Top 10 Appearances of Satan in Film

I was thinking about how cool Satan is the other day. Not the serious biblical version of Satan. The characterization of the Devil in movies. What makes a good movie devil? There are basically two different types you'll likely see in a movie he's featured in. There's the horror Satan. He's a really bad guy. Responsible for possession and the gnashing of teeth and whatnot. Then there's the bargaining Devil, Mephistopheles. He's much more charming, generally suave and disguises himself as the guy you'd least likely expect to steal your soul. Sometimes he doesn't even want your soul, occasionally he's just a teacher of very harsh lessons. I'm fascinated with the interpretations of Satan on screen. Can you think of a better Super Villain? It doesn't get much more intense then the Devil himself. So I decided to make an admittedly uneven list of my favorite appearances of Satan. There's still a lot I haven't seen. I feel almost foolish for not being able to list the Devil Rides Out or Vincent Price in the Story of Mankind. I sadly have not seen those films and probably a good portion of other classics. I made a point to make this list specifically personifications or embodiments of Satan. No Anti-Christs, no devil worshiping cults, no exorcism movies, none of that unless the big bad boss himself makes an appearance.

By the way, this whole blog is just full of SPOILERS. So if you don't want to know that characters you might not have known were actually Satan until the end of the movie, um...don't read this. You've been warned.

I had to leave a few off. Either I ran out of room or it didn't meet my strict standards. One flick I was very displeased for having to omit was Jan Svankmajer's 1994 esoteric rendition of Faust.

Having a list of Satan appearances without mentioning Faust is like writing an essay on Hell in literature and leaving out Dante's Inferno. It belongs here, yet it's overpowering elements of puppetry and animation went against the idea that Satan is personified. In this masterpiece, Satan speaks through strange dolls and marionettes. Faust Lesson is a notable entry to the genre and is easily my favorite take on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's monumental tale of man's thirst for knowledge versus his moral integrity.

On that note, let's get to the list! without further adieu...


10.

Tim Curry in Legend (1985)

I figured I should go ahead and get this one out of the way for #10. I thought about leaving it off for something perhaps a little less obvious, but who am I trying to kid? I can't leave this guy off! Tim Curry was a bad ass Satan , or Lord of Darkness rather. He often refers to another entity as being higher than he. I always assumed that Darkness itself was actually "Satan" and he is just it's incarnate. I mean, he has his army of goblins kill unicorns for Christ's sake. He is one ugly dude, complete with horns, hooves and a big red face. Somehow still managing to look like Tim Curry. He's easily the coolest mainstream Satan. The only thing that's disappointing about him is that he is somehow defeated by Tom Cruise of all people. Ugh.



9.

Charlie Davoa in the Killing of Satan (1983)

Possibly one of the most underrated b-movies of all time. This Satan is responsible for more nonsense and mayhem than any other on my list. The characters in this movie have a hard time trying to kill this Satan. His obstacles include laser blasting, boulder dashing and snake slapping. His bad ass sorcery has to be seeen to be believed <3




8.

Anton Lavey in The Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)

When it comes to the occult you can always turn to Kenneth Anger for delivering a shamelessly iconoclastic product. The Invocation of My Demon Brother is arguably Anger's best short, and certainly his crowning achievement of the hippie movement. The (roughly) 10 minute short features a colorful cast of characters for a movie with zero dialog. Mick Jagger (who also did the wonderful score), Keith Richards, Kenneth Anger himself, Bobby Beausoleil who would later that year be convinced of killing Gary Hinman under the orders of Charles Manson, and none other than the creator of the Church of Satan, Anton Lavey AS Satan himself. Lavey only made two film appearances (this and the Devil's Rain, in which he also played Satan). As a character, I find him unassailably cool, but then again you only see him for a brief moment in this film so his appearance doesn't warrant I higher spot on this list. I couldn't exactly NOT include him though could I?! That would be like not including an Aleister Crowley film appearance or the Devil himself. As you can see, he's dressed like what I can only assume inspired Francis Buxton's devil costume in the Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I like that he's more of a cartoonish devil than something dark and grim. Perhaps my standards are a bit skewed. As I said, I like Anton Lavey as a character and in pop culture. His song "Satan Takes a Holiday" is pure camp, and seeing him in this classic art house favorite was a real treat.




