Review of Begotten (1991) by Eric B — 21 Nov 2013

At last, a film for people who found "Eraserhead" too commercial. This underground horror relic starts with a twitching God figure disemboweling himself and giving birth to a full-grown woman (credited as "Mother Earth"). She returns the favor by bringing him to orgasm and manually impregnating herself with his semen. From there, the story takes a strange turn. Features include abduction, rape and various ritualistic activities that defy interpretation. The plot has been described as a retelling of the creation myth, but trying to follow a linear story is purely optional. Suffice to say, this a great movie if you're a fan of convulsions. There is no dialogue, and the soundtrack is an alien mix of birds, crickets, flies, low drones and what sounds like the ambient splashes of a toilet tank.

The visual look of "Begotten" is impossible to forget. Its gritty, black-and-white texture was apparently created through shooting with reversal stock and then re-photographing each frame for an extra layer of distortion. Often, it's difficult to tell what is happening and the image approaches pure abstraction. It's a relief that this film is only 78 minutes, because further length would defy almost anyone's endurance. Surprisingly, director E. Elias Merhige went on to craft the considerably more accessible (if equally macabre) "Shadow of the Vampire.".