Film Review: NEFARIOUS (2023) 2 and a half out of 5 stars.

A serial killer on death row. The day of his scheduled execution. A state-appointed psychiatrist comes to evaluate the killer's mental competency. If the inmate is found insane, a stay of execution will be issued. Problem is, the killer claims to be possessed by a demon named Nefarious, a manipulative evil entity that is out to spread a “dark gospel” to all of humanity. What follows is a psychological/philosophical game of cat and mouse between the psychiatrist, a man of science and an atheist, and an ingenious killer who may or may not be a servant of hell.

Nefarious (2023) has, excuse the pun, one hell of a set-up. Too bad it doesn't deliver.

From the opening scene, which features a not so subtle hint that there are otherworldly forces at play, it’s obvious that the filmmakers aren't really in total control of the film's tone. The main crux of the film is the discourse between the psychiatrist and the inmate. Such a set-up depends mainly on the quality of the dialogue and performances. In Nefarious' case, both are sadly lacking.

Sean Patrick Flannery, a capable and versatile actor, delivers a twitchy, grating performance as the killer slash demon, and his dialogue is so on the nose about the film's message of a new dark age brought about by corrupt institutions and radical leftist ideology, that by the midway point, the film has little to offer. Jordan Belfi, on the other hand, is miscast as the slick, complacent psychiatrist, whose materialist worldview is seemingly no match for the spiritual maneuvering of the killer. While the script does little to add depth to either character, or provide any plot twists that haven't already been done to death.

The direction, by writing/directing team Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, is competent but uninspired, giving the film an amateurish, bland feel, mainly due to a lack of atmosphere and an engaging sound design, both of which are musts for a film of this genre.

I went into Nefarious really wanting to like it, as I'm always on the side of a good independent film that has the courage to go against the mainstream. But Nefarious is a hard film to defend, as it commits the cardinal sin of most faith-based, and rigidly ideological films: it preaches to the choir, while not doing enough to win over viewers with different politics or worldviews.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2023.

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Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @DFantasticPodcast

The Dark Fantastic is sponsored by VHS Books:

Book Review: WASHINGTON SQUARE By Henry James.

Washington Square, first published in 1880, is Henry James’ least favorite of his own works.

At first glance, it’s hard to see why. It’s one of his most accessible books, it’s highly readable, and the story deals with such heady subjects as greed, overbearing parents, and the plight of women in the 19th century.

The story takes place in 1840s New York City, and focuses on Catherine Sloper, a gentle introvert living with her father, Dr. Austin Sloper, a noted physician, in Washington Square. But her relationship with her father is an uneasy one, as the Doctor does not hold his daughter in high regard, disappointed with what he considers her unremarkable nature.

Enter Morris Townsend, an attractive, charming, and worldly young man, who quickly sets his sights on Catherine. Dr. Sloper quickly opposes the relationship, suspecting Morris of only wanting his daughter for her sizable inheritance. And from that moment on, a battle of wills ensues, with Catherine at the center of it all. It’s a simple, melodramatic premise, with well-drawn characters, and plenty of psychological twists and turns, handled in that elegant and absorbing manner that only James could pull off.

But a closer look into the heart and style of the novel reveals why James hated the book so: It is the cast of characters, an unlikable bunch that all seem to revel in abusing Catherine’s heart and soul. They act and speak in an overwrought, occasionally grating manner, very uncharacteristic of James’ usual writing style. This is James at his least elegant; James not in complete control of his creations. This makes Washington Square one of the few stories that James ever wrote, in which melodrama almost threatens to overwhelm the narrative and drown out James’ usual quiet voice; his elegantly delivered insight into the psychology and inner lives of his characters.

No wonder James himself called the novel “poorish”, describing Catherine Sloper as “the only good thing in the story.” But, in a way, James was being too hard on the novel. Yes, Washington Square is one of his most flawed and cynical works, but it’s also a solid read, which, despite its rudimentary plot, manages to be a page-turner.

One wonders, though, what makes the book one of James’ most popular novels. Is it the readability factor? The uncharacteristic cynicism? The dark pall that hangs over Catherine, and, for that matter, the whole story? James has often been accused of being too restrained, too gentle with his pen, a charge that misses the entire reason why his work lives on. As it is that restraint, that seeming gentleness, which hides beneath it layers upon layers of drama, psychological insight, and storytelling momentum.

