Are you already complaining about the summer movies coming to your nearby cineplex? Do you sense they are bland, formulaic and based on licensed IP that are marketed to people who watch the same old same old? If you want a film that’s a quite different experience, bring home Pandemonium. The movie came out last year in France and played numerous horror festivals around the globe. While it has horror elements, there’s quite a bit more than visual scares on the screen. Writer-director Quarxx (All The Gods In The Sky) is a multimedia artist in Europe and quite a bit of Pandemonium has an art house feel instead of a horror grindhouse appeal.
Nathan (Things I Don’t Understand‘s Hugo Dillon) stand on a curvy part of a mountain road starring at the wreckage of his car. He is dazed and feeling bit lucky to be alive. This doesn’t last long when motorcyclist Daniel (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows‘ Arben Bajraktaraj) lets him know that Nathan’s not alive and neither is he. Turns out Nathan ran over him. The two are a bit confused at this point since there’s no angels to explain the afterlife. They’re stuck on the remote stretch of mountain road. Something does happen, a portal appears along with two giant doors on the other side. There’s a graceful sound coming from the portal while the two doors come off as rather ominous. Are these the entrances to Heaven and Hell? Which one should Nathan take? He does confess to doing something that might a sin or a sign of compassion. But there’s nobody to immediately let him know his fate. As the two attempt to figure out this supernatural escape room, a young girl enters the picture. Is she also dead? Eventually Nathan finds himself learning about the past of two other people who are doomed. The young girl has a friend called Tony The Monster who might be involved in why she’s an orphan. Or is she a self-made orphan? We also learn of the plight of another doomed teenage girl and her mother. Is Nathan doomed for eternity?
Pandemonium is a hard to pin down kind of film. There are moments that will make you squirm from the gore and violence. Other times you’ll squirm from the uncertainty of what really happens after you die. Is this really the fate of some of us? Nobody wants to know that afterlife has really crappy customer service. We all like a sense of direction when in a new place. That’s got to be a fear for some people to discover the afterlife doesn’t immediately get you stuck in front of the pearly gates. You don’t even have to be taken to Hell to deal with a nightmare. Can any demons be as nasty as the teenage girls in the bathroom? I had no clue that French teenage girls could be so vicious. It does sound more attractive to be bullied in French as long as you haven’t a clue what they’re really saying.
Pandemonium is a strange journey into what happens when Nathan doesn’t pay attention to the road. Is it a horror film? Is it an intellectual drama? It’s definitely French. This is not a conventional film which makes it a perfect film to watch on a hot summer night when you crave more than a Hollywood sequel. Pandemonium is a peek into the unknown that someday we’ll all have to face. Hopefully there will be better signage for us.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the foggy nature of several scenes. The Audio is French LPCM 2.0 and French DTS-HD MA 5.1. You’ll hear the subtle music in the possible fates. The movie is subtitled in English.
Different Textures (19:58) sits down writer/director Quarxx, He talks about experimenting in film and not repeating himself. He likes to mix genre elements with auteur elements.
Tony The Monster (16:41) has writer/director Quarxx and special make-up/FX supervisor Olivier Afonso talk about the visual. The duo had been wanting to work together for a while. We get a peak in Afonso’s creature shop.
Filming A Real Birth (4:55) allows Quarxx to explain what he did to film a real birth in the delivery room.
Premiere (3:58) has footage from the film’s 2023 debut at a movie theater in Paris. It’s a cool space with elevated seating. This seems like the perfect place to watch the movie. Afterwards, they’re at a nearby cafe.
Making of (22:37) has the crew preparing the soundstage.
Trailer (1:15) opens with the three characters on the snowy mountain road and takes us to Hell.
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an essay by Anton Bitel, and a director’s statement and director Q&A.
Arrow Video presents Pandemonium. Directed by Quarxx. Screenplay by Quarxx. Starring Arben Bajraktaraj, Hugo Dillon, Ophélia Kolb, Carl Laforêt, Manon Maindivide, Jérôme Paquatte & Sidwell Weber. Running Time: 95 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: May, 28, 2024.