7.

Tom Waits in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

I think we all thought it at one time or another. "Tom Waits should totally play Satan"...ok, maybe that was just me. It's always a delight to see Waits' film appearances, and this long awaited almost-didn't-happen Terry Gilliam film appeased my appetite in more ways than one. Waits plays the "devil on your shoulder" type in this one. He really doesn't seem like a bad guy at all, in fact I'd quite enjoy his company if Satan was really like this. In the end he appears to be more like Doctor Parnassus' friend than foe. That's why he's officially this lists nicest Devil, aw shucks :-)




6.

Peter Cook in Bedazzled (1967)

Not all Satans are serious. Some are just down right delightful. In Bedazzled we're treated to Peter Cook's mischievous antics against a lovesick Dudley Moore. He's more of a whimsical prankster devil. At his hellacious factory he has a conveyor belt where new hit records are being delivered specifically for him to scratch and repackage. He's the "be careful what you wish for" kind of Devil as he takes the pussified Moore through a series of would-be fantasies gone awry. It's hard to imagine that the atrocious remake with Elizabeth Hurley sprung from the loins of this comedic masterpiece.




5.


Jose Luis Aguirre ‘Trotsky’ in Santa Claus (1959)

      Once you've entered the world of cheesy Mexican kids movies, there's really no turning back. It's like making a pact with the devil in its own way. Anything with K. Gordon Murray's name attached to it is sure to be a riot. He's also responsible for Robot Vs. the Aztec Mummy, the Witch's Mirror not to mention a slue of mediocre sexploitation and El Santo movies. Add to the that, the UNfamous Rene Cardona being in the directors seat! Oh yeah, it just doesn't get better than this! "Pitch" is the bright red devil whose goal is to ruin Christmas for all the little boys and girls. I guess he's more of a minion of hell than thee actual Satan himself, but whadaya want?! For all intents and purposes he is a representation of the Devil. This movie is pure unbridled camp. Probably the plushiest movie in my Satanic roster from back when kids' movies really had something to offer and their makers had some balls!

     4.

   John Goodman in Barton Fink (1991)

      Leave it to the Cohens to insert a subtle (or not so subtle) average Joe kinda Satan in one of their bleak comedies. For the record, I'm new to Barton Fink. I only saw it this week and it was actually the inspiration for this entire list. Some people doubt that Goodman was Satan at all. I guess those people assume the hotel walls igniting into flame was just for dramatic effect? Or that his role defining quote "I'll Show You the Life of the Mind!" was just the ramblings of "Madman Mundt"? I think it's safe to say that this Faustian tale of selling ones soul to Hollywood is a bit more straight forward than that. John Goodman as Charlie Meadows falls under the likable Devil category. He's not bargaining for Barton's soul, he's just letting Fink's own arrogance lead the him down a path of misfortune, with a little extra push. In the end, Barton is trapped. Contractually shackled to Los Angeles and the broken existence of a fallen hack writer.




   3.

     
   Burgess Meredith in The Sentinel (1977)

                                                                    

      My love for Burgess Meredith may have made me a bit biased in bumping this entry to the #3 spot, but you know what? The ending of this otherwise mediocre film really shocked me! This is where that spoiler alert really comes into effect. When it's realized that the beautiful apartment our lady protagonist is living in is the gateway to Hell and that our sweet little old guy neighbor is actually the human manifestation of SATAN, I was literally floored. Consider my mind blown. I just love him and his charming face so much that I can't even begin to imagine him squashing a spider let alone being the Prince of Darkness. I don't have much to add other than "Holy Shit, I love Burgess Meredith"...

    2.

    

    Benjamin Christensen in Haxan:Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)

      Perhaps the earliest and still one of the most frightening portrayals of Satanism, witchcraft and the occult to be put on film. Haxan is like a Goya painting come to life. No film has ever matched it's beauty and horror and there will likely never be anything that tops it in that respect. Benjamin Christensen wrote, directed and starred as the beast like Devil in this fantastic opus of science and story telling. It was banned in America for it's shocking portrayal of torture and sexual perversion, which even in the pre-code 1920's, was unheard of in decent film going society. The public was not ready for such graphic depictions of debauchery. I could see how it may have influenced directors such as Kenneth Anger whose themes of magick and ritual would still be considered controversial some 30-50 years later. Now Haxan is more than a cult classic, it's a legend and I whole heartedly consider it one of the greatest efforts ever emblazoned on film. The copy readily available now includes a score done by Jean-Luc Ponty and narration by William S. Burroughs. Can you think of anything more incredible? I raise my glass to Benjamin Christensen. Cheers.




