Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018) Movie Script

[narrator reads]

[thunder rumbling]

So, um... who are you?

Hello, Howard.

My name is Randolph.

I'm the son of John

and Augusta Lovecraft.

I received word

that Butler's Sanitarium

was destroyed.

And that your father,

Winfield had passed.

What? Dead? Poppycock!

You're... you're alive!

It seems the reports of my death

were greatly exaggerated.

But how?

Ho, ho, ho, if I told you,

you'd probably drag me

to the loony bin yourself.

Father, you know this man?

Well, I don't recall

John and Augusta

- ever having children--

- Oh, come now.

How could you forget me,

Uncle Winny?

My memory's not

what it used to be.

Good, then. Hmm, yes.

Don't just stand out there

all day. Come in, Robert.

- Randolph.

I can't say I've had

the pleasure.

[chuckling] Well, come in.

- You must stay with us.

- Stay?

It'll be Howard's birthday soon.

A time for family

to come together.

Yes.

We'll be glad of the company.

We'll get you all settled.

[thunder rumbling]

[creature growling]

[chanting spell]

[Howard]

I had never believed in magic.

Not before I met you, Spot.

[gasps]

[stirring]

[Howard] Easy. Stand down.

[Spot grunts] Can anyone help?

Give me your word as a...

uh, a fish thing,

that you won't hurt me.

- [Spot] Pull!

- Hold on.

[Spot grunting]

[Spot] Saved life, Master.

Me, Thu Thu Hmong.

I'm gonna call you... Spot.

[Spot] Spot.

- Master Howard.

- Hey, you promised.

Master cold. Spot makes warm.

[Howard]

We discovered the untouchable.

Saw the invisible.

I showed this horrible monster

that thing in my pocket,

- and it froze in fear.

- Thing?

- [Howard] This.

- [Spot yells]

[both groaning]

[Spot]

Elder sign has great power.

- [chants spell]

- [grunts]

[Spot] Careful.

Book also has power.

None of these words make sense.

[chanting spell]

[all grunt]

- [Spot] Huh?

- [Howard shudders] No.

You cannot control

the dark magic in these pages.

I've done it before,

and to save Mother and Spot,

I'd do it again.

[chants spell]

[Howard] And together,

we mastered the unbelievable.

[chanting spell]

[stuttering] Mother.

You're back with us!

I love you, Mother.

I was so scared we'd lose you.

I'm here, Howard.

I love you, too.

- [Sarah] Howard...

- [whispers final word of spell]

I wanted to wish you

a happy birthday.

- Thank you, Mother.

- Are you feeling all right?

- You're so pale.

- No, I-- I feel fine.

It's possible to spend

too much time indoors, Howard.

- You should get outside more.

- I will.

[sighs]

I love you, son. Very much.

I can't tell you

what it means to me

to have the whole family

together under one roof.

And you, my special boy,

you'll be a young man soon.

I just hope you'll let your...

goodness flourish.

Your father made some

questionable choices

in his youth.

I won't make Father's mistakes,

Mother.

I'm glad to hear it.

I want you to know something

important, Howard,

something your father's books

can't teach you.

Howard...

I love you.

You'll remember that, won't you?

- I will.

- Good, good. Now, make a wish.

[Randolph hums

"Happy Birthday To You"]

Well, I haven't met our guest.

Great Aunt Mary.

You say you're family?

I'm Augusta and John's boy,

Randolph.

Well, I don't remember

any Randolph.

But there is something familiar

about you.

- Is there?

- Yes.

Surely you remember me.

I was at our last reunion

with Aunt Cordelia,

Aunt Emily, Aunt Mary-Louisa.

They were all so happy

to see each other.

You do look like someone

I know, or knew.

- Well, you kind of look like--

- Randolph!

Don't overthink it.

You'll wind up a kook,

like Dear Uncle Winfield.

[squawks]

Hmm.

[gasps]

The walls between worlds

are breaking.

Uncle Randolph,

what are you doing?

Oh, hello.

Actually, I wanted

to talk to you.

What about?

You may find this hard

to believe,

but I was very much like you

when I was a boy.

- Oh?

- Yes.

I studied all sorts of things

in my spare time. Things...

not of this world.

Tell me, Howard.

You wouldn't be practicing

the dark arts

- in your spare time, would you?

- What?

[stuttering]

What makes you say that?

I can't help noticing the fabric

of reality has been...

- spread a bit thin.

- What do you mean?

You grow attuned to these things

with training.

I've had some training

from Armitage.

From Miskatonic University?

I've heard of him.

But by using magic,

there are consequences.

What kind of consequences?

[thunder rumbles]

What's happening?

[creature growling]

Hmm? Danger. Danger!

- [Randolph] Night-gaunts.

- [night-gaunt growling]

- Howard, with me.

- Thanks, Uncle,

- but I know a thing, or two.

