Pandemonium

Pandemonium (2023, France), at face-value presents three ostensibly loose standing stories which all lead to almost everyone, fairly or unfairly, ending up in hell and going through a Dantesque process of suffering.

At this level the story engages questions around the moral values, if any, of those who "judge" humanity and as such the potential irrelevance of human existentialism.

There is also space for interpreting the film. An example of this flows mainly from the final aspect around the reincarnation of the Anti-Christ and the immediately preceding remarks around time being a human construct and not being linear. In each story we experience loss by the protagonist of family members in different ways, but there is always loss and there is always either direct or indirect guilt on the side of the protagonist. The argument for the stories thus dealing with reincarnation is not totally far-fetched and provides a solid thread to combine the stories into one larger story.

The cinematography was clearly influenced by writer and director Alexandre Claudin (Quarxx)'s artistic and atmospheric intent, inter alia demonstrated through the homage paid to various genres of horror films through the three stories.

The acting, especially by (at the time) ten year old Manon Maindevide, was top notch. The writing left obvious lacunae in the individual stories as well as the connecting story. Some might see this as a weakness in the film but it served an obvious purpose , both in relation to the main theme of existentialism / life-death-afterlife and the meaning (if any) thereof, as well as how the viewer gets his or her head around this theme, i.e. Through personal interpretation. Definitely a very unique film. 9/10.

"Pandamonium" is a bold entry into the genre of films inspired by Dante's "Divine Comedy." the film ambitiously navigates the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, much like its literary predecessor.

The narrative follows protagonist Nathan (Hugo Dillian), an ordinary man thrust into a horrifying journey through the afterlife after a tragic accident.

Nathan encounters fellow victims of the accident and their judgements. The film's strongest points lie in its ability to visualize these otherworldly realms with a creative flair from the production team. The depiction of Hell, with its haunting landscapes and tormented souls, is particularly striking, evoking both fear and fascination.

However, "Pandamonium" is not without its flaws. The film's pacing, for one, suffers significantly due to two major story breaks that delve into backstories. These segments, while informative and very thought provoking, disrupt the flow of the main narrative and detract from the film's momentum.

Both breaks explore the backstory of two victims now in the first circle of hell. While both back stories are heartbreaking and thought provoking, making you wonder if these people deserve their eternal punishment, the decision to insert these backstories within the central plotline might have been intended to enrich the characters, but instead, it comes across as jarring due to the length of the stories. A more seamless integration or a different narrative structure could have preserved the film's pacing and maintained my engagement. Although both back stories were fantastically shot and acted especially the second of the two.

Despite these interruptions, "Pandamonium" manages to maintain a decent level of intrigue and entertainment. The screenplay, skillfully weaves elements of moral questioning and if redemption is possible throughout the narrative. The dialogues, are thoughtfully written, often reflecting the philosophical undertones of the source material. The film raises pertinent questions about the nature of sin, forgiveness, and the possibility of redemption, making it a contemplative experience for the audience.

The performances are another highlight of the film. Delivers a compelling portrayal of Nathan, capturing the character's confusion and fear. Athe portrayal of the mother and daughter from the second backstory was extremely compelling and upsetting.

In conclusion, "Pandamonium" stands as a decent contender in the genre of films inspired by "The Divine Comedy." While the story breaks for backstory disrupt the pacing and could have been better integrated, the film's overall execution remains solid. It offers a thoughtful and visually engaging interpretation of Dante's classic themes. For fans of philosophical fantasy, "Pandamonium" is worth a watch, even if it occasionally stumbles along its ambitious path.

It is unclear how the plot can be end-to-end if the artistic lines are not connected, and it is unclear how this can be called an almanac if the episodes are within the same story - this was a small digression, and now about the film.

Indeed, the beginning is interesting, intriguing, shrouded in mysticism and religious meanings, and I really liked this beginning, probably all fans of mystical stories will agree with me. The first episode is not only intriguing, but also surprising with unexpected twists. In general, my impressions of the first episode are only positive, the only thing that was a little lacking was big emotional plans in moments of denial. The first episode ends with a mysterious cliffhanger of the world of the dead and the director continues the narrative with additional illogical storylines. These two additional stories contain elements of absurd arthouse, in which what is happening, to a greater and then to a lesser extent, resembles the somnambulized fantasy of childhood traumas. The second episode is aimed at a teenage audience who is struggling to entertain the quirks of a crazy girl and her dissociative disorder. There is an ugly image in this episode, which the director associates with destruction and the concept of "thanatos". But there is a provocative and disgusting reason - the bathroom scene - that highlights the director's sexual deviations.

