"MEDUSA"
Summoning the Spirit
Amos Lassen
What I love about Jorge Ameer's films is that I am always left with something to think about. I have been hearing about "Medusa" for sometime now but had not been able to learn much about it. Therefore I was super pleased when I had the chance to have a private look.
In the film we meet mythology professor, Jack Peruci (Jeff Allen) who has managed to get his hands on an antique mirror from a very shady witch doctor, Kao (played by director Jorge Ameer). What Peruci did not know was the mirror is haunted and he learns this by examining it closely when he gets it home. As he studies the mirror, he has several supernatural experiences and the more time that he spends with the mirror, the more involved he becomes with the strange forces behind it. Because of his field of study, he think he understands what is going on until it turns evil and he realizes that he might be in danger.
A dedicated mythology professor (Jeff Allen) finds an evil witch doctor (Jorge Ameer) that summons the spirit of the gorgon Medusa. The gorgon Medusa tries to take his soul and she does whatever possible to react that end. At this point in the film, the viewer must suspend disbelief and let him/herself go and just become part of the film. Since we live in a modern world, we sometimes have trouble believing in the supernatural but I can tell you this film is so convincing that I do not see how it is possible not to believe. It is Ameer's skill as a director that he uses to pull us into the action and it happens without our even realizing it.
Medusa uses her supernatural powers to gain Jack's soul and she wants it so badly that she goes as far as to manipulate Jack's surroundings and this causing chaos in his life and thereby hoping to be able to enter his world. He is to be, for her, a vessel of resurrection. She manages to affect Jack's dreams and turn them into nightmares and as they become stronger, Jack seeks help. He turns to his friend, Stephen Craig (Tom Stuckhoff), a psychologist whose field is hypnotherapy hoping that will help him to understand what is going on and to solve the mystery of Medusa. But things do not work out as he had hoped and when Craig examines him, he discovers that is Peruci's bloodline is what is causing the nightmares and this quite simply hurts his ability to fight what is happening since it is already a part of him.
Ameer gives us a contemporary Gothic thriller and he succeeds in not only winning our attention but also has us begin to believe what we see on the screen. Crafted with style, there is a darkness that is frightening, riveting and keeps us on the edge of your seats . After its world premiere at the Cannes Film on May 17, 2015.