- Howard, stop!

Your magic only increases

the tears between dimensions.

Quick, to the house!

[Winfield yells and grunts]

[night-gaunts growling]

[growling continues]

[Winfield] No, no, no!

[groaning]

- [night-gaunt growls]

- Randolph grunts]

- No, no, no, no, no!

- [Howard grunts]

[all grunt]

My runes will stop them

from entering.

- Thank you, Randolph.

- Yeah.

- Thank you, Uncle Randolph.

- No thanks necessary,

but that shows me we need

to see your Dr. Armitage.

There are walls between worlds,

Howard.

Magic draws on the energy

and the fabric of reality.

I believe your magic is wearing

a hole in those walls.

Professor Armitage

never warned me about that.

[Randolph]

He knows what you've been up to?

It takes considerable power

to tax the barriers.

Just what have you been

getting up to, Howard?

We are safe, right?

Until we know more

about why this happened,

we shouldn't assume

that the danger has passed.

But who should we see?

We should see Dr. Armitage.

This is serious.

He would be

at Miskatonic University.

Do you know how to... to...

[sighs] Can you take us there?

I don't want to use

any more magic

and I've actually

never walked there.

I've no idea where it is.

Yes. Yes, I can.

- Come, Howard.

- [Howard] Just one minute.

- Howard?

- [Howard] I'll be right back.

So... you know magic?

Where did you learn?

Miskatonic University.

Come on, let's go.

[laughs] Just some food.

- [Howard] Dr. Armitage!

- Who on Earth?

[Henry] Howard?

[chuckling] What a surprise.

What brings you to Miskatonic?

Night-gaunts came from a portal

on my front lawn.

They tried to attack our house.

Night-gaunts!

I know what night-gaunts are

but slow down.

I'm Dr. Henry Armitage.

This is my Uncle Randolph.

He went to Miskatonic.

He said, you'd know

what was causing it.

The walls between worlds

wear thin, Professor.

You believe that the barrier

between worlds is thinning?

Hmm. This theory isn't accepted

by many.

However, a group

of my colleagues and I

believe this to be true.

If the barriers, the walls,

as you put it were to break,

it would mean the destruction

of our planet.

But no one has reported

a breach yet.

This would be the first.

Assuming that is what happened

on your lawn,

this situation

has gotten much worse.

- Follow me.

- Where are we going?

This is a university, young man,

the leading institute of magic

and the dark arts.

You are about to meet

a collection

of the greatest authorities

on the arcane and mystical.

Together, we will come

to an informed decision

on how to proceed.

[thunder rumbling]

[Henry] Dr. Jaswald Atwood,

Dr. Ellen Ellery,

Dr. Warren Rice,

and my teaching assistant,

William Dyer.

You all know

why I've summoned you here.

There's a distressing amount

of activity in the ether.

Young Howard tells me

there's already been a breach.

[Randolph] That's correct.

A quartet of night-gaunts

clawed their way

through to our world.

- Who is this?

- This is my Uncle Randolph.

He saved me. He used to go here.

Howard has had a lot

of experience recently

- with the occult.

- Howard, you saw the breach?

I'm studying to be a geologist

and most of my focus

is on the signs of stress

to the Earth's mantle.

Something is putting

undue pressure

on The Plateau of Leng.

And you think this pressure

created a crack

releasing night-gaunts

from below?

I do believe it's a theory

of tectonic plates.

Undue stress or pressure

on one plate

affects the one surrounding it.

Too much stress

and it can shatter,

sending out shock waves.

- Like an earthquake.

- Exactly.

Maybe the night-gaunts came

from below our Earth's core.

[Dr. Rice]

Ah, you booming parsley.

No, I don't believe your theory

and I do not believe

that night-gaunts

are from our world.

If they're

from another dimension,

this could be a symptom

of a far greater problem.

- Another dimension--

- The power is escalating

exponentially,

creating these cracks.

I do think most of us believe

these creatures could be

- from another dimension.

- Agreed.

This kind of change

doesn't happen naturally.

Something is supplying

that pressure.

Either on this side,

or the other.

Shouldn't we exhaust

all other options first?

Yer bum's out the window.

When everything comes as black

as the Earl of Hell's waistcoat,

you'll be at the coo's tail.

My first kilt is older

than you.

No, literally. It is.

Say they are

from another dimension.

Then it is safe to assume, um...

he is behind this. Agreed?

- Who?

- I don't think it's him.

I hope it's not him.

What we do know of him

is he is not allowed

to directly interfere

on another plain.

- Who?

- Right. And in line with that,

he hasn't interfered.

It's been night-gaunts

and maybe there are minions

doing his bidding.

- [exclaims unintelligibly]

- Who are we talking about?

They're talking about Az--

- [thunder rumbling]

- [all] Shh!

Oh, come now.

