FILM GUTTER REVIEWS - ​BEGOTTEN (1989)

Dir. E. Elias Merhige, 72 mins

Make of all that what you will, but Begotten is doubtless a cinematic experience worth checking out. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, or even loved it, but what I have always had a strong respect for as a viewer is a director with a distinct vision and the bravery to push that all the way

I know. I know. You’re probably thinking to yourself, Alex, how can you have been doing Film Gutter for five and a bit years and not have reviewed Begotten yet? Simply put, it’s one of those anomalies made up of many factors – much of which is that I have to really drum up the enthusiasm to watch something quite this dark and unusual. I’ve still yet to turn my attention to Salo, or Melancholie Der Engel, so there’s plenty of the classics left to cover yet – I’ll get to them all, don’t worry.

But here we are – and if you’ve not heard of Begotten, it’s a late 80s experimental art piece that has developed a cult following over time. Directed by E. Elias Merhige, who originally envisaged the movie as a theatrical piece, it’s a painstakingly shot and crafted movie made in washed-out black and white. And when I say black and white I mean black and white, because the director spent a long time editing out the majority of the grey from the colour scheme. There’s no dialogue either, so it should be apparent from the get-go this is something pretty different from practically anything else in cinema.

The story itself – and honestly I had to do some research to really tell you about this – is a sort of creation myth, of a suicidal god killing himself before impregnating the Mother of Earth (yes, really), and the dark events that happen to her and the just-born Son of Earth. I can’t lie that it’s hard to really pull that apart without an assist – Begotten is as much a piece of visual art as it is a film, and while much of the imagery and ideas are fascinating it feels almost impenetrable to watch. There are no concessions made to the viewer – a number of the scenes actually make it hard to distinguish what’s going on, and the lack of dialogue makes everything even more difficult to interpret. However, I’m confident that’s deliberate, all part of the effect the movie was going for. When you add to that a soundtrack mostly made up of chirping crickets (or that sort of noise) only occasionally spliced with much darker, unpleasant sounds, it’s almost hard to stay awake through – I can’t help but wonder again if this is all on purpose somehow…

In many ways, the ‘lore’ surrounding this movie is what has helped it live on. Famed critic Susan Sontag was firmly behind the film, hosting private screenings at her house and dubbing it one of the 10 most important films of modern times. Merhige claims each minute of the movie took eight to nine hours to create, and estimates on how long it took to make the film go anything up to ten years. It has rarely been seen in cinemas, with IMDB listing only four theatrical screenings in the over thirty years since its release. There’s a widespread rumour that Marilyn Manson’s Antichrist Superstar album was designed as an unofficial soundtrack – its running time matches Begotten almost perfectly, and numerous synchronicities can be seen throughout. Manson allegedly had the film on loop while recording the album, and the artwork of Antichrist Superstar was heavily influenced by the movie.

Make of all that what you will, but Begotten is doubtless a cinematic experience worth checking out. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, or even loved it, but what I have always had a strong respect for as a viewer is a director with a distinct vision and the bravery to push that all the way – and that’s doubtless the case here. Everything feels carefully considered and crafted, and it’s hard to think that Merhige could have delivered his product any better than this. It’s interesting more than it is compelling, and a hard watch not just for some of its extreme content but also trying to puzzle out precisely what it is you’re seeing on screen. It’s sometimes argued that even 72 minutes is too long, and I wouldn’t argue too much with that – an hour maybe could have worked better. I wouldn’t even say it was enjoyable, but I’m certainly glad that I watched it regardless in terms of my own extreme horror education, and indeed broader film education.

RATING: 7/10. A slightly hard one to rate – if I were rating it as a piece of art and a unique vision, it would probably be 10/10, but then when I rate it as an actual experience to watch it’s a little long and hard to make out and hard to follow, so that drags it down to a more suitable 7/10. I genuinely wouldn’t put anyone off watching it – especially if you do want something different, as it’s hard to pick out anything quite like it. My closest reference points would be something like Eraserhead, or Flowers/Lung II, or maybe even Subconscious Cruelty. Go seek it out, but do brace yourself for a difficult viewing experience…

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