#27 - The Ninth Gate (1999)

This late in October, they don't play very many newer horror flicks.  All the channels seem to rely on old favorites, from Hocus Pocus to the Shining, because they figure you are too horror'd out by now, or off partying, or so stuffed with candy that you're in a diabetic coma.  Well, we're down to the wire, only 4 more days left in October, and I'm forced to rely on a few old favorites, too!

The Ninth Gate (1999) is probably the only Johnny Depp movie that I like.  Yes, including edward scissorhands.  Depp stars as Dean Corso, what I would call a book "ascertainer," because he doesn't really deal them.  He just gets them, and someone else sells them for him, and then he gets most of the profits from the sale.  He usually gets them by underhanded means, which is established in the first few moments of the film, just so you know what sort of person your anti-hero is.  Then Corso is summoned by one of his customary well-paying clients, a man named Boris Balkan (Frank Langella).  Balkan wants Corso to investigate his most-recently acquired purchase, "The Nine Gates," by Aristide de Torcia, reputed to be co-written by the Devil himself.  Corso isn't a believer, but a mercenary.  Working for money, Corso begins his investigation, and finds a little more than he bargained for.

I forgot what channel I watched the Ninth gate on, but it was one of the premium cable channels.  This is the only time I like Johnny Depp, playing Corso.  Frank Langella is an awesome Balkan, and Lena Olin and Emmanuelle Seigner are both beautiful and excellent in their own roles.  The Ninth Gate is like a james bond flick for bibliophiles, where Depp is Bond, and almost everyone else is the bad guy.  It actually took me until this latest viewing to figure out wtf happened at the end, not that it was particularly hard, I mean, it's all mapped out in the movie, I just never pieced it together.  Meh, maybe I was drunk all the other times I've seen it.  Who knows?  :-D  I highly recommend watching it, though it does start out a little slow.  Works gradually up to a very satisfying conclusion, though.  Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.  :-)

That's all for tonight, only a few more reviews to go for OHMRAT 2019!  Woohoo!  Halloween is only a few days away!