Enter The Void – Full-Length Director’s Cut (2010/IFC/MPI DVD)
Picture: C Sound: C+
Extras: C Film: D
This film is just bad. That it has so
many supporters leaves me baffled, but goes to show that one man’s trash is
another man’s treasure. I insist,
however, that this one should have stayed with the rest of the garbage where it
belongs. Enter The Void has all kinds of hype, but why?
Positives are to be found, though they are few. In its defense, the film’s opening credits are
at least well done, with bright neon colors and a variety of flashy graphic
designs being employed at a rapid-fire pace. I also concede that some of the psychedelic
imagery and snaky camerawork do look neat. Impressive as this visual flair might be, it
certainly isn’t enough to save a film as long and tedious as this one.
Enter The Void bothers little with any actual storytelling. What story there is sets up the life of the
protagonist - a drug addicted American living in Tokyo. He dies early on, but before his passing, we
are shown that he possesses a copy of the Tibetan
Book of the Dead. This serves to set
up the rest of the film, as what happens to him after his death is based on
ideas found in that tome.
One might think that after death, a spirit freed from it’s body would have some
interesting places to seek. In this
man’s case, however, the spirit of the deceased instead carries on hovering
around the same dismal backdrop his life was spent in. Once in a while, it pops in to scope out some
people engaged in having sex, but that’s about it for this journeyer of the
afterlife.
We do get the odd glimpse into his past - learning of his parents’ fate during
his childhood and the circumstances that would lead to he and his sister ending
up in Japan.
For most of these segments, we’re stuck
staring at the back of his head, whereas the rest of the movie is seen in the
first person. Both of these camera
angles serve to annoy just about as much as the other and it is tiring to look
at - especially with so little going on to pay attention to.
The image is presented at 2.35:1, and is in anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is sub-par, and though the
filmmakers were striving for this film to have a vibrant color palette, it
remains dull. Many of the scenes look as
though a simple color gel was thrown up over them, but are just too poorly lit
for this to work. The digital effects
range from being fairly bad to just okay, but they are still tolerable
throughout, even at their worst. Sound
is recorded decently, and is in a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix. The music in
the film is well done, but does little to liven the action.
There are a few extras, but nothing of much interest. No commentary track is provided, but there are
deleted scenes, trailers and various artworks associated with the film, as well
as a segment showing the progression of the digital effects process.
Hopefully most viewers of this material will be smarter than to be taken in by
a flashy presentation that lacks even basic substance. However, judging from most other reactions to
the film, my opinion seems to be in the minority. Nonetheless, I stand my ground in saying to
skip this one.
- David Milchick
