Review of The Ninth Gate (1999) by Icivindur — 07 Mar 2021

The journey of a "pilgrim" in search of the devil presented in the form of a detective thriller on the surface. On the layer below there is atmospheric mysticism and irony. And underneath, on the bottom, it is a fascinating journey, a quest, with a mysterious beautiful stranger, money and power, turned out to be a fall, corruption and the devil himself in the form of a Babylonian harlot, riding the beast which the main character became.

The path to the devil turned out to be hidden not in the texts of the books and not in mysterious illustrations, but in the ordinary perpetrations of the protagonist, committed in such a way that he did not notice these evil acts. Just as Satanists, eager to meet with the devil, do not notice him while the object of their desire openly walks among them in the form of a beautiful green-eyed girl in multi-colored socks - what could seem more innocent?

Step by step, Corso steps down the path to hell, even without knowing it, and becomes the chosen one of the unclean, not because of some secret knowledge or spells, but by breaking one prohibition after another, in the name of generally good goals - money, pleasure and then out of revenge and in search of power. Until the "ninth gate" was opened.

All these is not obvious and audience can remain at any of the levels suggested by the director. Maybe just enjoy the leisurely, atmospheric and ironic, aesthetic storytelling.