Doctor Mabuse

I had high hopes for this indie go at a film with the super criminal Norbert Jacques created in 1921 but was horribly disappointed. While I went with a high degree enthusiasm (and never imagined the film to be in the theme of Lang's Mabuse films) and sat through the entire film, I was supremely disappointed in the Ansel Faraj-helmed effort.

The film is unevenly acted, obtusely written and far, far too pretentious. It doesn't work merely as a piece of art, and as entertainment it's a thermonuclear fail many times over.

A second Mabuse film is said to be in pre-production by the same group, a fact that defies belief after seeing this misguided effort.

An absolutely terrible, amateurish, silly take on the old Dr. Mabuse character with virtually no redeeming value. Okay, the blue screen look of the film is occasionally striking, but this is a mess when it comes to a solid script, strong characters, suspense, tension, or any coherent excitement. I felt sorry for the old "Dark Shadows" actors, of which only Kathryn Leigh Scott gives a memorable performance in a laughably under-written role.

I can only imagine that somebody got their relatives or people who worked on the film to write these rave reviews. The new Spielberg? Come on!

Due to my love of the original Dark Shadows tv series and it's many actors, I came upon doing a deep dive into filmmaker Ansel Faraj's filmography the last few months.

Faraj having made this film at such a young age is extremely impressive! The mood and actors included are definitely the cherry on top! (DS alumni Jerry Lacy, Kathryn Leigh Scott and the beautiful Lara Parker!)

Going back to an early film like Mabuse was really exciting and rewarding to see what Ansel has been able to do in the years since this release! I highly recommend 2019's "Loon Lake" also starring DS alumni's, like David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott (once more!)

as the movie began , I thought, hmmm...I am now in a theater, in Europe , in the early 30's...then i started looking for reference points, Ed Wood, David Lynch, Fritz Lang, Tarhovsky,Dan Curtis...but by then I was lost at sea with Mabuse and Ansal Faraj and I was scared. ..and amazed..I had never seen such a film!But I was captivated with the ever growing sense of DREAD, mind control, grief, and utter helplessness...aspects of my life were mirrored, all the actors were committed to the unfolding horror...a filmic Greek Tragedy...not for the faint of heart. Lacy, Scott, Parker , all excellent in their new reincarnations. It seems Dark Shadows lives again, in parallel time, in the brilliant fearlessness of young director, Ansal Faraj.

See this movie because Ansel Faraj has been able to do something new in a way that filmmakers twice to three times his age seemed to have never known how to do. Doctor Mabuse is a wholly original film and fearless while it's at it -- detailing a contemporarily rendered vision of fear, even if set in "period" times between the wars yet, as we are now, always in a state of war. Fear, paranoia, claustrophobia, conformity and the banality of evil combine in a visually arresting and mind-blowing way to tell a simply great and terrifying story. Jerry Lacy MAKES the film along with a cast turning in good to great performances that enhance Lacy's dark embodiment of evil. Part homage, part brand new vision and always an analogy for our times, Doctor Mabuse is not only a highly worthy and frightening story in and of itself but marks a serious entry into movie-making. Ansel Faraj means it!