   1.

    
   Danny Elfman in Forbidden Zone (1982)

It's been quite few years since I've even breached this subject and I'm fairly certain it's never been mentioned in this blog. Forbidden Zone is pretty much the movie that started it all for me. Being a dumb teenager with nothing more than a few slashers in her collection I somehow ended up with a vhs copy of Forbidden Zone. It changed everything. It heightened my standards of "weird movies", it opened up new doors as far as my musical taste goes and most of all it introduced me to a Pre-Tim Burton Danny Elfman.The entire film is a strange vaudevillian Alice in Wonderland inspired tale of a girl finding herself in the 6th Dimension. She falls in love with it's midget King, a dashing Herve Villechaize. Of course his Queen, the forever iconic Susan-fucking-Tyrell has something to say about that. The whole movie is like a lurid Max Fleischer cartoon come to life. The high light for me? Danny Elfman scored the film along with The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Before they were simply "Oingo Boingo" they were a traveling theater group, and Forbidden Zone was a way of capturing their monkeyshines on film. Danny Elfman plays the Satanic conductor of this mad circus. An image so vivid and profound that I painted it on my bedroom wall at my Dad's house...

This is obviously a choice made for very personal reasons. I basically orchestrated my entire taste in cinema around my fondness of Forbidden Zone. Danny Elfman's animated interpretation of the Devil made me want more of what I was seeing. Of course there's nothing quite like Forbidden Zone and there's no portrayal of Satan quite so jovial. That in itself if the primary reason he has earned the # 1 spot.

Danny Elfman encompassed what's unabashedly cool about the Devil. My point in writing this blog is not to say that evil is good and Godliness sucks. We need these characters in fiction to make movies interesting. Whether they're monstrous or funny, the caricature of Satan isn't something to be feared, it's something to be embraced. As the Ultimate Super Villain or the ultimate Irony. Satan's infamy is a powerful archetype in the realms of there cinematic stratosphere. He reminds us of our own humanity. Despite your religion or lack there of, the image of Satan is alarming. In any culture El Diablo is recognizable, and we can't help but be reminded of our own morality and death. I think that's why so many people are uncomfortable talking about Satan and everything that he represents. It's not really about facing him its about facing ourselves and our choices in life.

Well that pretty much sums it up! I hope you enjoyed my list. I know there's a lot not included here. Maybe this will be annual thing I post around Easter? In the meantime, what are some of your favorite on-screen Devils?

TV Tuesday: Black Books

Sorry I'm a few hours late!

This show really seemed to come out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, in America anyway. I can't remember what exact year it was, sometime between 1999-2001, which would put me in between 7th and 9th grade. I believe it was around the time they started that awful show with Dave Attell. I had no interest in Insomniac or whatever else they showed in that late night line-up but I instantly fell in love with Black Books. I remember having to be really quiet and secretive because it was a school night. I didn't care how tired I was, if I could get away with catching an episode of Black Books it just had to be done. I can't even remember what grade I was in, let alone whatever I was supposed to be learning. I do remember telling the other students and no one having any clue what I was talking about. For the most part things have remained that way. Over the years when talking about the Young Ones, Mr. Bean or any of the other British comedy series I like, whenever Black Books would get brought up I've rarely encountered others who were lucky enough to catch it's brief American syndication.

I recently noticed that Borders had Black Books season 2 on DVD! Thankfully Netflix is here to aide my broke ass, so there you have it. I've been re-experiencing it for the past few days and even well into my 20's I laugh just as hysterically as I did in my tweens, only this time I don't have to muffle it avoid waking up my Mom.

Written and starring Dylan Moran as a chain smoking wino named Bernard Black who owns a book store. He's rude and belligerent to customers, while his friends Manny and Fran are always keeping him from falling apart completely. Naturally lots of British slapstick ensues mostly as a result of Black's drunken shenanigans. There's something kind of John Cusack-y ala High Fidelity about the character. Bill Bailey plays Manny, a perfect foil for Black's mayhem. Check out this show if you haven't already. It's further proof that the English are the only ones who know how to make a sitcom work.