The boy has to know

- what we're up against.

- We do not say that name.

You can call him: "It".

- The nuclear chaos.

- Or the Blind Idiot God.

Before recorded time,

there were creatures

of such inestimable power

and ferocity

that they defied description.

Bigger than life,

older than the universe.

To even try to capture

their full might

in your mind at once

is to invite madness.

[thunder rumbling]

The very oldest of these,

the stuff that nightmares

are made of,

watches all in the beyond.

I joined what is now called

The British Indian Army

back in '84.

I have seen war,

I have seen death.

After a decade with the army,

I was responsible to search

for who was behind

the darkest deeds.

Behind the most

horrific murders,

behind the supernatural sins.

This is the monster

that profits from them.

- I've seen him before.

- [chuckles] You couldn't have.

I did. But, well, you know,

kind of, uh...

I closed my eyes

and then I saw Azathoth--

Stop.

Um... I saw his eye.

Whoa, his...

- You saw him?

- Yeah.

- Impossible.

- But the sight of him

- would drive you to madness.

- I did see him. I really did.

Nyarlathotep showed him to me.

- [thunder rumbling]

- [all gasp]

Howard,

this is critically important.

- Nyarlathotep, are you positive?

- Yeah.

Spot even confirmed it.

- Spot?

- It's a... you know.

- The Sleeper of R'lyeh.

- Henry!

You mean Cthulhu,

the Destroyer of Worlds.

Yes, I've been keeping an eye

on The Sleeper.

"Keep your friends close"

and all.

- [Howard] And Spot is my friend.

- Cthulhu is not your friend.

Oh, laddy, you're the wee hen

that never layed away.

- He is my friend.

- Settle down, everyone.

Back to Nyarlathotep.

If the boy is telling the truth,

and all of these scriptures

are real, and Nyarlathotep

has shown himself...

this changes everything.

Why?

Nyarlathotep cannot directly act

against our universe.

Then I guess it's a good thing

that I wasn't in this universe

when I met him.

This happened on Yuggoth.

Oh, come on!

You've been Yuggoth?

If I may, if what you're saying

is true,

and Nyarlathotep cannot directly

affect this plain of existence,

then he could be

applying pressure

to one of our

neighboring dimensions.

This is all theory, though.

[chuckles]

It's just theoretical. Right?

- Vhrool.

- [Howard] What?

A world where the laws that bind

matter together don't apply.

Time, gravity,

the conservation of energy.

They are simply random variables

on Vhrool.

There is no constant.

Up is down.

Seconds can feel like centuries.

It's a place of... madness.

If the stresses on that plain

could be interrupted,

then that should mean

our own universe

- would be safe once more.

- What are you suggesting?

- Trying to go to Vhrool?

- Most definitely.

- We have no other--

- The fact is,

we lack sufficient data

to plan any course of action.

Even if we identify the cause

of these fractures,

we cannot be certain

of the proper solution.

- I completely disagree.

- [groans]

Only one of our number

has the expertise

- to know for sure.

- Ah, don't say--

Dr. West, no one knows

more about the walls

between worlds than he.

I do agree. I think we all do.

But Butler's Sanitarium

is condemned.

- Where would he be?

- He has a facility

- in Antarctica.

- Antarctica?

- As in the South Pole?

- That's the one.

- And if he's not there?

- If we are actually

facing the breakdown

of dimensional barriers

and the possible destruction

of our world,

simply stated,

there's no one else to consult.

[Dr. West chuckling]

You can't be serious.

As a heart attack.

Howard, uh, Randolph, was it?

Thank you for bringing this

to our attention.

It's a long journey

and we will leave immediately.

We'll drop you three off

at the Lovecraft home.

- Excuse me?

- I cannot allow civilians

to venture

into some strange dimension.

[Randolph chants spell]

[Randolph] I am far

from a regular civilian.

Like I said,

I attended Miskatonic University

and I know a lot

about the dark arts.

- I do not remember him.

- The dangers are too great.

This is not happening

on my watch.

Dr. Armitage,

when did the school get... this?

[Henry] This is

a dirigible balloon, William.

And it's on loan.

This is bleeding-edge

technology.

It can reach speeds

of over 25 kilometers per hour.

- Well that's pretty quick.

- Indeed.

I've made some improvements

on the original design,

and I can now beat

- the Le France record.

- Wouldn't a portal

- get us there faster?

- It's far too dangerous.

If the walls between words

are indeed waning thin,

then we will dare not

put any additional stress

upon it.

This will get us there

safe and sound.

Now, we haven't a moment

to lose. Full speed ahead.

[stomach growling]

What?

[Henry] Oh, leave it. Not now.

- [William] This is incredible.

- [Henry] Yes.

[Howard] This is crazy.

At 25 kilometers per hour,

uh, 15 miles per hour,

and it looks like Antarctica's

around 8,700 miles away.

