Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness
Third and final film in the Howard Lovecraft trilogy.
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness, a 2018 Canadian animated film, was written, directed, and produced by Sean Patrick O'Reilly. It serves as the sequel to *Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom* (2016) and *Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom* (2017), concluding a trilogy inspired by the writings of American horror author H. P. Lovecraft.
Following his adventures in the Frozen and Undersea Kingdoms, young Howard is back home. Reality’s barriers are weakening, exposing the world to threats from beyond. He accompanies his father, Uncle Randolph, and Dr. Henry Armitage on a journey to Antarctica, aiming to stop the awakening of Cthulhu, the destroyer of worlds.
Shout! Factory announced the film among their title releases at SDCC '18. The Howard Lovecraft series adapts a graphic novel by Bruce Brown. In a WIRED interview, Brown said his inspiration came from H. P. Lovecraft’s stories, along with many character and setting names. This third and final installment brings Cthulhu into the story, as earlier films had hinted.
The voice cast includes Christopher Plummer as Dr. Jeffrey West, Mark Hamill as Dr. Henry Armitage, Kiefer O'Reilly as Howard Lovecraft, Finn Wolfhard as Herbert West, Nick Wolfhard as William Dyer, Vijay Vaibhav Saini as Professor Jaswant Atwood, Jeffrey Combs as Randolph Lovecraft, Doug Bradley as Nyarlathotep, Scott McNeil as Hamish Rice, Sean Patrick O'Reilly as Spot/Cthulhu, Ashleigh Ball as Ellen Ellery, Tyler Nicol as Winfield Lovecraft, Allison Wandzura as Mary Lovecraft, Harmony O'Reilly as Innes, Michelle O'Reilly as Sarah Lovecraft, Phoenix O'Reilly as Twi'i, and Summer O'Reilly as Gotha.
The film was released on December 4, 2018. On that same date, Shout! Factory issued it on DVD and Blu-ray as part of a three-feature distribution agreement with Arcana Studio.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Sean Patrick O'Reilly
- Producer
- Sean Patrick O'Reilly / Michelle O'Reilly
- Starring
- Christopher Plummer / Mark Hamill / Scott McNeil / Jeffrey Combs / Finn Wolfhard / Doug Bradley
- Music
- George Streicher
- Editing
- Chris Trinh
- Studio
- Arcana Studio
- Distributor
- Shout! Factory
- Released
- 4 December 2018
- Runtime
- 75 minutes
- Country
- Canada
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows young Howard Lovecraft after the events of the Frozen Kingdom and the Undersea Kingdom. The walls of reality are thinning, making the world vulnerable to dangers from beyond. Howard journeys with his father, Uncle Randolph, and Dr. Henry Armitage to Antarctica to prevent the awakening of the destroyer of worlds, Cthulhu.
The voice cast includes Christopher Plummer as Dr. Jeffrey West, Mark Hamill as Dr. Henry Armitage, Kiefer O'Reilly as Howard Lovecraft, Finn Wolfhard as Herbert West, and Jeffrey Combs as Randolph Lovecraft. Doug Bradley voices Nyarlathotep, and Sean Patrick O'Reilly voices Spot and Cthulhu.
The film was released on December 4, 2018, on DVD and Blu-ray by Shout! Factory as part of their three-feature distribution deal with Arcana Studio.
Reader's Guide
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness concludes the animated trilogy that adapts elements from H. P. Lovecraft's mythos for a younger audience. The series is based on the graphic novel by Bruce Brown, who drew inspiration from the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and many of the character and setting names. The film brings out Cthulhu, as foreshadowed in the previous installments. Its significance lies in completing the narrative arc begun in the earlier films, offering a family-friendly entry point into Lovecraftian horror. The involvement of veteran genre actors such as Christopher Plummer, Mark Hamill, and Jeffrey Combs adds to its appeal within horror and animation circles.
Did You Know?
- The film is the third and last installment of the Howard Lovecraft trilogy.
- Sean Patrick O'Reilly wrote, directed, and produced the film, and also voiced the characters Spot and Cthulhu.
- The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 4, 2018 by Shout! Factory.
- The trilogy is based on the work of American horror author H. P. Lovecraft and the graphic novel written by Bruce Brown.
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