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Begotten

  • 1989
  • Unrated
  • 1h 12m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Brian Salzberg in Begotten (1989)
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Play trailer3:58
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Body HorrorFolk HorrorFantasyHorror

Presented in a surreal, gory and entirely visual manner, Begotten tells of the death of religion, the abuse of nature by Man and a nihilistic outlook on what life ultimately is.Presented in a surreal, gory and entirely visual manner, Begotten tells of the death of religion, the abuse of nature by Man and a nihilistic outlook on what life ultimately is.Presented in a surreal, gory and entirely visual manner, Begotten tells of the death of religion, the abuse of nature by Man and a nihilistic outlook on what life ultimately is.

  • Director
    • E. Elias Merhige
  • Writers
    • E. Elias Merhige
    • Tom Gunning
  • Stars
    • Brian Salzberg
    • Donna Dempsey
    • Stephen Charles Barry
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.6/10
    12K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • E. Elias Merhige
    • Writers
      • E. Elias Merhige
      • Tom Gunning
    • Stars
      • Brian Salzberg
      • Donna Dempsey
      • Stephen Charles Barry
    • 164User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:58
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    Photos13

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    Top cast11

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    Brian Salzberg
    • God Killing Himself
    Donna Dempsey
    • Mother Earth
    Stephen Charles Barry
    • Son Of Earth - Flesh On Bone
    James Gandia
    Garfield White
    Arthur Streeter
      Daniel Harkins
      Michael Phillips
      Adolfo Vargas
      Erik Slavin
      Terry Andersen
      • Director
        • E. Elias Merhige
      • Writers
        • E. Elias Merhige
        • Tom Gunning
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews164

      5.612.4K
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      Featured reviews

      8bannoy

      Scarred for life

      Don't watch this film while, or soon after, eating.

      Having said that, Begotten will stick with you for the rest of your life, like it or not. Based on the nihilistic philosophy that life is nothing more than man spasming above ground (to paraphrase the title sequence/introduction), this will more than likely contain the most intense and grisly imagery you'll ever see in a film.

      There is no dialogue, only image after image describing the cycle of life. The film's combination of stark black and white photography compounded with some truly creepy background sounds work to drive home the maker's message.

      The movie begins with God (portrayed as a bandaged and obviously insane man) slicing open his torso with a straight razor and subsequently dying in his own filth. After his death, Mother Nature emerges from his corpse to impregnate herself with his blood and semen and gives birth to Man, represented by a maggot of a human convulsing on the earth.

      The landscape is a barren waste, populated by hulking shrouded humanoids who eventually happen upon Mother Nature and Man. After a slew of violent scenes depicting the rape of Nature and destruction of Man, these humanoids proceed to pound the remains of the corpses back into the ground, and the cycle of life begins anew.

      I actually rented this from Blockbuster one night, based on the cover art and hype content, but this is definitely not a Blockbuster-type film. Don't expect narrative, dialogue or any pulled punches. This is intense imagery based on a dark subject.

      I give this movie some high marks for the filmwork and audio, but I don't think I'll be watching it too often, if again. I like my movies dark and unique, but this one is exponentially more than I expected.
      6Flak_Magnet

      Disturbing, one-of-a-kind neo-psychedelic art film

      This is not a casual movie-going experience; its unnerving, dark, and filled with upsetting imagery. This film has a sort of evil, misanthropic feel to it that's difficult to explain succinctly. For more daring viewers, though, E. Elias Merhige's "Begotten" offers a unique and somewhat terrifying experience that is not easily forgotten. The storyline, if you can call it that, plays out in three loose acts, each personified by the brutalization and unfortunate death of the "character," who are themselves representative of an axiom and/or figurehead in any number of Judo Christean and Pagan religions. Ostensibly, the three defining characters are credited as "God Killing Himself," "Son of Earth," and "Mother Earth," with the remaining, nameless characters credited as "Theatre of Material," which apparently was Merhige's production company. The overall look of the film harks strongly of early silent films, with loose blobs of shadow predominating and copious simulated scratches and aging present in nearly every frame. Its very cool to witness the obvious hard work that went into creating such a look. The imagery itself, though, is quite brutal and strong enough to ward off nearly all of the mainstream. If you like Black Metal, Black Ambient/Industrial, or other dark and uncompromising art, though, you should really dig this movie. Its a terrific, memorable nightmare and arguably a strange sort of milestone. in the realm of avante-gard film. Watch this one with ALL the lights out... ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet
      grob248

