The Stall of Cthulu: A Review Of Shudder Original 'Glorious'!
So the leg is a bit of a spoiler, but it’s a still a great poster.
Lovecraftian horror is having a hell of a moment right now. From “The Color Out of Space” to Joe Lynch’s new gig, to, well, “Lovecraft Country,” we’re looking at a brand new slate of gooey, unpronounceable horror. While Rebekah McKendry’s GLORIOUS isn’t about a specific Lovecraft entity, its tentacles definitely share some DNA.
Ryan Kwanten’s Wes is going through a tough breakup. He deals with it like anyone would, by getting wasted at an isolated rest stop, then waking up to puke his brains out in the bathroom. As if hugging a public toilet wasn’t bad enough, the guy in the next stall starts a conversation with him. And if THAT wasn’t enough, Wes realizes this unseen presence knows about his life and comes from a dark, unknowable place in the universe.
What follows is mostly a one-and-a-half man show with Wes and The Voice (as we’ll call him). Kwanten has always portrayed hapless protagonists well enough that most of his career feels like an audition for the Coen Brothers. At times, he appears to be channeling Bruce Campbell without much of the physical comedy. Meanwhile, J.K. Simmons makes his easiest buck ever as The Voice, sounds like a god, a demon, and Wes’s subconscious, sometimes all at once. That iconic baritone does half the work, and Simmons is game for the other half. The two actors get a lot of mileage out of each other, even if they probably didn’t film in the same room.
Wes (Ryan Kwanten) should have known better than to take an edible and watch “Mandy.”
Another standout is the film’s delightfully gooey sound design. If you thought Vecna was the wettest squelcher, just wait until you hear…well, his name is as pronounceable as the next Lovecraftian deity. It’s one of several laugh-out-loud moments from the script by David Ian McKendry and Joshua Hull, with a story credited to Todd Rigney. There are a few especially funny bits like that one, as well as a pee joke that just got me (hey, it’s set in a bathroom after all).
There are few more actors besides Kwanten and Simmons, whose roles I won’t reveal, as well as some strained exposition about the origin of The Voice. The fact that it’s peppered with some understated, yet creative animation is indicative of what makes the film work. McKendry knows how big of a swing this film is, and she’s able to keep you interested while barely leaving a single, dark room. In fact, nobody feels like they’re phoning it in (even if Simmons technically is).
“Glorious” is ultimately an entertaining and unique exercise in combining comedy and cosmic horror. You won’t see any other horror films like this any time soon. Adding to the pedigree is Lovecraft doyenne Barbara Crampton, who is credited as an executive producer. It’s been about 10 years since she returned to the horror genre with “You’re Next,” and it’s fitting she and McKendry brought us a film that would’ve made Stuart Gordon proud. Plus, an 80-minute runtime? That’s something the old gods AND the new can get behind.
GLORIOUS is streaming exclusively on Shudder on August 18th.
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following MacabreDaily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
