The combination of the horror-comedy genres is a hard one to perfect, with only a small few really standing out among the usual tripe (Shaun of the Dead, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Zombieland). The Last Lovecraft tries its best with the limited means available, and in some aspects succeeds, while falling flat in others.

The story revolves around the very average Jeff, who's stuck at a dead-end desk job with no real aspirations in life. That is until a strange old man breaks into his home and reveals that Jeff is the last living descendant of H.P. Lovecraft and that only he can protect an ancient relic from the Deep Ones, lead by the powerful Star-Spawn. Accompanied by his comic-book buddy and an old high school Lovecraft enthusiast, the guys must find a way to defeat Star-Spawn before the relic falls into his hands and the existence of mankind perishes, with the rise of Cthulhu.

The Last Lovecraft is an ambitious indie feature that's unfortunately a victim of its limited budget, and since the script obviously isn't the film's strongest aspect, it's up to its leads to pull the weight of the feature. Luckily, the two key characters (played by Kyle Davis and Devin McGinn) are fun and likeable enough to keep the audience watching. Though a comedy, I found a majority of the jokes rather stale, with only a few scenes getting a chuckle outta me, but humor obviously varies from person to person.  The tone of the film was kept pretty light and comical, so even if the jokes didn't work, the entertaining aspects and pacing never really faltered.

The look of the creatures in the film (namely Star-Spawn and the Deep Ones) are a bit disappointing, as they aren't anything more than dudes in rubber suits, but you can't expect much from a small-budgeted feature, and thankfully we're not given much CG, because that would've seriously ruined the viewing experience for me. There's not much gore in the pic (with the exception of a couple brief scenes), but there's no shortage of blood splatter. In the end, huge fans of Lovecraft will like it more than the average viewer, while it was just a mixed bag for me. It probably isn't necessarily a good sign when the best scene in the entire flick is a two-minute animated segment quickly detailing the story behind Cthulhu.

A victim of its limited budget, The Last Lovecraft is a decent, but ultimately disappointing horror-comedy. Lovecraft aficionados will likely find this amusing, while others (like me) will be underwhelmed by much of what it had to offer.