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Film Review - The Ninth Gate
5 years ago
Not from the DVD motherload I posted about previously, but shown on TV. Convenient for me since I was wanting to see this for a while.
The Ninth Gate was sold to me as one of the real Cthulhu films. While it might not have the monsters or the names, I was told follows similar themes and concepts and does them well. I kind of agree with that. It does the job, and is worth your time, but not worth seeking out specifically.
-Plot-
The film opens with an old man killing himself. Lovely. The rest follows Johny Depp, an unscrupulous book dealer who is hired by a rich, eccentric collector of satanic literature. He hires Depp to confirm his copy of a particular book is genuine. The book is said to contain the ritual to summon the devil.
This quest takes Depp across America and Europe. Along the way he’s followed by strange people and weird occurrences.
It’s all fairly subtle stuff, and well edited. The film never drags, even though most of the run time is just people sitting around talking about books. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this was based on a book, because the film isn’t very visual.
But this also reduces the re-watchability of it I think. It’s essentially a mystery story, so once you know the plot, there’s not really much reason to go back to it. Still, as a one time watch, it’s entertaining enough.
-Other stuff-
There’s no real bad effects to speak of. Maybe you can spot some blue screen here and there if you’re looking, but nothing really stands out. Even at the end when things get crazy, it’s all fairly low key. There’s no giant CGI monsters or jump scares or anything like that.
The film also has enough budget to do the story justice. Locations seem real, not sets, and if they were I never really noticed. Things are spelled out enough for me to follow the plot without boring exposition dumps or vague confusion. Characters generally act in a logical manner, with reasonable motives and minimal stupidity.
I know I’m sounding very nuts and bolts, but that’s the thing. It’s all well put together, while being low key and subtle without being boring. This isn’t the kind of “fun” film where the hero fights cgi monsters. If anything, Depp’s character is useless in combat.
-Overall-
I liked The Ninth Gate. It’s not a film I could watch repeatedly because so much of it is just people sitting around talking about books, trying to solve a mystery that is all tied up by the end.
Is it the quintessential Lovecraft film? I wouldn’t say so, but I can understand why people would say that. It’s arguably the best so far overall. It doesn’t fall to pieces like The Devil Rides Out, and is generally competent throughout while capturing the general theme and atmosphere.
Worth your time, but maybe not worth the effort of seeking out.
The Ninth Gate was sold to me as one of the real Cthulhu films. While it might not have the monsters or the names, I was told follows similar themes and concepts and does them well. I kind of agree with that. It does the job, and is worth your time, but not worth seeking out specifically.
-Plot-
The film opens with an old man killing himself. Lovely. The rest follows Johny Depp, an unscrupulous book dealer who is hired by a rich, eccentric collector of satanic literature. He hires Depp to confirm his copy of a particular book is genuine. The book is said to contain the ritual to summon the devil.
This quest takes Depp across America and Europe. Along the way he’s followed by strange people and weird occurrences.
It’s all fairly subtle stuff, and well edited. The film never drags, even though most of the run time is just people sitting around talking about books. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this was based on a book, because the film isn’t very visual.
But this also reduces the re-watchability of it I think. It’s essentially a mystery story, so once you know the plot, there’s not really much reason to go back to it. Still, as a one time watch, it’s entertaining enough.
-Other stuff-
There’s no real bad effects to speak of. Maybe you can spot some blue screen here and there if you’re looking, but nothing really stands out. Even at the end when things get crazy, it’s all fairly low key. There’s no giant CGI monsters or jump scares or anything like that.
The film also has enough budget to do the story justice. Locations seem real, not sets, and if they were I never really noticed. Things are spelled out enough for me to follow the plot without boring exposition dumps or vague confusion. Characters generally act in a logical manner, with reasonable motives and minimal stupidity.
I know I’m sounding very nuts and bolts, but that’s the thing. It’s all well put together, while being low key and subtle without being boring. This isn’t the kind of “fun” film where the hero fights cgi monsters. If anything, Depp’s character is useless in combat.
-Overall-
I liked The Ninth Gate. It’s not a film I could watch repeatedly because so much of it is just people sitting around talking about books, trying to solve a mystery that is all tied up by the end.
Is it the quintessential Lovecraft film? I wouldn’t say so, but I can understand why people would say that. It’s arguably the best so far overall. It doesn’t fall to pieces like The Devil Rides Out, and is generally competent throughout while capturing the general theme and atmosphere.
Worth your time, but maybe not worth the effort of seeking out.
