In one of his final roles, horror icon Tony Todd provided his booming voice for Celephaïs, a short film based on H.P. Lovecraft‘s 1922 story of the same name.
Following an award-winning festival run that kicked off in 2023, the 34-minute film is now available to watch for free online.
It tells the story of a boy who has the most wonderful dream at the age of seven, and then spends 66 miserable years desperately trying to find it again in order to escape his mundane and depressing life.
Blending dark fantasy and horror, Celephaïs deals with familiar Lovecraft themes: desperation, isolation, obsession, dreams, cosmic horror, and, of course, madness.
Michael Neel directs from a script he co-wrote with Joe Lemieux. The pair produce via their Dream Apex Pictures.
Chuck Schwager, Silvia Graziano, Jasper Neel, Judith Kalaora, Kris Salvi, and Cieara O’Brien star.
Celephaïs is also available on Blu-ray starting at $20 through Indiegogo with exclusive special features:
- Multiple Audio Commentaries
- Tony Todd: the Voice in the Dark Featurette
- Visual Effects Featurette
- Special Effects Featurette
- Cast Interviews
- Trailers
- It’s Me, Ma – 2019 Short by Michael Neel
“We shot this on location in New England, the land that inspired Lovecraft,” said Neel. “We used practical effects, miniatures, and puppets. We’ve created something that we are immensely proud of. We were able to capture one of Tony Todd’s final performances. Most of all, we made the kind of film that we would like to see.”
