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Rating: 2 out of 5
Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer is the divine entity that rules over the land of Hell. Depending on the exact religion, let’s take Christianity; Lucifer was God’s greatest and most powerful angel. Thinking that humans were beneath him, Lucifer decided to rebel against God but lost and was exiled. God banished Lucifer to Hell to rule over the demons. In religion, Hell is an afterlife location where evil souls go to be subjected to pain and suffering through torture and eternal punishment. I will give you something to read or watch about the world of Hell. Read or watch Dante’s Inferno because it explains the nine circles of Hell in detail and gives examples of people who might be in those locations. You will not be disappointed.
I don’t know about you, but I have ZERO ambitions to go or rule over Hell or even find a gateway to it. Yet, people are fascinated by the concept and going to Hell. I’m good where I’m at. Roman Polanski, the man who made Rosemary’s Baby, is back with a film about finding the gate to Hell. Welcome to the Ninth Gate, a film loosely based upon Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s 1993 novel The Club Dumas, which revolves around a book dealer tasked with authenticating a 17th-century book that is supposed to summon the Devil. Rare book broker and dealer Dean Corso (Depp) is good at his business but also a slimy weasel who takes advantage of unsuspecting people for his own monetary benefit. One of his wealthiest clients and renowned publisher, Boris Balkan (Langella), has a rare book collection with the same protagonist, the Devil. Balken has come into possession of one of the rarest books about the Devil on earth, the seventeenth century “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows” by Aristide Torchia. There are only three surviving copies in existence. Still, Balkan believes his copy is the only genuine and authentic one. Balkan gives Corso the assignment to travel around Europe, investigate the two other books, and acquire it at any cost if the other book is authentic. Corso takes the job as the money is too good to pass up. As he begins his assignment, he soon finds that forces are behind unexplained deaths that resemble the pictures in the book. As he digs deeper, a young woman (Seigner) who follows and seems to know more than she is letting on guides Corso to the truth of the book and the picture’s meanings. Corso will soon come to the realization that the book will summon the Devil.
I have watched this film quite a few times. Is it iconic like Rosemary’s Baby?? Hell Naw, but it is a somewhat decent film. It’s strange and not really scary. It’s not even scary, so I don’t know why they call it a horror film. Let’s start with the story. It’s after a book that probably has way more information than the film presents. We learn that all the books are authentic, and each one has three drawings that open up the ninth gate. Now the story doesn’t ever explain what the ninth gate is or what it does. Does it summon the Devil? Does the person who opens it become the Devil or some type of lord in Hell? It doesn’t explain anything and has you wondering why you are watching the film.
The film’s main point is straightforward, with Corso authenticating each book. He looks over Balken, Fargas, and the Baroness and finds clues, but each one ends up dead. My hope was that the film would go into detail about each drawing. While Corso is walking or running away from something, one of the pictures shows he is on the right path but doesn’t know it. It would have been more entertaining, but we don’t know how the progression is going. As Corso explores, he is being followed by a beautiful woman who knows a lot more.
That brings me to the next problem of this film. Who the fuck is this woman? Is she a demon, fallen angel, succubus, or whatever? I have noticed that her eyes turn bright green whenever she is aroused or lustful, as they seem to hypnotize you. She also appears to float down when going downstairs or jumping off a ledge. The one scene where she really looks like a demon is during the sex scene. First off, she is hot as Hell. No pun intended, but her face changes as she is riding Corso. It seems like she is talking out his life energy. She also has a habit of just disappearing. She is shown in the last picture but, once again, doesn’t explain much.
The acting of this film was meh. Depp is strange in this one. It’s on the same line as Secret Window regarding his performance. It does evolve throughout the film. He is a slimy book dealer who turns into a murderer and who wants to be the one who finds the gate. It is an unimpressive acting performance. Emmanuelle Seigner as The Girl seemed like a novice, but she was around for sex appeal. She was stunning and had a body of a freakin goddess in my eyes. She has this seductive look to her that draws you in. Frank Langella as Boris Balkan was the one that should be feared and had some of the best scenes. He had a presence about him that brought fear to Corso. The dude played no games when trying to get what he wanted.
The one highlight of this film was the music. When the sex scene was going on, the music was intense and demon-like. I don’t know what they told the composer, but the dude went deep in his bag to bring out some demon-like-sounding music, and I applaud it. If only the film went as hard as the music, it would be rated much higher than what was presented.
The Ninth Gate is a meh film that can be put on as background sound. The music is great, but the story is lacking with some significant plot holes. I feel like I should read the book to get a better understanding of what is going on. You can either try and understand what the ninth gate is or play, read, and watch Dante’s Inferno. Now that is a hell movie for you.