I suspect that the reason Washington Square is so popular with modern audiences is that it’s James at his loudest, at his least restrained. This is a book that easily grabs your attention, that demands less of you than, say, Roderick Hudson or The Aspern Papers. But as flawed as it is, it is still a wonderful, absorbing story that has more nuance and storytelling power within its pages, than most novels of its era, or any other era, for that matter.

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Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2023.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @DFantasticPodcast

The Dark Fantastic is sponsored by VHS Books:

Film Review: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (2023). 3 out of 5.

The less you know about Sympathy For The Devil (2023), the better.

That’s not to say that the plot is full of surprises, or that it’s somehow original. But the enjoyment of this kind of movie, centered on two characters, and structured around unraveling their pasts at a leisurely pace, depends on the viewer going in cold.

The plot: a meek middle-aged man (Joel Kinneman) on his way to the hospital for the birth of his second child, gets taken hostage at gunpoint by an unstable stranger dressed in red (Nicolas Cage). Under the stranger’s direction, they go on the road to destinations unknown. By the end of the journey, one of them will be dead.

It’s an intriguing, reliable concept, and director Yuval Adler handles it well enough, while Kinneman delivers a good performance as an everyday man in over his head, facing an almost demonic villain, played with enjoyable ferocity by Cage.

Problem is, everything about the film comes off as uneven. While Adler manages to create a compelling watching experience that has a certain mood, he doesn’t really have total command of the film’s tone. The film begins as a serious psychological thriller with existential undertones, then veers into standard revenge thriller territory, with Cage both enlivening and confusing matters with a bonkers performance that seems to promise revelations that never come.

The ending is not exactly surprising for this type of story, and seems to hint at some kind of religious/spiritual subtext that must have got lost in the way.

In the end, Sympathy For The Devil is a flawed but compelling night journey into the pasts of haunted men.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2023.

Watch or Listen to the video version:

 

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @DFantasticPodcast

The Dark Fantastic is sponsored by VHS Books:

Book Review: NEXT By Michael Crichton. 3 and a 1\2 out of 5.

Next (2006), the last novel to be published by Michael Crichton during his lifetime, is kind of a greatest hits collection. Yet, in a way, it’s also unlike anything he’d written before. It combines many of his favorite themes and obsessions, to produce a book that is bitingly satirical, surprisingly cynical, and, paradoxically, one of his most humane.

Crichton goes for broke here, creating a multi-layered and sprawling novel with a multitude of characters and plotlines, some of which, by the end of the book, will converge. It’s useless to go into details about the story itself. The plot is just too complex to summarize. Suffice it to say that Crichton tackles the issue of gene patenting, and how playing God leads to complicated and, sometimes, disastrous consequences.

He’s dealt with these issues before in many of his books, but never in such an assured and humorous manner.

Next is the work of a writer at the peak of his powers, using every technique at his disposal, every lesson learned from a lifetime of writing. With Next, Crichton creates the sort of novel 2003's State of Fear should have been. With State of Fear, Crichton courageously took on the global warming/climate change hysteria, and tried to expose those he called “catastrophists”, scientists, politicians, and media personalities who use genuine environmental concerns, and blow them all out of proportion to induce fear and gain control of public opinion for their own benefit. But the novel came across as half-cooked and meandering, and didn't really make its point that clear.

Next, on the other hand, fires on almost all cylinders, with Crichton in complete control of his narrative. He takes on politicians, tech moguls, corrupt scientists, ego-maniacal businessmen, evangelists, and many more, with gleeful, dark humor.

Sometimes he lays it on a bit too thick, and his vitriol isn't always evenly meted out, but he succeeds in producing a piece of work that is literally unputdownable, and a joy to read; one of the few Crichton books I felt I could re-read almost instantly.

While not as propulsive and action-packed as some of his best techno-thrillers, Next is a terrific, intelligent novel, filled to the brim with ideas, many of which are thought-provoking and more timely than ever.

A must for fans. For newcomers to Crichton's work, I'd recommend The Andromeda Strain or Airframe.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2023.

Watch or listen to the video version:

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @DFantasticPodcast