Huang Baotai creates Cthulhu's version of "Green Book", magic and terror fly together

Hadley 2022-10-01 16:14:06

In the summer of 2016, Netflix launched the retro horror drama "Stranger Things", creating a viewing myth. After that, a large number of similar TV series with a strong retro feeling, horror and science fiction became the mainstream of small screens.

The restarted "Ghost Show", "Yin Yang Demon World", and "American Horror Story" have all received good ratings.

But so far none of them can surpass the brilliance created by "Stranger Things".

Until August this year, HBO launched a "Cthulhu" style "Devil's Land"

This article has spoilers.

1

The story begins with a dream of the hero Atticus.

Atti, in his dream, was on the battlefield of the Vietnam War. In the sky, in addition to enemy fighters, there are flying saucers and unknown creatures.

After a blue light passed, an alien woman with dark red skin and a golden bikini fell in the sky. She is the fairy in Atti's dream and the foreign lover he can't let go of.

After a brief hug, a Cthulhu monster with a mouth full of teeth and wings attacked them. Atti in his sleep was also awakened in an instant, and was pulled back to the cruel reality.

In the United States in the 1950s, racial discrimination was serious. Although Atty is a veteran, he still has to be careful to avoid getting into trouble.

He loves to read, but this time he resigned from the military and returned to his hometown because he received a letter for help from his father. In the letter, his father, who had always been at odds with him, put aside his grievances for many years, saying that he had to investigate because he had discovered a family secret. If Atty receives this letter, it means that he has fallen into a predicament and needs Atty's help.

So Atty returned to his hometown, and went on the road with his uncle George, who opened a bookstore, and his young friend Letitia.

That night, several people stayed at Letitia’s brother’s home. And I learned a piece of news here: Many people are missing in the nearby woods, which is most likely related to the local sheriff.

The new police chief is an extreme racist, and most of the missing travelers are blacks.

2

The three of them prayed silently not to run into this difficult sheriff, but they lost their way in the woods the next day. During the quarrel, a police car quietly stopped behind them.

It was the racially discriminatory sergeant who got off the police car. He directly threatened a few people with a gun. If he did not leave the town before sunset, he would impose some "punishments" on them.

He is like a vulture waiting for its prey to die, closely following Ati and his group. They must not be allowed to speed, but they must also be allowed to leave within the specified time.

Several people left the town at the last second before sunset, but before they were happy, they found that several other policemen had been waiting in front of them. As a result, these racially discriminatory white policemen tied three unarmed black men into the woods, pointed their guns to their heads, and planned to lynch them.

At the moment, the roar of a wild beast came from the forest. Then, a monster with a mouth full of teeth and eyes full of eyes rushed out from the depths of the dense forest, and bit one of the policemen's arm.

Blood splattered and gunshots sounded... Atty took advantage of the chaos and led Letitia to escape, while poor Uncle George was knocked down and lay in a pool of blood.

Atty accidentally found a deserted forest hut, and he took Letitia into hiding. The sheriff and others were attacked by monsters. Only the sheriff who was bitten and seriously injured and another police officer survived.

Because he was unsure of his uncle, Atty tried to search in the forest, but his uncle George came to the cabin without any damage by his own flashlight.

George was a fan of poems and horror novels, and he immediately thought that these cannibal monsters might be the same as the vampires in "Dracula", afraid of light. That's why I can walk out of the woods safely without arms and holding only a flashlight.

His words reminded everyone that the sheriff pointed a gun at Letitia and ordered her to drive alone, using the headlights to deter the monster.

Letitia ran wildly in the forest, and finally ran back to the car at the last minute.

On the other side, the bitten sergeant turned into a monster. He attacked the only policeman with a gun, and then rushed towards Atti and his uncle George...

3

"Devil's Land" was produced by HBO, and it achieved 97% freshness of Rotten Tomatoes once it was broadcast. One has to say that this is inseparable from the "Cthulhu culture" that runs through it. After all, there are many audiences who love Lovecraft's works.

Lovecraft is known as "the greatest writer of classical horror stories in the 20th century". He created the "Cthulhu Mythology" system and is a veritable father of Cthulhu.

He has written dozens of novels in his life, the most famous of which are "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Book of the Necropolis" and "Crazy Mountains". In these works, Lovecraft used his amazing imagination to create one after another bizarre world, as well as countless ghosts and monsters.

Cthulhu is the most representative monster in his works.

This is a kind of evil god from outer space, and its appearance in early works is very similar to that of octopus. With eight claws and suction cups, he is huge and crazy bloodthirsty. In "The Call of Cthulhu", Lovecraft portrays him as the dominator of the old days. When they came to the earth, they were sealed in the deep sea.

Because of its highly representative horror image, once created, it has become a source of inspiration for countless works of art. Movies related to the Cthulhu culture are also emerging in endlessly. The combination of monsters and the deep sea makes people fearful and desire for unlimited exploration.

"Extreme Chill", "Void World", "The Mist"... and even in "Pirates of the Caribbean", we can see the shadow of Cthulhu.

"Devil's Land" is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Matt Ruff in 2016. It is a tribute to Lovecraft and Cthulhu culture.

Not only does it contain many monsters in Lovecraft's works, but Lovecraft himself and his works have also appeared in the play many times.

For example, in the letter sent by the actor Atty's father, the name of the place where he was mentioned happened to have the same name as Lovecraft. And Atty and his uncle George have also seen Lovecraft's "The Other Side".

Even in the dense forest, Atti jokingly mentioned the monster Shuggs in "Crazy Mountains".

The clinker became a truth, and the one who later attacked them in the dense forest was also the fangs-full-eyed Shuggs.

In addition to the suffocating racial issues and the sudden appearance of bloodthirsty monsters, "Devil's Land" also contains a lot of horror and fantasy content.

Mysterious families, cult organizations, gates that open another world, evil spirits, pen immortals, yin houses, etc., these various representative horror elements, together make up a story.

These attractive features, combined with the black movement that has attracted much attention in recent years, make "Devil's Land" stand out from a group of works of similar themes, and become a fan of "Stranger Things" in the hearts of friends and science fiction fans. A work.

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