Is that right?

- Your point?

- Hold on, it's going to take...

five-hundred-and-eighty...

well... divide by 24,

carry the zero, 21...

[gasps] three weeks?

[William] Who's back there?

[chants spell]

- Hold on.

- Explain yourselves.

Uh, we... we snuck on.

I said, you were not welcome

on this journey.

Look, my father, a Lovecraft,

is responsible for most of this.

I am the only one

who has seen Nyarlathotep

- and Azathoth.

- [gasps]

Yup, both of them.

Look, I know my spells

and I've been

on these journeys before.

Dr. Armitage, I know the risks.

And I need to do this.

- [Henry] And you?

- I will look after the boy.

[scoffs] Strap yourselves in.

It will take a while.

[Randolph]

Howard, what if I told you

that us meeting

wasn't entirely a coincidence?

Oh, uh, really?

What do you mean?

I arrived when I did

for a very specific reason.

With training, Howard,

you'll learn to read the signs,

as I have.

I knew something

like this was coming.

I only came to make sure

you were in the right place

at the right time

with everything you need.

- Really?

- Yes.

All I want is to ensure

you have a long

and healthy future, my boy.

- Thank you, Uncle Randolph.

- You're welcome.

Randolph, you say you went

to Miskatonic University.

- What year was that?

- Oh, it feels like ages ago.

Well, I'm the class of '81.

I've also--

- Dr. Armitage?

- Yes, my lad?

- How do you know, Dr. West?

- Dr. West looked after

your father

in Butler's Sanitarium.

Either out of duty

or guilt, sir.

Winfield has always had a...

unique sensitivity

to the darkness.

Symbols kept appearing

in your father's visions,

in his nightmares.

To prevent these visions

from driving him mad,

he needed to continually

scribe them.

He wrote down every symbol,

every word, every rule.

As a man of science,

West studied and experimented

in the dark arts.

He wasn't a doctor yet.

Jeffrey West

and Winfield Lovecraft

pushed on the barriers

until they ripped

through dimensions

and came face to face.

With Jeffrey's

scientific methods

and your father's special, uh,

connection with the darkness,

together, they learned lots.

[chuckles] Maybe too much.

I've always been fascinated

with books of the arcane,

so I was thrilled

when West invited me

to read Winfield's journal.

Uh, less thrilled

when I found out his lab

- is in Antarctica.

- [books thud]

[Henry] He knew the symbols

in this journal had power.

- [electricity zapping]

- We were not prepared

for the horrors

that were about to come.

Lovecraft,

this is extraordinary.

We stand on a precipice,

an entire new world to explore,

right at our fingertips.

The planet Vhrool.

Incredible!

What do you see?

I... I can't describe this.

Winfield, what do you see?

[growling]

Winfield, get in here!

- [growling intensifies]

- [Winfield grunts]

- Jeffrey, close the portal.

- Close it?

[chuckles] I plan to swing

the door open wide.

You don't know

what you're doing.

[Jeffrey]

Well of course I don't know.

That's what it makes this

so exciting.

Shut it down. We had a deal.

Well, I won't ring the deal.

This is too important

to pass up.

Don't you see this is bigger

than either of us?

[growling]

Shut it down!

You'll doom us all.

[Jeffrey] No, no! [stutters]

what are you doing?

Stop, you'll ruin everything!

What have you done,

you blasted fool? [grunts]

[wind howling]

[sighs] I just wanted to...

understand, to explore the...

- Now that... is Cthulhu.

- What?

The writings from my journal!

That is the Destroyer of Worlds.

Winfield, are you sure?

[Winfield] Cthulhu is on his way

to R'lyeh right now,

to destroy our world.

- Where is R'lyeh?

- Very, very close.

Oh, Lovecraft,

don't be like this.

Don't give in

to your simplistic emotions,

there's so much

we can still learn together.

We shouldn't deny science,

this advancement.

Think of what we'll learn.

- What have I done?

- This journal brought

that demon here.

Let's hope it can send it back.

That was how your father

first ended up in R'lyeh.

So it was that journal

that stopped Cthulhu.

It put Cthulhu to sleep.

That's why Spot

is The Sleeper of R'lyeh.

If Spot wakes up,

he would be Cthulhu,

the Destroyer of Worlds.

That spell

also froze the kingdom,

but I heard you stole back

that journal from a Shoggoth

- and freed R'lyeh.

- Yeah, I did.

[shudders]

A blizzard is coming.

Long time no see, huh?

We hoped that after

Butler's Sanitarium closed,

you'd be here.

Been a long time.

I see you've rebuilt it all.

Yes, better than it was,

actually.

With the residue

from the other side,

we have made massive leaps

in understanding.

We come with dire news.

We believe the walls

between worlds is thinning.

