us to see Crawford Tillinghast and exposes him to the sights he can see from beyond. The remainder will be crème for the Lovecraft Fan.
Overall I thought Dreams of Cthulhu (The Rough Magik Initiative) was very well made, entertaining, and well worth the time for those who are into horror, X-Files, The Outer limits, Twilight Zone, Lovecraft, or the role-playing game of Delta Green. It is a must for H.P. Lovecraft fans. Dreams of Cthulhu (The Rough Magik Initiative) can be purchased through Lurker Films.
Bonus Features
• Audio commentary by writer/producer Stephen Parsons
• Bob Fugger’s Terrible Old Man and From Beyond short films
• Interviews with the cast and crew of Terrible Old Man
• Conceptual Drawings and behind the scenes photos
• The second of a continuing interview with Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi
• Openers from the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
• An extremely informative eight-page booklet on the film and H.P. Lovecraft
