Glorious is a 2022 Cosmic Horror Comedy film, directed by Rebakah McKendry and starring Ryan Kwanten and (the voice of) J. K. Simmons.
It centers around an extremely hungover man named Wes who is suffering the not-so-glorious symptoms of a hangover in a public bathroom after a disastrous break-up with his girlfriend Brenda the day before. When he begins to hear a strange and omniscient voice (Simmons) coming from the stall’s gloryhole, Wes is pulled into a trip that no one will believe - that is, if he lives to tell the tale.
Glorious was released exclusively on Shudder on August 18th, 2022.
Tropes in this film include:
- Adaptational Heroism: In the Cthulhu Mythos source material Ghatanothoa was the tyrannical god king of the lost continent of Mu. In contrast, here he's a Benevolent Abomination who is actively trying to prevent the destruction of the universe.
- Abusive Parents: Wes' father was physically and emotionally abusive to his mother, eventually driving her to suicide.
- Affably Evil: Ghatanothoa is extremely polite, incredibly friendly and is trying to convince Wes to help him save the universe. However, he is a being of pure destruction, annihilates Gary to prove a point, and won't really take "no" as an answer from Wes.
- An Arm and a Leg: See the poster top right? That leg is all that's left of Gary besides gory splatter after Ghat's done with him.
- Anti Anti Christ: Ghatanothoa was created to destroy all life in the universe. However, he's started to become interested in humanity, and needs Wes' help to remain ethereal.
- Bathos: Ghat's very serious Cosmic Horror Story is repeatedly interrupted by Wes relieving himself in one of the urinals.
- Benevolent Abomination: Ghatanothoa is a god or titan (though he acknowledges such human terms are insufficient to truly describe him) who was created by his "father" to wipe out all life in the universe when he enters the material realm, but was banished to the aether by his siblings. Ghat has grown rather fond of life and does not want to see it destroyed, making a sincere effort to befriend the human Wes to help him save the universe from his father. Only to do so requires Wes to satisfy Ghat physically...
- Bittersweet Ending: Wes cuts out his liver to satisfy Ghatanothoa, which saves the universe from destruction. However, this causes Wes to bleed to death, and before he dies, he is told that no one will ever know of his sacrifice. Ghatanotha tells Wes it's probably for the best since both of them are monsters who deserve to be forgotten.
- Bizarre Dream Rationalization: Wes at one point assumes he's passed out and this conversation he's having with an omnipotent voice isn't real. Ghat snaps him out of it by yelling at him.
- The Chosen One: According to Ghat, the arc of Wes' entire life was designed to bring him to this particular bathroom.
- Closed Circle: Once Wes enters the bathroom, he isn't able to leave - the door is sealed, the windows are barred, and even trying to escape via the vents only brings him back into the bathroom. He eventually manages to draw the attention of Gary, the property supervisor. Ghat allows him to enter, then keeps him trapped as well. Wes finally gets out at the very end, and then dies.
- Cosmic Horror Story: Long ago, there was an all-powerful entity who existed alone in the endless nothing. Possessing the power to manifest its own thoughts and dreams into reality, it could not control this power, creating offspring with minds of their own. Its oldest child tore open the primordial god, as its blood created the universe, the stars, and life itself. Despite making a deal with its offspring not to destroy this new life in exchange for being allowed to heal its wound, the god created another child, Ghatanothoa, whose sole purpose was to wipe out all creation when he reaches physical form, before his siblings sealed him away in the aether. The elder god is still searching for this child, who has since rejected his calling and now wants to preserve this beautiful world.
- Cthulhu Mythos: Ghatanothoa, who first appeared in H. P. Lovecraft and Hazeld Heald's Out of the Aeons.
- Disgusting Public Toilet: Most of the movie is spent inside a disgusting public restroom. An Eldritch Abomination has somehow materialized inside one of the stalls and only talks through a gloryhole. Guess what he wants...
