La main des ténèbres

I had sinking feeling when I put the tape of Netherworld on and the first thing I saw on the screen were the words Full Moon Entertainment. An oxymoron if there ever was one. Netherworld isn't that bad. It isn't that great either but it's more watchable than one would expect for a Full Moon production.

The plot revolves around a young man called Corey Thornton who inherits a property in the bayous of Louisiana after his long lost father dies. When he arrives there to check out his property he finds a set of instructions written down in a journal by his father explaining how he had been involved in black magic and detailing how Corey can bring him back to life. Strangely enough Corey isn't all that freaked out about this and without much prevarication sets about in bringing his old man about from the dead. Corey's lack of reluctance to use magic to bring his father back from the dead might have something to do with the fact it involves having sex with an attractive woman. Thornton senior, or old man Thornton as the staff of his mansion refer to him, gained his abilities with magic through having sex with local prostitute and shaman Delores. I was worried that this premise might an excuse for lots of softcore shenanigins but it restrains itself on the erotic thriller front.

Not a lot happens, and the running time of 84 minutes is breezed through. There is a subplot involving the housekeeper and her 'jailbait' daughter, who looks like she is in her mid twenties- by the standards set in this movie most guys are pederasts or potential pederasts. The daughter falls for the handsome young Corey but her mother understandably disapproves, given Corey seems to be sinking further and further into the black arts and tries to use her own magic against him. There is also some stuff with Delores having encounters with local low-lives. The introduction deals with her dispatching a would be rapist by summoning a flying stone hand that can pass though walls. The mysterious flying stone hand is definitely the coolest thing in the movie. There is a whole bunch of scenes involving Delores and her cronies and acting creepy and also some stuff with a big, weird and probably gay guy, who used to work for Thornton senior, intermittently helping Corey in his quest to find out more about his father and threatening him with violence and/or unwarranted sexual advances. The character completely disappears from the story about halfway having done very little. There is a rather brief mystical showdown ending which seems rather abrupt and unless Hughie Lewis is involved somehow the whole 'power of love' resolution doesn't fly with me.

Netherworld is a serviceable piece of entertainment. It is quite succinct and it doesn't quite go in the direction I was expecting but on the flipside not a lot does actually happen and when it does it is all over with a bit too quickly. There are few mildly cool things about it. As mentioned, the flying stone hand. The movie has a distinctive atmosphere with an oddly laidback vibe and good use made of the eerie bayou setting. A fair amount of the movie is set in the whore-house and attached bar, which is an interesting, if goofy, location. There are brawls breaking out there constantly, weird masked figures roaming the corridors, it is big and creepy with a system of tunnels underneath, a jazz band playing constantly, lots of weird mystical trappings and a crazy prostitute who claims to be Marilyn Munroe brought back from the dead. Though to be honest if I were inclined to go to brothels I would probably pick one less creepy and weird, even if the prostitutes are as unfeasibly attractive as the ones at this place. There are a few other touches I liked, such as the bird motif. It is indicated the victims of Delores and her flying stone hand have their souls trapped in the birds she keeps caged about the place and those somehow affect by her magic find feathers growing out of the side of their heads, just above the ears. There is also a creepy lawyer (The best kind), who doesn't do much in the movie other than provide some exposition, who wears for no obvious reason protective leather gloves all the time, who is kind of cool. The soundtrack is quite good and there is an amusing post credits joke that you would have to watch the movie to understand. On the downside protagonist Corey Thompson is played and scripted in the ways of the bland is better school of characterisation and is pretty useless. There is also a really bad voice-over near the start of the movie which tries to be deep and mysterious by constantly using two or three adjectives when only one would suffice e.g. 'It was unknowable, unimaginable, inconceivable. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your tastes, it disappears for most of the film.

On the whole, you could do better but you could do worse. I just wish they had made a sequel focusing the flying stone hand.

