After some dealing with an Amazon marketplace seller, I got a copy that was viewable on the second of two DVD players I tried. It is an extremely no-frills DVD to say the least, it has a menu with scene selection and, a, uh "preview" reel that shows some truly odd previews ("I Married a Monster from Outer Space" and "Barbarella" for example....no, I'm not kidding, those are the previews). It doesn't pad any of the spots in the film which were obviously butchered by a ham-handed editor (like all of Scott Glenn's dialogue). No deleted scenes, no interviews, no nuthin'. So really the only benefit of having it is that the flick is on DVD and not VHS, and since the price was $40.00, you have to be a hardcore fan of the movie to go to the demented lengths I did to lay hands on it (I forgot to mention it is presented in widescreen, so that is also a bonus).

It had been years since I had seen this early Michael Mann film and indeed I wrote a review of the VHS version some years ago, but it was instantly recognizable as his work. His trademarks leap right out at you: the grim tone, the wonderful score (by Tangerine Dream and like the DVD, impossible to find anywhere, which is IMMNENSELY frustrating because not only is the music gorgeous, the band has made at least 7,373 albums, but they couldn't put out a soundtrack to this? GRRRRR), the cut-to-the-bone dialogue, the lush, sumptuous visuals. This film, like all Mann's works, is a visual feast: the black uniforms of the SS, the washed-out, coldly lit grays of the keep's interior, the horribly evil-looking demon, all beautiful). Unfortunately, it has the same flaws it had when it was released twenty years ago, and I can't get past them no matter how much I watch it (I keep looking for a "Director's Cut" that will flesh out the pruned-down characters of Eva and especially Glaeken...alas, none exists).

The big mistake of the film was the decision to make it primarily visual and reduce the characters of Glaeken and Molasar to simple icons, one representing good, one representing evil. Neither has more than a few words of dialogue; none of the rich subtexture of Glaeken's character, which a great actor like Scott Glenn could have handled easily, is shown. Nor is the necromancing Molasar shown as anything but an evil presence who wants out of his prison; his long violent history with Glenn, the deceptive games he plays with Dr. Cuza and the psych job he does on Woermann in the book, all of these are all whittled away, leaving only a big dude in a demon costume (nevertheless with some great lines, most especially his comeback to Gabriel Byrne: "Who am I? I am...from you.")

The movie does succeed with the characters of Cpt. Woermann, brilliantly played by Jurgen Prochnow, and Maj. Kaempfer, played with tremendously banal evil by Gabriel Byrne; their chemistry is excellent, and the scene where they tear into each other's beliefs at the end is a classic. Given fairly little, Alberta Watson and Ian McKellen both do a lot; it is mainly Scott Glenn who is left in the cold.

There is so much acting firepower in this movie (including veteran Robert Prosky and even wonderful Wolf Kahler in a minor role) and so much talent in the director Mann, it has such a great score and is shot so beautifully, and is predicated on such a great horror novel by F. Paul Wilson, I am continuously grieved by the fact it isn't a better movie. Just 15 minutes of dialogue would have saved the film from being a cult favorite instead of a horror classic; this is why I long for a director's cut. If enough of us beat the drums, it will happen; not even an outfit as stubborn as Paramount (look how they've done the fans of the Jason films)will turn down the chance to make more dough. So let's start beating.


so i just watched it again   June 3, 2004
i do have a bit of nostalgia for this film, as i first saw it on tv when i was 11 or so...
now 20 years later...sure, it's kind of a failure at a coherent story. and the effects didn't age well (that talisman is so obviously a flashlight with wings)...however, the film is still more compelling to simply watch than 80% of the crap produced these days. good atmosphere, bizarre sequel-unfriendly story, long stretches on beautiful shots. my girlfriend hated it, i give it a 4 for mood and originality.


Good visuals and some fine performance by small characters   May 16, 2004
I saw it when it came out in '83 and read the book as well.

The good parts are the visuals, of course, for which Michael Mann would later become known. There is some great character acting in it such as the old coot who was the caretaker for the Keep. Jurgen Prochnow steals the show as the wermarcht officer with a conscieous. Alberta Watson was a babe, too. She was also in The Soldier and several recent TV shows.

The unusual Tangerine Dream score helped the mood of the movie-- I think this is only their second or so score soon after Sorceror.

What the film suffers from is poor continuity and editing. For instance, towards the end of the movie they suddenly refer to Scott Glenn's character as Glaeken Trismagistus (his real name from the book) which they had never done previously. It's interesting that TV versions added scenes in the end to give it a happy ending (I think that's how the book ended, too) but I liked the poignant theatrical ending better.

The story gaps other critics mention (why the priest started freaking out, etc) are because the movie didn't cover everything that the book did. It could have been taken care of with a monologue about evil being released and fraility of human will, etc., but I actually preferred just implying it. I hate the way everything has to be explained in movies.

Overall it was an interesting movie with the best parts being the visuals.