Schlocktober Top 10!

To make up for my lack of reviewing in October I thought I'd celebrate getting back to my regularly scheduled programming by honoring my neglected tradition of doing monthly top 10 reviews. Back in 2006 I started writing down every movie I watch. Separated by monthly columns I number them and mark them with an asterisk if it's a first-time-view. Out of those first-times-views, I compose a top 10. I list them as best as I can in order of enjoyment, obviously number 1 would be my favorite. This doesn't necessarily mean it's traditionally "the best". I'm an unconventional critic and opinions are relative. So without further adieu, here is my Top 10 for October 2009.



1. Hausu (1977)




If movies had souls, this movie would be my soul mate. This movie brings a new meaning to the phrase "now I've seen EVERYTHING!". When you watch as much as I do you sometimes wonder if you've reached the epitome of weirdness. This movie convinced me that there will always be something else, something that goes above and beyond. Simply put, this is a haunted house movie, but so so much more! The story revolves around seven girls who go to one of their Aunt's house for vacation. The plot is relatively insignificant, immediately bizarre things start to happen and the girl are killed in more and more insane ways. It was made by experimental Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi who got his start directing television commercials (if you want to see a really funny example of this, do a youtube search for "Charles Bronson Mandom"). You can really see the influence as the movie itself is one giant, flashy, quick-edited, commercial for total BEDLAM! I read a review where someone said it's as if Beetlejuice were directed by Dario Argento, only it's SO MUCH BETTER! I would sooner compare it to the bastard child of Holy Mountain and the Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters. This is the kind of movie that makes you wonder why the film industry didn't come to a complete halt because it just doesn't get any better. Describing the movie is nearly impossible, reviewing it is just my tripping over endless compliments. So if you trust me and want to have a visually maddening mind fuck of an experience, find yourself a copy of this life changing movie.



2. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)


I'm ashamed to say how long I went without seeing this. I'm a big fan of both Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The movie revolves around two sisters who were formerly in show business. One, a crazed washed up child star (Davis), the other handicapped ex-movie star (Crawford) who's tormented and completely at the mercy of her insane sibling. Victor Buono gave a truly outstanding performance as well. I'm only used to him as King Tut from the Batman series from 1966. Robert Aldrich directed it, he later direct Davis and Buono again in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte.



3. Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)



Finally, my first encounter with the diabolical Dr. Mabuse. Often cited as the first super villain, Mabuse uses his powers of hypnosis and mind control to wreak havoc and destruction from behind padded walls and even beyond the grave. This Fritz Lang classic was the second out of three, but was later followed by many semi-sequels directed by other people. This is considered the last hurrah from German Expressionism.



4. Frenzy (1972)



I always liked him, but lately I've really been diving into Alfred Hitchcock's vast body of work. I recently got a set of his early movies, I also received the Hitchcock/Truffaut book for my birthday. After having seen Family Plot earlier this year (which I quite enjoyed despite it's reputation), I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. A guy is running around raping and strangling women with neckties in London. The guy being framed is down on his luck having just lost his job, apartment and is in an over-all shitty mood. When his ex-wife becomes one of the victims he becomes the prime suspect. It's filled with Hitchcock's quirky sense of humor. I particularly loved the banter between the inspector and his wife as she's serving him these elaborate meals that he hates. Great stuff!




5. the Unknown (1927)



the world silent film is almost completely untouched by me. I'm slowly trying to work my way through the history of film. Silent pictures have always seemed like a big hurdle for me, mainly because I didn't know where to start. In my research I started to become fascinated with Lon Chaney Senior. He was really an amazing person, both of his parents were deaf so he was a natural at acting in a silent film. The Unknown is about an armless knife thrower at a circus who's in love with his lovely assisstant (a very young Joan Crawford), who is afraid of the touch of a man. Naturally they'd be a perfect couple right? Well, as it turns out he really does have arms, he conceals them in a girdle because he's a wanted man and has a strange deformity , two thumbs on one hand! This horror classic just gets weirder and weirder!