NETHERWORLD (1992)

BASIC PLOT: A man, Corey Thornton (Michael Bendetti), returns home to Louisiana, after his father, Noah (Robert Sampson), dies, to claim his estate. It's an old world plantation, with many strange happenings, and people. Corey, who never knew his father, becomes preoccupied with him, by reading his father's diaries. He begins dreaming of his father's mistress, Delores (Denise Gentile). He is warned by Diane Palmer (Holly Floria), the daughter of the woman who runs the plantation, against going to the backwoods brothel where Delores works. But his dreams keep intensifying, and the pull is strong. There are many powerful Voodoo Queens about, but which one can he trust? Is there a way to discover his father's true intentions, before his passions consume him?

WHAT WORKS: *This is an atmospheric, plain and simple. The only problem here, is they forgot to layout the plot and characters, so what you are left with, falls short. It does have beautiful locations, and beautiful people.

*Louisiana Voodoo is it's own religion, separate from Haitian Voodoo, Cuban Sanitaria, or Hoodoo. It is heavily dominated by women, Voodoo priestesses, which this movie accurately portrays. The women have the real power in the movie, and in the spiritual arts of Louisiana.

*Imprisoning souls in birds, is a cool take on an old Haitian Voodoo practice, but doesn't have much to do with reality. I can forgive this, it is fiction after all, but one cool plot device, can't carry the whole movie.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *There's no plot, not really. I'm a huge fan of Full Moon Productions, and this is not terrible, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

*There's no character development AT ALL! Not one character had a backstory, it's all surface. He's an accountant, a henchman, a prostitute, does that tell you anything? NO!

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *If you are a fan of Full Moon movies, you might want to see this. If you like movies that contain Voodoo, or Louisiana locations, you might like this. Otherwise, I'd probably give this a pass. It had real potential, they just never utilized any of it.

CLOSING NOTES: *I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

NETHERWORLD, a Full Moon picture set in the Louisiana swamps, successfully delivers a Gothic atmosphere filled with lush vegetation, isolated manor homes, and brothels operated by voodoo sorceresses. However, thanks to a hopelessly cheesy script, the film never transcends its early-90s low-budget roots.

The plot concerns a Corey Thornton, a dashing young man who has just inherited a vast estate from the father he never knew in life. While combing through the deceased's papers, he discovers that his father's last wish was to be brought back from the dead. Corey becomes obsessed with this task and seeks help from those around him: Bijou (the slobbering neighborhood idiot-savant), Diane (Southern-fried "jailbait" who actually looks to be about 25 years old), his father's lawyer (who has mysteriously deformed hands), and of course Delores (a prostitute with big hair and mystical powers).

The action alternates between Corey's manor house and Tonk's, the brothel-next-door, where all the girls are named after dead celebrities...or have Marilyn Monroe and Mary Magdalene really been resurrected?! The band plays smooth jazz as passions rise and Delores casts sultry glances at everyone. Then things get weird. A hand flies out of the wall and starts killing people, whose souls become trapped inside the bodies of birds. A bird which is clearly a hand puppet screams "NEVERRRRRR!" We finally descend to the Netherworld, where the forces of evil fight for control of Corey's mind in a scene that will leave you wondering, "Oh...that was the climax?" All in all, Netherworld is a good bit of entertainment which never gets boring; however, one can't shake the feeling that if slightly more money and effort had been put into it, it could have been good instead of just adequate.

This movie seems to be a surprisingly gentle film for its genre.I think the sound track lures you into this feeling.With the music luring you into such a tranquil feeling. There are a few surprises in the form of rushes that will catch you totally off guard.I found that my main interest focused on the sound track.Some very " comforting" sounds.On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give the movie an over all rating of 7 1/2 to 8.I would also like to locate a copy of the sound track for home use.

Poor movie, some nasty special effects and several beautiful girls are the ingredients of a horror movie that makes you smile, unintentionally, at how bad it was done.