This is one of my favorite movies based around actual occult lore. It focuses on the the infamous 18 month preparations in The Great Work of Abramelin the mage and a mother’s quest for vengance against her son’s killers.
I think the angel is kinda shitty, and the ending is not as gut wretching as you’d think, but the process is pretty true to the lore and is a great watch
(I also prefer the demons…)
This is an excellent movie. Definitely touches upon many aspects of the occult. I actually thought the ending was a bit off too, but the portrayal of the angel was alright. I liked that they made it androgynous, but still implying it was more female featured than male. Synchronicity, gnosticism, et al are represented, but I never understood 4 things: why did she dump Solomon’s body in the pond at the end? Why did they portray the dark entities as they did in terms of physical violence when they did such a good job with everything else? Why do you think the ritual went south for Solomon but not her, and was his death a necessary catalyst for her success? How was she able to complete and close the ritual after her Guardian appeared, considering she was not capable of performing the rite alone with her capabilities at the time? What are your thoughts?
I think the dumping of his body could have been symbolic (his whole talk about going into the abyss and Daath earlier on) but that could be going to much into it. To be honest I prefered it when they portrayed the demons as just voices or shadows, I think it had a better effect and is closer to anything real.
Its an interesting topic why Solomom dies, but I dont think he went through the purification before the ritual and he was naturally not in a pure state of mind, and he had hurt the woman before and her angel intervined with the knife so it could be a defensive thing.
Its kinda left blank at the end, so im just assuming the angel appeared and kicked all the demons out lol, but im guessing the angel guided her through what to do at the end.
(Mainly because thats exactly what happened with my first ever full evocation of Michael)
That is how I feel about how the demons were portrayed as well. You are correct, though, regarding his lack of purification previous to beginning. Detoxing from a long drunk is not the same thing as purification, though it can be PART of it. I do not recall when he actually harmed her, though. Yes, he did drown her, but not in the context of an assault, and when he caught the blade it was quite the other way around; she was attacking him. I think it may have had more to do with his drinking during the rite and that creepy bit with the masturbatory strip tease he deceived her into (which I never quite understood). I find it in no shortage of symbolism that he woke her with water as she overslept, water was what he used to bring her to the void and back, and water is what his corpse was sunk into. My take on that end sequence was that she would have been proper fucked if she had not gone into the ritual chamber where she met her Guardian. I think the angel’s presence kept them out of that particular room more than it drove the demons away. Once she was able to forgive she was not feeding them what they were after, so they left. Damn, now I have to watch it again, lol.