6. the Invisible Man (1933)



Not sure why I put off watch this for so long. I probably didn't take into account how much fun it would be to see an invisible person do all sorts of things. Smoking a cigarette, throwing things, acting like a ghost. Claude Rains really made this role his own, considering you never actually see him act! This has easily earned him the title of my favorite Universal Monster!




7. Tales from the Crypt (1972)/ Vault of Horror (1973)



Ok, so they're two different movies. They're based from basically the same comic, they're both Amicus Anthologies, they were made back to back, and they just go together! Plus, I don't think I could choose between them! Tales from the Crypt stars Joan Collins, Ralph Richardson, Roy Dotrice and Peter Cushing. Five people enter a tomb for seemingly unknown reasons and one by one are told their stories by the Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson). In Vault of Horror (aka "Further Tales from the Crypt") five men enter an elevator that takes them to the basement where imbibements are ready for them, they get comfortable, eat , drink and slowly begin to tell of their "nightmares", horrible things they've done, or have been done to them. The Terry Thomas episode was really fun and brought some comic relief in. Buy the double disc! See them both!



8. Sisters (1973)



Brian DePalma's homage to Alfred Hitchcock. After a pair of siamese twins are separated, strange things begin to happen. Before the film's release DePalma was using different themes from different Hitchcock movies. Marnie, Rear Window, etc... Until it was suggested to him that he should just get Bernard Hermann to score the film! So he did and it works beautifully. I was really impressed with William Finley in this movie. After seeing him in the Phantom of the Paradise I almost didn't recognize him. In a lot of ways, he steals the show.


9. This Night I Will Possess your Corpse (1967)



Zé do Caixão is up to his old shenanigans again! Still trying to find a woman to bare his evil spawn. I actually liked this second instalment of the Coffin Joe series even more than the first, At Midnight I'll Steal you Soul. With essentially the same plot it's clear that José Mojica Marins had a bigger budget to work with. I enjoyed watching him scare girls with spiders in their beds and ravish the toughest girl amidst the screams of the other girls being bitten by snakes. I felt like the character had more depth in this movie and showed borderline human emotions. The Jigoku-esque nightmare sequence depicting a colorized version of Hell is worth seeing the movie for alone!



10. You'll Find Out (1940)



I've been highly anticipating the release of this Universal horror comedy of the "Spooks Run Wild" variety. The story revolves around Kay Kyser's band, who are playing at a young heiress' birthday party. Several creeps are out to kill the young lady so they can have her inheritance. The villains are played by Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre. This is one of the funniest movies of this genre that I have yet to see. Kyser was a surprisingly silly and charming leading man. The gags were great, the music was great, and Peter Lorre was on top of his game! What more could you want? How about a SONOVOX?! Yes, this movie is super cool.



Honorable Mentions:
the Wolf Man (1941), the Devil Doll (1936), the Raven (1963), Calling Dr. Death (1943), the Dark Backward (1991), the Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) [this would have made the top 10 but I bumped it down since it doesn't really fall into the horror genre, just to keep a theme going]



Lon Chaney Jr. (1906-1973)



Though none of his movies made the top 10, I feel that he deserves a
special acknowledgement for being so charismatic in all eight movies I saw him in this month.

My Mom is Tor Johnson's Mom

I was thinking about "This Night I will Possess Your Corpse" and what an awkward title that is. I mean, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Not to say that it isn't BRILLIANT. Coffin Joe should have made a movie called "Sometime next week I'm thinking about possibly borrowing your nail clippers".

Ok, I think some mini-reviews are in order!














I've been making my rounds through the various untapped video findings I've collected from local thrifts, and finally decided to watch "And Now the Screaming Starts" an Amicus, period piece haunted house-type horror movie. To be honest, I generally don't care for that formula. Possibly why I put off watching it for so long, but in a moment of desperation, this unsung classic really surprised me with it's coolness.

First of all, it stars a bunch of great house names for Amicus and Hammer, such as (big surprise) Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Ian Ogilvy, Stephanie Beachman, but most importantly, Patrick Magee, who was also in Tales from the Crypt and Dementia 13, both movies I just happened to watch in the same week! He's haunting my movie marathons and I like it. the plot is ...well, kinda serious. A vengeful ghost haunts a "virgin bride" (pah!) by showing her it's severed "Thing"-hand, and desecrating her womb. Unfortunately they don't show that part, but there's a baby with a nub for a hand, and that's what really matters.



