The Invocation of Enver Simaku

The fact that this film has very low ratings doesn't surprise me: in order to understand it, you need a wealth of historical knowledge that is not taken for granted. The horror plot intertwines with the recent history of Albania, of which it is necessary to have at least some notions to understand different elements of the film. The story also proceeds quite slowly, while remaining in a climate of constant anguish. Visually however it is very interesting and the acting is good. It's a raw, gritty, non-commercial horror film that evidently isn't to everyone's taste (understandably, shall we say).

This is a very strange film. If I hadn't written down the title a while ago it would be impossible to find. Google 'Albanian horror' and it's nowhere to be seen.

It's simultaneously a tourist promotional video of Albania's beauty spots, a political protest, and a stylish horror story.

It's beautifully shot, but has some strange issues. The actors talk in English, except when they don't. Not a problem if it had subtitles and the scenes didn't go on for ten minutes.

The main actor is very serious, but also painfully monotonous. It's just a drowning noise after a while. The film also includes a genuinely creepy shot of an actresses. It just goes on and on and on. I suspect the director is a good candidate for a certain register.

The horror element is good, and actually builds towards a fairly satisfying resolution.

THE INVOCATION OF ENVER SIMAKU documents the effort of a man who tries to find out what exactly happened during a particular night in 1997 when his wife and dozens of local Albanian villagers were murdered by a seeming madman, and a period of upheaval began in the entire country.

This is a slow-burn story which takes its time to follow various leads and in the meanwhile introduces us to various topics of Albanian culture, geography and history. For a movie that is not a real documentary, it contains quite a lot of such information, and I found this aspect the most interesting. Now I know, for example, that Albania during Communist times was declared the world's first atheist country, prohibiting the exercise of religion altogether until the regime's downfall in 1990; that superstition and belief in folk myths such as the kukuth, a demon-like creature that is supposed to make people do horrible things, began to occupy the vacuum of belief in at least in some people; and that the fall of the Albanian right-wing government in 1997 was catalyzed by the failure of Ponzi schemes and subsequent losses in which the overwhelming majority of the population had invested based on the irresponsible endorsement by their government.

When it comes to the story itself, it doesn't generate too much excitement, save for a couple of unsettling scenes, of which the seeming slow emergence of a kukuth from behind a couch (or was it just the imagination?) is probably the most notable. The ending, which recapitulates the beginning, seems to have been conceived as poetic but ends up being anticlimactic.

The film is at pains to say that it is based on true events. Whether it really is or not I can't tell, but all the background info I checked turned out correct. So, this is probably most suited for people who like to learn more about other cultures in general and Albania in particular.

First i wouldn't call it horror, a bit creepy at best.

The movie is a documentary style story, mostly interviews and not much happening except for a few mysterious shots of creatures lurking in the shadows.

Most of the time it's in english, but some parts aren't which didn't bother me, i have subtitles on anyway.

During the first few minutes, I was skeptical- thought it was some student project. And then it was getting better and better every moment. Some real history, political impact, folk myths, paranormal investigation- it had everything. Was there any scientific explanation of the incidents? Or all of the said story was mass hysteria? Or really something occult? You'll start to ask these within half hour.

It is indeed a different kind of movie, and a good one. And no, don't expect any ghost or gore from this movie.