Cinema has always been a fan of the Good versus Evil motif. But few are the movies that use the archetypal figure of Lucifer/Satan/The Devil or close relatives like his son, and are actually worth watching.
As a first of many Top Ten lists that we here in Babylonian Noise are willing to share with the minority that our readers are (or better, will be), I present you, My Personal Top Ten!
10.
Constantine / End Of Days
Both films struggle for the last place in the top ten, and to be honest I don't know which one to drop. Constantine is a bad comic-book-to-film adaptation with the producers literally raping the plot. BUT: If you try to forget the far superior comic books ever existed it makes a decent way to kill some time. Unfortunately, when the Big Bad Satan makes his appearance looks like some poor guy that lost his shoes at a Las Vegas casino...
On the contrary, End Of Days features a truly menacing Gabriel (notice the irony?) Byrne as Satan (the reason it is worth watching). The bad thing is the other guy, someone called Schwarzenegger, that feels like he's played the role before. Arnie, do you remember another film being hunted by a virtually unstoppable bad guy only to save the world in the last five minutes? Let me help you, he was made of liquid metal...
9.
Event Horizon
Well, His Evilness doesn't make a direct appearance in this film, and this is the reason it scores this low on the list. But the spaceship that has gone "to hell and back" returning alive to condemn the rescue team to eternal damnation just like it did with the original crew is as satanic as it could get. And Sam Neill is unforgettable as the ship's main designer gone evil and eyeless.
Liberate tutemae ex inferis...
8.
Lost Souls
A formerly possessed woman (Winona Ryder) finds out that a semi-famous (and atheist) author (Ben Chaplin) will turn into the antichrist (on his 33rd birthday if my memory functions correctly). The film steps away from grotesque horror imagery and turns to more psychological ways to challenge the viewer. The fact that the antichrist candidate is atheist makes the plot even more interesting.
7.
The Exorcist
The only reason this horror classic is in the 7th place is that His Majestic Infernality does not appear directly in it, but sends his Assyrian-Babylonian minion Pazuzu to do the dirty work. Spider crawling, 180 degree head turning, vomiting, and swearing in various languages are among the infamous superpowers of a (possessed) teenage girl.
6.
The Prophecy I
Angels at war, evil human souls, american indian traditions, Christopher Walken starring as the "misguided" Archagel Gabriel, and the surprise: Viggo Mortensen as the Devil, making a Deus Ex Machina appearance at the end! The two sequels starring Christopher Walken are also worth brief attention if only to extend the plot of the first. I have become aware that more sequels (without Walken) have been filmed, but from what I've heard about them I am going to stay as far away as possible.
5.
The Omen (trilogy)
This trilogy is another story with the apocalypse brought on earth by the bad son of Lucifer. As the little antichrist grows to be a powerful mega-corporation owner everyone around him that could become an obstacle during his reign is suffering horrible deaths. The films end up being a sample book of ways of dying, and the ending is a little bit weak, but the atmosphere makes up for it.
4.
The Ninth Gate
Roman Polanski meets Johnny Depp. The result is an intriguing story of a 17th century book that can unlock the ninth gate to hell, and promises of unimaginable power to the one that opens it. Based on the book "The Club Dumas", the film manages to create a strange atmosphere that is based mainly on mystery, reducing horror elements to a minimum. His Satanic Malevolence does not seem to appear directly on the film though. Or does he?
3.
Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski again! This time, one of his masterpieces, starring Mia Farrow as the unsuspecting victim of a conspiracy aiming to use her as the means to bring the antichrist to life by giving birth to him. The devil only makes a brief appearance in a dreamlike sequence, but his excessive evilness is filling the air. Masterful direction that leads to a clever (and somewhat unexpected) ending.
2.
The Devils Advocate
To be honest, I have not watched this film in its entirety, but I have only viewed parts of it. But it was clear. Al Pacino is the Devil. And he's good. The Prince of Lies, the manipulative b@st@rd. He is in control, all the time. And he is a Lawyer.
1.
Angelheart
A tale of the all time classic selling of the soul to the devil. In this mixture of Film Noir, Detective Fiction and Horror, the bad guy is the unforgettable Robert De Niro. Presented as a bold and stone cold figure with hues of morbid nobility, De Niro's "Luis Cyphre" stands in the opposite side of Pacino's "lawful evil" character. And the twist in the ending is one of the best in recent filmmaking history, along with Fight Club and The Sixth Sense.
And now, it is time for...