Cracks have formed,

they've been, uh,

interlopers, night-gaunts.

Oh, we analyzed what remained

after Winfield's abduction.

We stripped down the residue

to its base elements

and even identified

a few new ones.

Quite something

when one discovers raw matter,

unbound by the laws

of conventional physics.

- Unbound by the laws?

- Life, it's about life.

I've dedicated my life

to studying the arcane,

but with the materials

we've analyzed from R'lyeh,

we've been able

to prevent decay.

It is essentially immortal.

Speaking of which,

you opened a portal to Vhrool

from his lab, right?

Right here.

Are we able to go back?

- [chuckling] Oh, yes, I--

- That is great research Jeffrey.

Can you help us

seal the breaches, or-- or not?

Ah... yes.

Yes, I believe we can.

- [screams] What is that thing?

- [Jeffrey] He was a... a...

a friend of mine and was...

around

during the first experiments.

He also might have been

an early test. [chuckles]

You re-animated your staff?

[Jeffrey] No, no.

My son re-animated him.

May I introduce you to, uh,

Herbert West.

Hello, I'm Herbert West,

and this is Captain Obed Marsh.

I gave him life.

Sadly the Captain's afterlife

is something more

of a half life.

It's not a perfect experiment,

but he's loyal.

Uh, yeah, progress.

Not perfection.

Uh, excuse me?

Sir?

Uh, Obed? Captain?

Uh, hello.

Captain Marsh, sir?

Ugh, here's your... hand.

[chuckles]

[roars]

Huh?

[growling]

You don't scare me.

[stuttering]

Okay. That scares me.

[chants spell]

[Howard grunts]

[chants spell]

That was great, Howard.

[creature growls]

That was terrible.

Howard, that was a death spell.

On top of that,

by using that magic,

you've torn a hole in the walls

big enough for an army.

[stuttering] I was trapped,

and they were too many.

And I needed something

more powerful.

Howard, you're no longer facing

mere servants of evil,

but evil itself.

Do not become the same evil

you're trying to fight.

I am so sorry.

We will not win this fight.

Anyone have any ideas?

- Maybe the Plateau.

- Yeah.

We can go

to the Plateau of Leng.

We can walk them out.

- Lead the way.

- Let's go.

[creatures growling]

[panting]

[Herbert grunts]

Well, we're not going back

that way.

Come on, come on.

What are we waiting for?

There's nothing to fear here.

[Howard] Wow. La-di-da!

[Jeffrey] What did I tell you?

What did I tell you?

Forces like nothing

on this Earth.

Evidence of intelligence

far beyond anything

we've ever known.

Here, beneath the ice.

Resting, waiting for us.

[sighs] Waiting for me.

We've only explored down here

a couple of times,

but my father thinks

he's translated the runes.

If I'm reading these

ancient hieroglyphics correctly,

which would be

frankly astounding...

they actually welcome us

to this place.

From the look of it,

they pre-date the great flood.

My father's

a very determined man.

Yeah, I can relate.

How does one discover

how to go to other planets?

Well, once upon a time, Howard,

your father crossed over

to some distant place,

an entire world

locked in unending ice and snow.

- [Howard] R'lyeh?

- [Jeffrey] Yes, R'lyeh.

I theorized

that these other worlds

you and your father

have visited,

these dimensions in space

and time...

what if they're not

so impossibly far away?

What if they're all occupying

the same space?

Parallel to one another.

Like dinner plates,

stacked one on top of the other.

Imagine it.

These portals that your father

has found and opened,

that you have found.

They're simply places

where the walls

between dimensions are thinnest.

And at those spots,

the worlds can be crossed.

But these doorways

need a key to activate.

You need a catalyst,

that small singular spark.

The Necronomicon.

I think The Necronomicon

could be a key

if one has mastery

over the arcane,

but I believe

an even stronger key is you,

the blood of a Lovecraft.

Oh, this is the portal.

Jeffrey, are you sure?

- [Jeffrey yells]

- [Herbert] Dad.

Dad, are you okay? Speak to me.

[grunts]

- Are you all right?

- [sighs]

- It's a dead end.

- You are a Lovecraft.

- You will open the portal.

- What?

- Howard... touch that door.

- Howard, no.

Funny enough,

I've actually done this before.

Look who I found.

Spot! You're okay.

I couldn't find you.

I missed you.

Good to see you again,

Thu Thu Hmong.

Is he-- That's Cthulhu. Right?

This is Thu Thu Hmong.

Or as Howard calls him, Spot.

I am okay now, Sir Howard.

But I do not know

how I got here.

Cthulhu lies dormant, asleep

deep within Spot.

But I assure you,

our friend here

is no Destroyer of Worlds.

Come on, I'm about to open

another portal.

- You'll burn!

- [footsteps approaching]

[sighs]

Nothing happened.

By the stones of thunder.

