31 (or so) Days of Terror: The Ninth Gate

Satanists have been go to villains for Horror since at least the turn of the century. Even as society has become less religious, these weirdos in black robes have continued to haunt our imaginations. Cults are frightening to begin with, given how they're full of fanatics, but combine that with knowingly worship Western Culture's de facto Evil and a clientele of the rich and powerful makes for a potent mix of unsettling things. As such, all manner of devil worshippers have graced the silver screen over the years. And director Roman Polanski is no stranger to Satanists having made the 1968 classic Rosemary's Baby and today's subject, the 1999 thriller The Ninth Gate.

Johnny Depp stars as Dean Corso, an unscrupulous dealer of rare antique books. Corso is hired to authenticate a copy of "The Nine Gates of the Shadow Kingdom", a book supposedly written by Satan himself, by comparing it to the only two other known copies. His investigation does not go smoothly though, as the owners of those other copies start turning up dead and a mysterious blonde college student starts following him. As Corso digs deeper into the book's Satanic secrets, the feeling that he's in over his head just gets stronger and stronger. How far will he go before he winds up dead too?


If I had to describe The Ninth Gate in one word, it would be restrained. The moments of violence are few and far between and never shown in too gory detail. The very first scene sets this dynamic of the film up by showing an elderly man hanging himself. But we are never shown the noose tightening around his neck, just the chandelier it's dangling from being pulled out of the ceiling and some spasming feet. It's this restraint that separates Polanski's approach to this material than other director's. Polanski is trying to make a more highbrow version of Satanic exploitation films. So where in other films of this material the director may use narrative elements like a Satanic gathering or a demon summoning as an excuse for some cheap T & A or special effects eye candy, Polanski keeps the proceedings grounded and working to maintain the atmosphere. This restraint does have the negative effect of anti-climax, the feeling of building up to a payoff that doesn't come, but it works for me.

Emmanuelle Seigner as Satan? Maybe?

And I think it works because of the atmosphere. Dread suffuses the production, the constant feeling that our hero may meet his doom at any moment, which is appropriate for this film. See despite the Devil's prominence in the story, the plot is structured more like an old detective film noir. A man takes what he thinks will be a simple job but is actually far more complicated, unravelling a web of dirty secrets and conspiracies as he gets in way over his head. The mise-en-scene follows this narrative throughline and combines it with the more Horror-esque atmosphere, going from the safe and familiar setting of New York City at the outset to the older, more dangerous cities of Europe and finally to a crumbling, ancient castle. It's almost as though Corso's quest for the truth about the book is bringing him farther back in time, to the very source of this Satanic knowledge. Which could explain the ambiguous final shot but that would be telling. All of this is complimented by a wonderful score by Wojciech Kilar. It's unobtrusive but that works to the film's advantage, by not drawing attention to itself the music just heightens the palpable dread of any given scene.

The most fascinating character is the mysterious blonde college student. The film heavily implies that she is actually Satan but that just raises more questions about her character. She appears and disappears at random throughout the film, helping Corso out whenever he get into a jam. Whether he needs to chase after some villains or to attack some henchmen, she's there to protect him and lead him toward the next clue in the mystery. That would be strange enough but if she is Satan, then her motivations become even more unclear. Why we would she help Corso get the book away from the villains when the villains' plan is to use it to summon her? Why has she taken such an interest in Corso? Why does she deem him worthy of learning the true secret of the book? And why did she decide to have sex with him at the end of the movie? The deliberate vagueness of this character must have been intended to bring these sort of questions about and the presentation doesn't hurt the film but it is an odd piece in what is otherwise a very well-constructed puzzle.

The Ninth Gate is an excellent thriller. Even putting aside the pulpier Satanism elements, it's an engaging mystery masterfully put together by an experienced director. The acting is similarly on par; a pre-Pirates Johnny Depp doing his best selfish jerk turned anti-hero, Emmanuelle Seigner as The Girl/Satan is as mysterious and intriguing as she should, and Frank Langella gives an effectively low-key villain turn. It's certainly a more highbrow take on this kind of material than is usual.

Just a very well put together affair with a surprisingly ambiguous take on the Devil, Recommended.

Final Score: 4/5