ASTORIA, Ore. — It looks like something a person might say after splashing through the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean: "Cthulhu."

Pronounced "Cthulhu" (ka-THOOL-hoo), it's the name of an evil undersea monster in a 1928 H.P. Lovecraft horror tale being filmed in the Astoria area.

Screenwriter Grant Cogswell said he wrote the script with Astoria in mind — its rugged coastal scenery, that is. The popular horror genre was chosen to improve the film's chances of commercial success.

Arkham Productions in Seattle has a two-week shooting schedule for the independent movie, which has a budget of $500,000. And the company is taking advantage of local talent and resources to stay under budget, Cogswell said.

"If we had 1,000 people show up, we'd use them," Cogswell said about a call for 200 extras to be costumed as creatures coming out of the water for one scene.

Royal Nebeker, a Clatsop Community College art instructor, offered his old net loft that looms on pilings over the Columbia River to create a haven for a bizarre and deadly cult of Cthulhu-worshippers.

Under a rare October sun, a camera crew manned a motorboat among the pilings as the frigid waters of the Columbia lapped over the knees of actress Amy Minderhout, who stood on a makeshift platform and pretended to be tied to a piling, battered and left for dead.

Bill Hebert of Astoria got to take part in a scene depicting a cult ceremony Wednesday, the first day of filming. "We were calling up the alien spirit," he recalled. "We were chanting in a made-up language. It was awesome."

Cogswell hopes to have the film ready for the Feb. 15 application deadline for the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. After that, he's aiming for cineplex distribution.