[Howard] That symbol.

It looks like Earth.

It is. And that's Mercury,

Venus, and these are the rest

of the planets

from our solar system.

These other symbols.

We assume they're planets,

but we're not sure

which solar system.

We still don't know how to stop

the dimensions from colliding.

Vhrool.

What? Vhrool?

Vhrool is where

we can stop everything.

Now that we have this

big fellow,

we should be able

to solve all our problems.

Thu Thu Hmong?

The ancient ones

cannot be fought.

Howard, you need to come

and bring Thu Thu Hmong.

- What?

- Azathoth cannot be beaten!

Spot, come here now.

Or I kill Howard.

You do not move.

No, Spot, stop.

Spot, you can't go to Vhrool.

You know, Howard,

I have a hard time believing

how simple it was to fool you.

I don't think I was

ever this dumb.

I do not wish to hurt you.

But I need to save

Master Howard.

[Howard] Spot, don't!

Vhrool is the birthplace

of Cthulhu.

Spot, you cannot enter.

Stay put!

Get back from the portal.

[chants spell]

[grunts]

[screams in pain]

- Let him have it.

- [both chant spell]

- [Spot grunting]

[grunts]

[roars]

[both chant spell]

[groans]

[Spot roars]

His body's healing faster

than the necrotizing fasciitis

can spread.

[Spot roars]

[chants spell]

[both grunt]

I am sorry.

They're gone.

It's over.

[Howard] Spot.

- What do you want?

- Does it matter?

- You're not my uncle.

- No.

- [Howard] Who are you?

- I am you, Howard.

I-- I don't understand.

- We are the same person.

- How? You can't do this.

I already did.

I did what I had to do

- in order to save myself.

- You're lying. You have to be.

[Howard]

You were behind all of this!

[Spot grunts]

[chants spell]

Enough.

[grunts]

[Nyarlathotep] As you see,

I'm a bit more hands on

in Vhrool.

I'm going to give you the gift

of the life you have

yet to live.

To re-capture my youth,

all my knowledge

and experience and power

inside of you.

Well... me.

As promised, I have brought you

The Destroyer.

The Necronomicon, [scoffs]

we don't need that anymore.

That is the book of the dead.

We're on Vhoorl.

This the planet of the dead.

This is the birthplace...

- of Cthulhu.

- [ground shaking]

This time,

everything is in place.

This time, The Sleeper's

going to be wide awake.

[Nyarlathotep chanting spell]

[spell continues]

[Spot groaning]

[Cthulhu roars]

One name for this ancient entity

is The Sleeper of R'lyeh.

But together, you and me,

we found a way to wake him.

Know what he's called now?

- The Destroyer of Worlds.

- [Cthulhu roars]

[Randolph] The future I come

from isn't very nice, Howard.

I no longer dream.

Nightmares bleed

into my reality.

I'm living in lucid nightmare

where Wunderwunt...

is gone.

I am...

so tired.

[Nyarlathotep] Father,

The Sleeper has awakened.

Your son Cthulhu is before me.

Nyarlathotep, I am asking

if you may bring us.

So we may watch

the Destroyer of Worlds.

[Azathoth growls]

[thunder rumbling]

That was...

the price Yuggoth had to pay

was terrible.

But it was necessary for me

to get The Silver Key.

[Nyarlathotep] Yes.

Here's your prize.

The lost key

to the gate of dreams.

[chuckles] Yes!

- Don't resist.

- [panting]

[chanting spell]

[Randolph] I'm in, Howard.

- I'm in your mind, now.

- I won't quit.

I admire your spirit.

So much like my own.

But Nyarlathotep

is beyond even us.

He cannot be fought.

He cannot be beaten.

The only way is surrender.

- So, you just gave up?

- I gave up far too late.

They're people in our life,

Howard,

people that would be with us,

protected and safe

from his power

if only we'd joined him sooner.

People you haven't

even met yet.

- There's no time anymore.

- I don't believe you.

You don't have to.

You just have to become me.

What happened to you?

You wouldn't believe me

if I told you.

- Show me.

- It's too horrific.

[explosions]

[Cthulhu growls]

[Randolph] It's not too late.

Don't you see?

We merge and become one.

Young and strong, and whole.

With time on our side once more.

[Howard] No.

What do you have

that's worth preserving?

Why do you resist?

[Sarah] You'll remember that,

won't you?

I want you to know

something important, Howard.

Something your father's books

can't teach you.

Mother?

You may have forgotten,

but I haven't.

Mother... Mother...

please... help me.

I'm so tired.

Please, Mother.

Tell me what you told him.

[Sarah] Howard...

I love you.

I love you, guys.

I love you, Mother.

I knew you could do it!

I will never forget you.

I can't...

I can't do it.

I can't rob you of what time

you have left with her.

With them.

Nyarlathotep is going

to destroy your Earth next.

