Basement contributor Matt Bellamy has taken it upon himself to watch and
review at least one horror movie a day for
the month of
October . . . because he's awesome that way! Tonight, Bellamy introduces us to a religious horror flick that is no The Rite. No sir, it is not.
Directed by Rosemary's Baby mastermind Roman
Polanski, the guy knows a thing or two about Satanic horror! Now,
there's no way that The Ninth Gate can be comparable to his earlier
masterpiece however that's not to say
it's a bad movie, if anything I find it to be pretty underrated, and a
solidly entertaining yarn! That's right, I said "yarn". Johnny Depp
stars as Dean Corso, a rare books dealer who is hired by a slightly
eccentric millionaire (is there any other kind?) played by the always
terrific Frank Langella, to track down copies of a book that may have
been co-written by Lucifer himself! You sure won't find it in Chapters
so off goes Johnny Depp to Europe to track these copies down and along
the way finds himself getting into increasingly deadly and suspicious
situations.
What's cool about this flick is that it's part "film noir" and part religious horror and it's a combination that, at first, takes some adjusting to seeing as it's a bit of a slow burn but your patience is rewarded by some fun twists and an overall engaging atmosphere. I'm not a religious guy nor have I have been raised around it but religious themes in horror movies are some of my favourite, something about the "old fashioned" feel to it and the history that's usually incorporated, makes everything feel much more important and vital. The Ninth Gate is not an amazing movie nor is it a bomb as many critics would have led you to believe it was upon its release, it's absolutely worth a watch or maybe even a re-visit!
What's cool about this flick is that it's part "film noir" and part religious horror and it's a combination that, at first, takes some adjusting to seeing as it's a bit of a slow burn but your patience is rewarded by some fun twists and an overall engaging atmosphere. I'm not a religious guy nor have I have been raised around it but religious themes in horror movies are some of my favourite, something about the "old fashioned" feel to it and the history that's usually incorporated, makes everything feel much more important and vital. The Ninth Gate is not an amazing movie nor is it a bomb as many critics would have led you to believe it was upon its release, it's absolutely worth a watch or maybe even a re-visit!
I've been doing this for years! I also started a blog this year for it and stumbled upon yours when I was looking at pictures for the film Rubber. Neat that other folks like to do the same. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Mandy! We're glad other people like yourself are into the Halloween spirit as well :) - J
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