The Ninth Gate

The Movie Itself is directed by Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Rosemary’s Baby).

Dean Corso (Johnny Depp), a scandalous, rare book dealer is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) — an authority on demonic literature — to locate, evaluate and obtain the surviving copies of an ancient demonic text, entitled “The Nine Gates of the Shadow Kingdom.” Balkan maintains that the book has the power to summon the devil, but fears his book is a forgery and therefore Corso must determine which of the remaining copies are authentic, if any are at all. While the assignment proves to be far more perilous and difficult than he could have ever imagined, he remains fascinated by the mystery behind the texts, and will ultimately stop at nothing to unravel the secrets within the book’s illustrations.

I’m hesitant to admit that I had not seen a single Polanski film until the summer of 2005. In my defense, I don’t think that’s half as shocking as say, not seeing a Kubrick/Spielberg/Coppola film, but still I feel a bit ashamed that it took me as long as it did to see one. At any rate, my introduction to Polanski was Rosemary’s Baby, and it freaked me out big time. From the opening moments of the film, I was hypnotized. He knew precisely how to get the film crawling around inside of you, under your skin, in your brain. This is the mark of the most talented film directors, whether or not they can achieve that level of infiltration, and whether or not they can do it with ease and in a timely manner.

It’s been some time since I was first introduced to Polanski, and when it came time to review The Ninth Gate, I was a little wary. I’ve never heard anyone gush about the film, at least not like people do for The Pianist or Rosemary’s Baby. In fact, I can remember when the film was released in theaters — alongside other pre-2000 horror flicks — very few critics had anything constructive to say about it.

Well, as hypocritical as this may sound, I should have never listened to the critics. I should have gone with my gut instinct — enticed by the concept and theatrical trailers — and seen the movie. Alas, it would be ten years before I finally got around to seeing it, and what a great slow-burn thriller it is.

It might not be a “scary” movie, but it oozes dreadful, foreboding ambiance through the extraordinary score and the frightful situations that Corso finds himself in. The film is also very cerebral, as you might expect from a thriller that features a book dealer as the story’s protagonist, and where I can see many people rolling their eyes or yawning at the film’s lead character, I find the unusual protagonist choice to be both refreshing and ballsy. Surely, the film isn’t for everyone, and I’ve no doubt that’s why it was largely panned when first released, but I feel like this is the type of film that will only get better with age. Even now, ten years after its initial release, it holds up remarkably well and I can only imagine that it might age as gracefully as some of the rare books in Corso’s private collection.

If you haven’t seen the film yet and you’ve been looking for a reason to check it out, I can think of no better reason to do so. The film might not look as good as it could here on Blu-ray (see VQ below) but it boasts an excellent audio track and the story is nothing if not original and wholly intriguing.