- Destroy Earth?

- The more planets they destroy,

the stronger, Vhrool, Cthulhu

and the Ancient Ones become.

My plan was to go back in time

and, well...

replace you,

and then I'd be young again.

I'd stop the destruction

of Earth and relive my life

as a regular eight-year-old.

Well, we can still stop

the destruction of Earth...

together.

[Randolph] Together.

Cthulhu cannot be beaten

on Vhoorl.

The only chance we have

to stop him

from destroying Earth

is to confront him on Earth.

Each planet has a kingdom.

Yuggoth had Yl'glhuh,

Vhrool has Chigagonikeloy.

- And Earth has--

- [Howard] R'lyeh.

[Randolph] That's right. R'lyeh.

Each of these kingdoms

were constructed on their planet in an exact location

that aligns them

for intergalactic travel.

Cthulhu destroyed Yuggoth

above the Undisted Kingdom,

and he will destroy Earth

over R'lyeh.

We need to get back to Earth

and prepare

for the final battle.

Howard... this is yours.

- [chanting spell]

- It's okay, he's on our side.

Don't believe him,

he's wanting to release Cthulhu.

Well, yes. Wanted,

but we worked it out.

Worked it out?

You've been gone seconds.

Time on Vhoorl moves differently

than on Earth.

I am sorry. [sighs]

I was wrong.

- I am here to help.

- Yuggoth...

is destroyed... and Spot...

Cthulhu's coming here

to destroy Earth.

H.P. is giving us an opportunity

to save everyone.

We don't really have time

to argue.

So...

- how do we stop Cthulhu?

- It will be on R'lyeh.

It will take an army.

And it will take Howard.

I'll teleport us to R'lyeh.

I assume we don't care

about the tears

- between dimensions right now.

- [Henry] Ah, no.

- I will get the army.

- My dad is hurt.

- He can't go with us.

- I'll drop him off

at Miskatonic University.

Herbert and William,

go with Howard and Randolph.

Let us all meet at R'lyeh.

Thank you, Dr. Armitage.

[chanting spell]

This is crazy.

[indistinct muttering]

[creatures jeering]

[thunder rumbling]

[Howard] Squidkids!

[all] Howard!

How are you?

What brings you here?

It's bad.

It's really bad.

Spot is gone.

- Gone?

- What do you mean, gone?

Will Spot come back?

Spot is dead.

And it is Cthulhu

who's come to destroy Earth.

We think he's coming to R'lyeh.

- Right now.

- Cthulhu! He's awake?

The Destroyer.

Cthulhu will send his hoards

in before his arrival

to kill everything

in the kingdom.

- Cthulhu will appear thereafter.

- [indistinct muttering]

So our goal is not to die.

Got it.

Yet if we can hold off his army

long enough,

Cthulhu will appear.

It is at that point, Howard...

[creature mutters]

Howard, [stutters]

at that point, Howard does what?

You will use The Necronomicon

to kill Cthulhu.

[Howard] I don't know if I can.

Then ready yourself

for whatever comes next.

[creature growling]

[growls]

[roars]

[chanting spell]

[roars]

[Howard chants spell]

- [grunts]

- [chanting spell]

[chanting spell]

[all exclaim]

[chanting spell]

[grunts]

[chanting spell]

[creature growling]

[chants spell]

- [creature growls]

- [Herbert grunts]

[creature burps]

[Herbert] For the Earth...

[chanting spell]

[Herbert] Watch out!

[chanting spell]

[creature cackles]

For science.

- [creature growls]

- Whoa!

[chants spell]

[sighs]

[grunting]

[creature growls]

[chants spell]

[Howard] Professor--

Professor Armitage.

Howard, you've done great.

Now rekindle your courage

for we have come

to turn the tide.

All right, it'’s a braw bricht

moonlit nicht tonight.

[growling]

[grunting]

[Dr. Atwood chants spell]

[chants spell]

[William chants spell]

[Nyarlathotep]

Denizens of the dark,

I come bearing gifts.

This time

has been delayed enough.

[thunder rumbling]

[Dr. Ellery gasps]

Heavens!

[Cthulhu] I watch you,

as the final seal opens.

There is a great earthquake.

The sun turns black...

like a sack cloth

made of goat hair.

The whole moon turns blood red.

And the stars in the sky

are falling to Earth.

I see the kings of the kingdoms

and the great old ones,

and the rich,

and the powerful

and everyone, slave and free,

hide themselves,

calling to the sky:

"Fall on us and hide us

from the face of him,

for the great day of his wrath

has come.

And who can stand?"

[thunder rumbling]

[growls]

[Nyarlathotep] Cthulhu

will destroy this planet

and in the discord,

seeds of a new life

shall be sowed.

Father...

[Henry] Howard,

seek an audience with Cthulhu.