The third episode no longer entertains, but strains with absurd action, suicidal themes and problems of adolescent cruelty - involvement in these problems deserves special praise, but how the director mixes and presents these meanings is no longer so unambiguous and not so clear, it's all about the motives of the mother. The mother's character is depersonalized and disoriented, the reasons for this behavior are not explained and are not connected with the main theme of afterlife justice. The only connection of the third episode is the magical transformation of the door into a wall. This plot solution hints at the unreality of what is happening, but I don't see any point in it except for the usual manipulation or, if you like, mystical speculation for the sake of a magical flair. Doors in this film are generally a specific fetish of the director, I do not remember a film with so many doors. Through the doors, the director submits the plot of all the episodes, they flash in almost every scene, but do not create a clear picture and are not connected with the finale, and the finale is an important part not only of the film, but also of any dramatic work.

What the viewer eventually gets: the first unfinished fascinating episode, and two subsequent, completely unrelated plots, which are more like separate short films - and it takes a significant effort of will to watch them. The finale, well, is quite okay, if you save the first episode and the ending, and cut the other two, then nothing will change except for a shortened timekeeping, which does not go beyond the short film. In fact, the film consists of three short films, in which there are meaningless characters: a postman and a neighbor, and do not forget two dozen doors, which also embody inanimate characters.

In cinema, everything should be meaningful and necessary, but this collection has its own unique atmosphere, unknown to the viewer, but so close to the director-screenwriter.

Two things are very successful in the film: the initial intrigue of the first episode, and the voicing of socially acute themes of the third episode with a dramatic and terrible scene of teenage cruelty.

No pun intended - the movie has quite the bleak outlook on (most) things. And it is quite tough on a lot of things too. You may not agree with what the movie is trying to tell you. Especially because it sort of feels like it starts off slow and fun in a way ... but really does take quite a few twists and turns. It does not care of what you expect and if you are sensitive ... things do happen (as they tend to do in life, no fair or whatever).

Our main character goes on a journey ... and it seems to end one way or another ... but does it really. And does it in the end? The movie does not take the easy way out, that is for sure. It did remind me a bit of the Silent Hill movie (20 years old or something now?) ... not the story, but the mood this creates. And the visuals to a degree .. you have to suspend your disbelief ... and not be too sensitive as I already stated above ... then you might find quite a few interesting things here ... not judging morally one way or the other ... or at least you should try not to.

Needless to say that I had never actually heard about this 2023 horror movie titled "Pandemonium" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. In fact, I didn't even know that it was a French movie that I sat down to watch when I opted to sit down and watch it, on account of it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

So in a sense, writer and director Quarxx had every opportunity to entertain and impress me here. However, that was a wasted opportunity, because "Pandemonium" was a dumpster fire of a movie. I didn't know that I was in for a horror anthology here, and had I known that this was an anthology I wouldn't have wasted 95 minutes on watching it.

The movie was off to a great start with the scene with Nathan (played by Hugo Dillon) and Daniel (played by Arben Bajraktaraj) with the crash and the choices of Heaven or Hell. But then the movie quickly went downhill. But give it a watch, perhaps you might find the segments and stories interesting. I just happened to not find the subsequent segments interesting, after the first one.

It should be said, though, that the acting performances in "Pandemonium" were good. I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, however. But that is actually something I do appreciate and enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. Just a shame that this was a dumpster fire of a horror anthology.

Visually then "Pandemonium" was okay. There were a minimal of special effects throughout the 95 minutes that the movie ran for. But the effects were adequate for what they were and served the movie well enough.

"Pandemonium" didn't impress me, much less actually entertained me. And it is not a movie that will ever grace my screen a second time.

My rating of writer and director Quarxx's 2023 horror movie "Pandemonium" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.