- Don't Look At Me: Ghat warns Wes not to look at him, as doing so would turn Wes into a zombie.
- Double Entendre: Ghat repeatedly mentions that Wes will have to "satisfy" his physical form and is confident that he will "rise to the occasion" to save the universe. Subverted, as it turns out that Ghat had no sexual designs upon Wes at all. He wants Wes' liver.
- Eaten Alive: Gary is messily and slowly devoured by Ghat for interfering with his plan, who sprays the entire restroom in Gary's blood and guts. Afterwards he apologizes to Wes for making such a mess.
- Eldritch Abomination:
- Ghat him/itself, of course, although chattier and more understanding of humans than most.
- His "father" is depicted as closer to an entity that is both unbelievably alien and whose very presence presents a threat to the universe itself.
- His other offspring besides Ghat are strongly implied to be this as well.
- The Ending Changes Everything: Wes isn't depressed because Brenda dumped him. He's depressed because he killed her when she learned about his stalking and killing multiple other women. Both Ghat and Wes are monsters who are ironically tasked to save the universe.
- Entertainingly Wrong: After much hemming and hawing and psyching himself up, Wes uses the gloryhole. Cue a baffled Ghat, "What am I supposed to do with a human penis?" What Ghat needs is Wes' liver.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: Ghatanothoa may be pretty friendly towards Wes, but he remains a ravenous Eldritch Abomination. However, he is miles better than the hateful Eldritch Abomination that spawned him and wants to return the universe to the void that it once ruled. In the climax, Wes almost decides that Oblivion is the better option and tries to summon Ghat's father.
- Foreshadowing: There are various hints that Wes is a serial killer long before The Reveal. Brenda usually appears in Wes' guilt-ridden fantasies asking him why he did what he did to her, Ghat points out that Gary calling the police probably isn't in Wes' best interests, etc. There's also ominous music that plays during the scene when Wes burns the contents of the red box, which we later find out contained photos of the women he killed.
- Freudian Excuse: Wes' father's abuse has left him with an hole inside he tries to fill up via relationships and when they can't he kills them.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: When Wes starts to lose it after discovering he's trapped in the restroom, Ghat has to shout directly into his mind to tell him to get a grip on himself.
- God Is Evil: The first primordial god that birthed all others and the universe is a hateful abomination who wants nothing more than to return everything besides itself to oblivion.
- The Greatest Story Never Told: Wes saved the universe at the cost of his own life, but Ghat sadly tells him no one will ever know, and that being forgotten is the best thing monsters like them deserve.
- Happy Place: Subverted. Wes tries to ignore Ghat by retreating into his mind, but Ghat doesn't have time for any of that. He invades Wes' happy place and forces him out of it. He needs Wes's mind in the here and now for his plan to succeed.
- Intrigued by Humanity: Ghat is an Eldritch Abomination who was created to wipe out all life in the universe, but he has grown rather fond of life and no longer wants to see it destroyed. He acts as the voice of reason against Wes' nihilistic rants, saying that humanity is flawed but capable of great things.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: The scene of Wes finally removing his liver is intercut not only with The Reveal, but scenes of Brenda and two extra sets of female hands caressing him from behind before reaching into and pulling out his innards, juxtaposed with Ghat fishing out a piece of the organ in the stall.
- Killer Teddy Bear: After cursing and taking a peek at Ghatanothoa's semi-corporeal form Wes is punished with visions of him being accosted by a giant living version of Brenda's gift teddy that splits open its guts and stuffs him inside. Starting with his head.
- Minimalist Cast: Only 5 speaking roles, and one of those roles is just a voice.
- Mistaken for Gay: Wes manages to draw the attention of Gary, the property manager. Of course, seeing a disheveled guy in the restroom and a voice coming from a gloryhole makes him think they're cruising. He tells them to find a motel somewhere.