I finally got around to seeing this hilarious "romp" (I guess would be the word?). I have this thing for horror comedies, well, I'm obsessed with Arsenic and Old Lace and I'm always trying to find more movies like it. There really aren't many other movies like it. I've kind of self-titled this kind of horror comedy "Spooks Run Wild" after the East Side Kids movie, how better to sum up the jester-like antics of these classic monsters/characters?


Aside from the fact that Lou Costello whines a lot (I can only take so much) this is a really funny movie, especially the last couple of scenes when Dracula and Wolfman are duking it out, and the uncredited voice cameo of Vincent Price as the Invisible Man makes his ...uh... "appearance" (?)

Straying further and further from the "horror" on this particular day, I ended up watching the Big Cube, which should have been called "The Big Turd" or even just "the Big Disappointment" would have been more fitting. I thought it would be a suspenseful psychedelic mystery-type of thing, ended up coming across more like a big budget propaganda movie. The DANGER of LSD, blah blah blah. Overly dramatic and attempted to come across sincere. I often read about these 60's psychedelic movies being "out-dated", such as one of my all time favorite cult movies, Otto Preminger's "Skidoo". I find it's unnecessary to even attempt and compare the 60's to the present. There are certainly movies that are timeless, but "psychedelic" movies aren't really made anymore. It was fresh in the 60's and I'm usually thrilled to see this moment in time captured in a way even my own psychedelic experiences couldn't approach. What I'm getting at is that as a general rule I love LSD themed movies! THIS MOVIE seems to be the exception! True, the effects were cool, colorful, sparkly, and fun... and so they should be! But the plot was very "meh", and kind of depressing. A spoiled rich girl's father remarries an aging actress (Lana Turner) who both seem to be very much in love. She of course acts bratty and rebels. Meets a young stud (not really though, George Chakiris, better known to me as Bernardo from West Side Story) who's an ex-med student, expelled for making LSD in the lab and selling it to students. After the rich father dies at sea trying to save Lana, Chakiris cooks up a scheme to drive Lana insane by slipping LSD in her pills and playing a tape with haunting suicidal/homicidal recordings on it; in her bedroom to drive her insane. Once she's out of the picture, he can marry the spoiled dumb ass (Karin Mossberg, who didn't do much else, a few Spanish movies) for her money. Her character is what I dislike about this movie the most. She acts completely mean and vindictive just because some guy she hardly knows convinces her that she needs her father's money NOW rather than waiting until she's 25 like the will states. I just can't sympathize with a character like that, yet it's played as if she's a victim as well. The ending doesn't really make any sense either, Chakiris just has a bad trip and Lana and Karin have themselves some step-bonding. Thee End. Whatever.

At this point I realized that I had inadvertently broken my horror-only vow for this month, so I said, "What the hell, time for some Van Damme"...

I was at my mom's house flipping through the channels. This is the only time I get to enjoy, or not enjoy the luxuries of cable. It's hit or miss with those over priced movie channels. For instance, before this gem came on you would have caught me watching Dutch starring Ed O'neal and Ethan Embry when he was 12 and still had a promising acting career, but I digress...

In my universe good and bad are inexplicably linked. For this reason, this may be the greatest movie ever made. The greatest bad movie that is. It almost magically comes full circle from bad to hilarious to "whoever wrote this is a comic GENIUS!". And let's face it, Van Damme has made some stinkers. Wonderfully tacky with his signature side-split and mullet.

For this to have surpassed Double Impact is truly a remarkable achievement.

Do you know what the best part of this movie is? No, not the one liners, not the ABSURD typical 90's action movie plot, not even the amazing fight sequence in the kitchen with a Penguin Mascot (though that one was DAMN close, VAN DAMME CLOSE [sorry]).

The highlight of this movie was of course Mr. Powers Boothe as my new favorite super villain...

At the end you get to see this handsome asshole wearing a really awkward blonde wig and moustache, and his death (not giving much away, this is a Van Damme movie so obviously the bad guy's gotta die) is the most sensational retarded Hollywood crap I've ever seen! I couldn't even believe it was happening.

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my love for this man. After Emerald Forrest, I was hooked. Hopelessly addicted to yet another brilliant underrated actor. And what a name, POWERS BOOTHE, could you think of a more power-ful name?

That's all for now!