      Definitely bizzarre, but the meaning is subjective

      Definitely one of the most bizarre pieces of moviemaking you will ever see. You need to sit through "Eraserhead," "Tetsuo:The Iron Man," and the like to have at least some preparation for this one. Not that I am about to claim that I understand what the film's intentions are. If it wasn't for the brief summary on the tape's cover, then I would be completely at loss, and even that wasn't really much help. Then again, as some people below have argued, it just may be some self-indulging mumbo-jumbo, so there might not be any need to stress over the meaning of it. In any case, because people's opinions on this movie are completely bipolar, I simply concluded that it can be looked at as, so to say, "raw matter" or "raw substance" (whichever you prefer), and one should just make out of it what he can, using his/her own perspective, experiences, etc. In other words, it's all very subjective. Personally, I can't say that I got something intellectually fulfilling out of it. I enjoyed the bleakness and weirdness of it all, though we all know how wearisome these things can become. So basically, give it a try if you are into all things out of this world, but you should probably keep you expectations reserved.
      sallyfifth

      Beyond the Arthouse

      Against all my better judgement I sat captivated by this film. My watch, the sky outside, the hunger pangs in my belly becoming distant and thin. Is it a movie? I still don't know, it's more like opening up a window onto a world that exists elsewhere and just watching things happen. The stark grainy black and white is so grotesquely beautiful, it feels alien. This isn't "arthouse" filmmaking as we've come to understand the term. This is art. Living and breathing, entirely regardless of my interpretation, of my wants, or my needs in a film. If that sounds like something you want to see, by all means.
      5dfranzen70

      A literal example of "gross religious symbolism"

      Begotten is one of those movies that's aimed at a very specific audience. It's not for people who are easily offended, or even mildly so. It's not for people who prefer easy-to-follow plots or who prefer clear, crisp cinematography. It's really for people who relish weird movies, particularly ones that Mean Something, the better to analyze endlessly. Me, I don't care so much for the over-analyzing bit, but I do like me some weirdness. And boy, does Begotten get weird. And gory.

      Reasons you might not like this movie, reader: 1) It's in black and white. (I know!) 2) It has no dialogue. 3) It looks like it was shot on Super 8mm film, transferred to Betamax, copied over to cave drawings, and then digitally recorded. What I mean to say is that grainy is a word that applies here. It's kind of like the old days, when one might get a partial signal for a TV channel to which one had not subscribed. Except at no point is the signal clear in Begotten. Where was I? Oh, yeah. 4) Its religious undertones are overtones, and they're not exactly reverential. 5) There's plenty of blood and other fluids.

      Now those of you who, according to the above paragraph, not like this movie should stop reading now. Are they gone? Okay, rest of you. Here's the basic plot. There are no twists – the appeal is visual, believe it or not – because there's almost no story. It begins with God killing himself through disembowelment, which somehow causes Mother Earth to be born, and then a few minutes later she gives birth to a fully formed Son of God, who's really nothing more than a shaking skeleton with some skin on him, and then they're beset by faceless cannibals, and then things get weird.

      If you do watch Begotten, be sure to cleanse yourself with some wholesome Yo Gabba Gabba afterward.

      Related interests

      Jeff Goldblum in La Mouche (1986)
      Body Horror
      Florence Pugh in Midsommar (2019)
      Folk Horror
      Elijah Wood in Le Seigneur des anneaux : La Communauté de l'anneau (2001)
      Fantasy
      Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
      Horror

      Storyline

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      Did you know

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      • Trivia
        Approximately eight to ten hours of optical work - rephotographing, visual treatments and filtering - were required to produce one minute of film. The total post-production period for the 72-minute movie was eight months.
      • Quotes

        [first lines]

        Title card: Language bearers, Photographers, Diary makers. You with your memory are dead, frozen. Lost in a present that never stop passing. Here lies the incantation of matter. A language forever.

      • Connections
        Edited into Marilyn Manson: Cryptorchid (1996)

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      FAQ14

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • June 5, 1991 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Language
        • None
      • Also known as
        • Порожденный
      • Filming locations
        • New York, USA
      • Production company
        • Theatre Of Material
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

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      • Budget
        • $33,000 (estimated)
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Tech specs

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      • Runtime
        • 1h 12m(72 min)
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

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