- No Biological Sex: Ghat speaks with a male voice, but admits that he's technically neither male nor female. He states that he has demigod "siblings" somewhere out there in the cosmos, but they were all formed out of pure thought by the primordial (and very angry) god.
- No Place for Me There: After working together to prevent the apocalypse, Ghatanothoa acknowledges that he and Wes are not heroes, but monsters who deserve to be forgotten. Since the former is a ravenous Eldritch Abomination and the latter a mentally disturbed Serial Killer, it's probably for the best.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Ghat recognizes that he and Wes are both creatures of pure destruction, no matter what justification they might come up with.
- Offering Another in Your Stead: Wes convinces Ghat to allow Gary into the bathroom. When it becomes obvious that Ghat isn't going to let him leave either, Wes repeatedly tries to get Ghat to pick Gary to satisfy the eldritch god through the gloryhole in place of Wes. Ghat rejects this offer, saying that Wes was "chosen". Since Gary has already seen too much and is otherwise useless to Ghat's plan, Ghat simply eats him.
- The Old Gods: Ghat's father. By his own admission, Ghat himself is closer to Our Titans Are Different.
- The Omniscient: Ghat knows everything, starting by rattling off all the foreign subtances on Wes' clothes, face, and hands. He offers naming the "contributors" to said subtances in alphabetical or chronological order, but Wes has already heard Too Much Information.
- Psycho Pink: Ghatanothoa's powers manifest as a radiant magenta, similar to Color Out of Space (2020). While he is Affably Evil, he is still a force of pure destruction who messily devours a man who interrupts his ritual.
- Punny Name: The otherworldly deity in the bathroom stall is named Ghatanothoa, but he doesn't mind if you call him Ghat—which does sound pretty close to "God".
- Put Them All Out of My Misery: Ghat is trying to get Wes to help him save the universe, but Wes is not just very reluctant to "satisfy" Ghat's physical form, he doesn't think the universe is worth saving because he hates his life and thinks all people are Secretly Selfish. He tries to summon Ghat's father to end all reality, although Ghat stops him.
- Red Is Violent: Ghat's father radiates a bright red and is a malevolent Eldritch Abomination that is defined by its undying hatred of all life.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Wes is revealed to be a serial killer, but the Villainous Breakdown he suffers after murdering Brenda before the opening implies that it is some sort of compulsion for him, possibly as a result of his abusive father.
- Time Abyss: Ghatanothoa has resided in the aether since the dawn of time. He acknowledges that he is a very old and very lonely god. He's very friendly though.
- Too Much Information: When Wes wonders what foul stuff his hands and face are covered with after throwing up in the Disgusting Public Toilet, Ghat cheerily informs him that it includes fecal matter, vomit particles, semen residue, and 127 different forms of bacteria. He offers naming them, but Wes declines.
- To Serve Man: When Gary enters the restroom, he can't leave either. Since he is unnecessary to Ghat's plan, the latter tells Wes to hide in the stall while Ghat eats poor Gary alive. This also serves as a demonstration to Wes what it would mean if Ghat's physical form was set loose upon the Earth.
- The Unpronounceable: Ghatanothoa - while not impossible, saying it to Ghat's standards requires holding on to your tongue.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Ghat is convinced that fate has contrived to bring him and Wes together in the bathroom stall. He describes it as a force greater than gravity and one that even an Elder God such as he has no control over. Why else would their vastly different planes of reality possibly intersect to allow them to meet each other? Wes makes numerous attempts to reject the part the universe wants him to play, all of which fail spectacularly.
- You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Ghatanothoa's quasi-ethereal state - Ghat states that looking upon him would turn Wes into an Empty Shell Humanoid Abomination that all men would question why such a thing be allowed to exist. When he gets a look at Ghat closer to a corporeal form, it causes him the worst pain he's ever felt. At the end, Wes does witness Ghat's fully corporeal form after gifting the god his liver, which looks like a misshapen pink blob covered in eyes, tentacles, and jaw bone-like protrusions.
