Begotten (1990)
Genre: Horror / Experimental
Duration: 78 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: E. Elias Merhige
Stars: Brian Salzberg, Stephen Charles Barry and Donna Dempsey
IMDb score:
5,5 (12.847)
Releasedate: 5 June 1991
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Begotten plot
"The Extraordinary First Film From The Director Of Shadow Of The Vampire"
Begotten is a constantly pulsating black-and-white nightmare without dialogue about a destructive pagan ritual in a barren landscape. Starring God, Mother Earth and the Son of Earth.
Actors and actresses
Reviews & comments
Woland
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- 4837 messages
- 3880 votes
A bizarre work, this Begotten. It starts off typically vague and bloody, with a gritty black-and-white suicide/rebirth ritual of a character who is apparently supposed to represent God himself. Then it continues in the same vein, with even more alienating, pitch-black images of an excruciatingly slow stream of violence, torture, blood, rape, and often just images where it is not entirely clear what exactly is going on, although it does look ominous. Apparently Begotten is a free interpretation of the Bible book of Genesis, although I would not have thought of it that way. The cinematography is also unorthodox; the entire film consists of gritty black-and-white images, which evoke the feeling that you are watching an occult rite from a distant and dark past. Experimental with a capital E. And in all honesty, also Pretentious with a capital P.
The film feels very long, even though it only lasts a good 70 minutes. Narratively it is not exactly clear what is happening, let alone why, and often it is a matter of letting the dark images wash over you. And since dialogue is also completely absent, it is still quite a sit to watch Begotten. Still, it was intriguing every now and then: 3.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11670 messages
- 6867 votes
Atmospheric.
Begotten is not the bad and ultra cheap film that I had expected beforehand. Now I already knew that this film probably would not roll into my favorite films of all time, but nevertheless the film surprised me more than expected. In addition, the film really had a budget, since 30,000 dollars is still a pretty decent amount for your first film.
The opening is actually already a hit (and is now well-known among fans) and has therefore deservedly become famous. This scene is immediately quite creepy, and especially nasty. That second one doesn't really stop as the film progresses. Begotten exudes a very angry and annoying atmosphere, and Merhige in the director's chair does a perfect job of working that out. It feels completely like a nightmare.
The acting is hard for me to judge, especially since you can barely see the cast. Both the filters and the complete lack of dialogue make the actors/actresses hard to recognize, but even if they had been recognizable, none of them seem to have really broken through. I don't really take this as criticism, but not as a compliment either.
The sad thing about the film is that it all remains very vague, and I therefore understood little of the film. I would never have guessed that the character in the opening scene was supposed to represent God. You really only find out things like that when the director himself reveals it, and I find that vagueness here very much spread out over the film.
Furthermore, the film does not always manage to remain interesting, but there is certainly talent in the result. Strong filters, tight editing and a lot of nasty scenes that will remain etched on your retina for a while. Perhaps it has become a confusing mess in the meantime, but if you manage to keep your attention on the film for a while, you will be faced with an ominous and nightmarish whole. Good.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
I didn't really know what to expect, but that became clear very quickly. In terms of style, it reminded me of the experimental black-and-white short films of Peter Tscherkassky, mostly found on Mubi.
I found Begotten fascinating and creepy. That first scene immediately hits home and I had the idea throughout the film that the film affected me more than I initially thought. The black and white images are blurry and hazy. It is not always clear what you see, but your suggestive brain links unpleasant recognizable images to it. I also think that it is one of those films where the black and white and hazy images actually worked to reinforce it. Those opening images for example with that unrecognizable person, uncomfortable with that self-mutilation and self-murder. The focus is on his legs and the blood gushes down in dark black globs.
And later you are watching a dying corpse with crooked fingers and hands from the pain. I even saw moments of masturbation passing by. Very strange, but effective. Shocking images (literally and figuratively), a bit long drawn out although a good 70 minutes is not necessarily long. Content-wise quite abstract without a clear goal. Perhaps a bit too repetitive in nature, but certainly watched with fascination. Quite strong!
Translated from Dutch · View original
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