See if you can find your

old friend Spot deep inside.

We'll hold off

this demonic hoard.

[chants spell]

[creatures growling]

[Dr. Rice chants spell]

[grunts]

[creature growls]

[grunts]

[gasps]

[screams]

[Dr. Rice grunts]

[chants spell]

[all chanting spell]

[chants spell]

It'’s a lang road that's

no goat a turnin.'’

[grunts]

Oh, that will leave a wee mark.

[Dr. Ellery whimpers]

[Nyarlathotep] He is the Alpha

and the Omega.

He is the first and the last.

He that liveth, and was dead.

He has the keys of life

and of death.

Write the things

which thou has seen

and the things which are,

and the things

which shall be hereafter.

[creatures growling]

[Howard chants spell]

[chants spell]

[creatures growling]

Spot...

[creature growls]

[Howard grunting]

[Howard] Oh, no.

No. [yells]

[grunting]

[Howard yells]

[Howard gasps]

Spot, you must still be inside.

You listen to me, Spot.

You once gave me your word

that you wouldn't hurt me.

[Cthulhu growls]

I saved your life, remember?

And you swore I was your master.

I am your friend.

You're in there, somewhere.

You're my friend, Spot.

[Nyarlathotep] Get away

from him.

The deal is off.

[chants spell]

Everyone converge

on Nyarlathotep.

[all chant spell]

Now you look at me.

Look at me, Spot. Focus.

Listen to my voice.

I love you. [echoing]

[Spot] Master Howard.

Wait for me.

- [Howard gasps]

- [Spot grunts]

Are you okay?

[Spot grunts] I...

[Cthulhu] Howard...

[roars]

Spot... you have to stop.

Cannot... stop.

[Cthulhu] Howard...

Elder sign.

Elder sign has great power.

[both yelling]

No. No, no,

there's gotta be another way.

[Cthulhu] No.

[Cthulhu yells]

[Cthulhu pants]

- Spot...

- [Cthulhu] More.

More?

[thunder rumbling]

Necronomicon.

[Cthulhu mutters indistinctly]

[Nyarlathotep]

This is unacceptable. Cthulhu!

[Cthulhu roars]

[Cthulhu screams]

[Howard panting]

Spot...

No, no, no, Spot.

[Cthulhu roaring]

Spot!

Spot.

[screams in pain]

No, no, no, he's gone.

My best friend's gone.

[footsteps approaching]

Howard... you saved our planet.

You saved us all.

Amazing, Howard. You're a hero.

But, Spot...

[sobbing] I'm sorry...

but he's not coming back.

You know, matter is neither

created nor destroyed.

Nothing is ever really gone

for good.

And nothing good

is ever really gone.

Let me take you home, Howard.

[Herbert] Dad!

You had me worried.

You must be exhausted

after your journey, and cold.

You won't believe what happened.

They were night-gaunts,

shigots, and elder things.

I helped fight off

a monstrous hoard.

I even attacked a Cthulhu,

because he was going to destroy

the planet.

Howard stopped him.

[chuckling

and speaking gibberish]

Thank you for everything

you've done.

I don't think any of us

would be here if not for you.

- If not for Spot.

- Indeed. Still,

we are in your debt.

Both of your debts.

And we look forward

to continuing your education

when the time is right.

You want me to come

to Miskatonic?

Indeed. You have

a marvelous future ahead of you.

You don't have enough room

inside you for a rheumatic pain.

But we'’re a

Jock Tamson'’s bairns.

You'll do great at Miskatonic,

Howard.

Lang may yer lum reek.

Physics is a requirement here

and it would be my honor

to have you in my class, Howard.

I'd be happy to help you,

Howard.

Howard's test can be quite...

hard.

This is what I wanted to do.

Is this what you want, Howard?

[stuttering] Absolutely.

What about you?

I think I've done all the damage

I can, here.

I need to go back home.

What will you do?

I don't know.

Continuing writing, I guess.

Maybe see if I can get

something published. [chuckles]

Howard, you are a Lovecraft.

And this... is your destiny.

All things are possible

at Miskatonic University.

Oh, my. He certainly

didn't learn that here.

This was incredible.

I sincerely hope that we can go

on another adventure,

- Howard Lovecraft.

- I'm sure we will, Herbert.

Take care and thank you.

- I will see you soon, Howard.

- Good bye, Howard Lovecraft.

- See you soon.

- Haste ye back!

Howard...

thank goodness you'’re safe.

- [Howard sobs]

- What is it, darling?

- I just... I miss my friend.

- I'm sorry, son. Truly.

At least we have each other,

right?

We're all staying now, Howard.

I feel I could fall in love

with you all over again.

[all chuckling]

[growling]

[grunts]

[narrator] We live on

a placid island of ignorance,

in the midst of black seas

of the infinity.

[Narrator Reads]

Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018) - full transcript