BONUS MATERIAL:
1. Interesting alternative choices:
The movies listed below don't qualify for the top ten for various reasons, but it is a shame to leave them unmentioned.
Dogma
Yes, both God and the Devil have a sence of humour. And if you doubt it, this hilarious movie is not for you.
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Tom Waits is Mr Nick, aka the Devil, and his performance is memorable. Also known as the last film of Heath Ledger, this small gem by Terry Gilliam is more of a surreal fable than anything else, so it cannot enter in the top ten as it cannot compare to the rest.
The Hire: Beat The Devil
Directed by Tony Scott this film is part of a series of short films by various directors that function as BMW commercials. Gary Oldman is the Devil, James Brown has sold his soul, and Clive Owen drag races with the Devil's driver Danny Trejo to earn Mr Brown his soul back. Also worth mentioning is a small appearance by Marilyn Manson!
2. The cult choice:
Hellbound
Chuck Norris is so awesome that he has also managed to stop the apocalypse with a roundhouse kick! Literally!
Plot: Satan has sent his emissary, Prosatanos, on earth to prepare his coming. And only a Chicago cop can stop him! Not that bad for a Chuck Norris film, and certainly not what anyone usually expects from his movies. If you've got some time to kill, go for it!
3. The Bottom Three
Legion
To be honest, I haven't watched this, but I trust my friend Spyros with my life. And if he says "stay away", I sure as hell will! Actually, I don't even know if His Infernal Furiosity makes an appearance, or there are only (fallen) angels in it. Anyway, it won't be that difficult to find (bad) reviews of this film all over the internet. Bad move mr Quaid...
Ghost Rider
Nicolas Cage has a flaming skull and he played in this film to show us that he also has a six pack, not a beer belly. Mephistopheles is pathetic and his minions are even worse. And there is this awesome ex-Ghost Rider with a flaming black horse that does so many things of importance that he could be missing from the screen and no one would even notice. At least it has got some good special effects, but that does not make it worth viewing.
Stephen King's The Stand
This four-episode film starts nice, but when you reach the thirt episode something starts to smell awfully bad. And when it ends, you want to decapitate Stephen King with a jeweller's saw and feed his brains to chiwawas! A plague wipes out almost all humans, except for a minority that is immune. They are starting to have strange visions. The bad guys are being called by the Devil (who looks like a crossover of a redneck American with a middle aged, not-so-famous rock wannabe musician) to Las Vegas, while the "virtuous" go to live at a small "american-dream" kind of town. And four virtuous heroes must WALK all the way to Vegas to make the STAND against the devil. But the "prophecy" says that during the journey ONE OF THEM (the heroes) WILL FALL! Poor Gary Sinise does fall climbing a 4-metre high cliff and breaks his leg, only to be transported back to the town by a friend who happens to pass by with his car, and live happily ever after with the girl. How heroic! The ending is even worse, but I will not make any spoilers. Watch at your own risk. Or even better, watch only the first two episodes, and leave everything else to your imagination.
Stay tuned to Babylonian Noise For more Top Tens in the future!
At the time of the theatrical release of M. Scorsese's "Shutter Island" I rushed to the cinema to watch it, dragging some friends along. It was really well done, perfect atmosphere, gripping plot, fine acting. Critics and viewers were talking about the "film of the year", and 2010 had not even started yet.
A little bit later another film opened in cinemas, with a few people claiming that it was actually better than "Shutter Island". At least they were few from my point of view. The film was R. Polanski's "The Ghost Writer". I tried to convince the same group of people coming along at a screening, but they did not look very enthusiastic about it. This was the reason that made me miss the theatrical release of the film. I thought of going alone, but, at least for me, this is a somewhat tough decision to make. I like to have someone to make conversation on the film after the end credits. I have been to the cinema alone only three times in my life. Two of them were with the Jim Jarmusch films "Coffee and Cigarettes" and "The Limits Of Control". The third was "The Bourne Supremacy". But all the above are beside the point. Anyway, time passed and I forgot about the film.
Then summer came, along with the anticipation of the new Christopher Nolan film, the famous "Inception", the new "film of the year". Watching it on the big screen was a bit of an adventure for me, and I finally managed to, after my arrival in the Netherlands. It was a really surprising experience, with its plot being a finely crafted complex mathematical equasion, and an almost immaculate job by Mr Nolan whose narrative techniques are constantly improving. And what is more, it is based on an oiginal idea and not on a book or another medium.
.jpg)
