How Could So Much Go So Wrong So Fast?
I remember when the commercials for this thing first aired, and I was very pumped up to see this film. Unfortunately, I have to say I have never been so disappointed in a movie in my life.
F Paul Wilson's novel falls into the "pulp horror" genre, but it is high-gloss pulp horror, and Wilson writes with style and even grace, but most of all, clarity. It is too bad that Michael Mann did not keep that clarity in mind when adapting the novel to the screen.
Not that it is all that bad as adaptations go: this isn't another butcher job along the lines of Kubrick's THE SHINING, but that being said, the movie does not have much else to recommend it. Which is a shock, because all the elements for a good movie were there, but what we got was an incoherent mess.
Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky, and Gabriel Byrne lead the cast. A formidable collection of talent that should have made at the very least a decent movie, but for some reason, not only did it not come off, but the result was perfectly dreadful.
The story is a simple one: During World War II, a regiment of Nazis makes camp in an ancient "keep" (think castle) in a Romanian mountain pass. They soon discover that the keep is guarded by an evil entity that turns out to be half-vampire and half the Golem of Jewish mythology. But it takes the commander (Prochnow) some time, and the mutilation of some of his men by this creature, before he wires to Berlin for help, and by this time it is too late.
He does, however, take certain steps, the smartest of which is engaging the aid of a retired Jewish professor (McKellen) who is an expert on the area in general and the keep in particular, though in the end the truth even surpasses his knowledge. Ailing and in a wheelchair, he is attended by his devoted daughter Eva (Watson).
To counter the evil entity, there is also a sort of Christ figure with the odd name of Glaeken (Glenn), a man with glowing eyes who apparently has lived as long as the monster he seeks to conquer.
It all sounds like a jolly good ride, even if it isn't profound. Why, then, is it such a Godawful mess?
For starters, much too much of this film takes place in the dark. This is faithful to the novel, but problematic when the film audience needs to see what is going on and the director has failed to light his scene properly.
The second gaffe is unfortunately also taken right out of the novel. Glaeken has sex with Eva on the strength of a few days acquaintance, which strains credibility since an unmarried and devout Jewish woman of that time would never have allowed such a thing to happen. But this is a place where the novel slips and I suppose the filmmakers can't be blamed for keeping it.
As to the rest, I can't even tell you what happens, because the whole thing is so confusing that half the time we don't even know what character(s) we are dealing with (yes, the screen is that dark). Like most novels in the genre, the book was plot-heavy. The movie attempts to squeeze as much of the novel in as it can, but it does so in a sloppy manner with terrible camera work and a complete lack of regard for his actors on the part of Mann. This doesn't seem to faze McKellen or Prochnow, who at least have some grasp on their characters, but the rest of the cast is left floundering without guidance, and it is Glenn's performance, unfortunately, that suffers the most. Glenn was and is a talented guy, but during most of this movie he seems not to know what he is doing, and appears to be wishing he were elsewhere (which for all we know he might have).
Add to this a score by Tangerine Dream which, though clearly meant to provide atmosphere à la JAWS, HALLOWEEN, SUSPIRIA, and THE EXORCIST, is merely loud, noisy, intrusive, and annoying.
A terrible movie. And a terrible disappointment because the book was so good.
Never mess with a middle-aged, Bipolar queen with AIDS and an attitude problem!
roflol ><