Begotten is a 1989 American experimentalhorror film[6] written, directed and produced by E. Elias Merhige. It stars Brian Salsberg, Donna Dempsy, Stephen Charles Barry, and members of Merhige's theatre company, Theatreofmaterial. The film does not contain dialogue, with its visual style evoking early silent films. Its unconventional narrative depicts the suicide of a godlike figure and the resulting births of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth, who set out on a journey across a barren landscape, all leading to a brutal end. The film's storyline draws upon various aspects of creation myths, including Christian, Celtic mythology, and Slavic paganism. Several writers have commented on some of the film's narrative motifs and religious imagery that reoccur throughout Merhige's work, describing the graphic depictions of violence as reflecting mankind's struggle to "tame" the earth through bloodshed.
After the film was completed, Merhige spent two years trying to find a distributor willing to market it. The film debuted at the Montreal World Film Festival, and later screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival, with the film critics Tom Luddy and Peter Scarlet in attendance. Impressed by its cinematographer and visual imagery, the two brought it to the attention of the critic Susan Sontag, whose enthusiastic praise and private screening to critics and filmmakers in her own home were instrumental to its eventual release. Although it was largely ignored by mainstream critics, and the few contemporary reviews were mixed to positive, it has since attained cult film status and influenced several avant-garde film-makers, visual artists and musicians. The film's scarcity on home video prompted fans to circulate their own bootleg copies, a phenomenon described as a "copy-cult" by the film studies scholar Ernest Mathijs.[7]Begotten was followed in 2006 by Din of Celestial Birds, with the theory of evolution as its dominant theme, and then the 2022 premiere of Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera, which is based on gnostic creation mythology.
Plot
Inside a small shack, a robed figure – described as "God Killing Himself" in the credits – disembowels himself with a straight razor, and dies after cutting open his abdomen and removing some of his internal organs. A woman, representing Mother Earth, emerges from his mutilated remains. She brings the corpse to arousal, and uses his semento impregnate herself. Time passes, and Mother Earth, now visibly pregnant, stands beside the coffin of the dead god. Wandering off into a vast and desolate world, she gives birth to Son of Earth, a malformed convulsing man. He is soon abandoned by his mother, who leaves him to his own devices.
After spending time wandering across the barren landscape, the Son of Earth encounters a tribe of faceless nomads who seize him by his umbilical cord. Upon being captured, the Son of Earth begins to vomit up what appears to be organs, which the nomads excitedly accept as gifts. Carrying the Son of Earth with them through a rocky hillside, the nomads soon reveal their intentions, throwing him into a fire pit where he burns to death. Son of Earth is then resurrected by Mother Earth, who comforts her newly reborn offspring before they continue together across a desert plain. The nomads return and attack the Son of Earth as Mother Earth stands in a trance-like state. Turning their attention to her, the nomads knock her to the ground, rape and murder her as her son watches helplessly nearby.
Once the nomads have left, robed figures arrive and carry away Mother Earth's mutilated remains, later returning to abduct and murder her son. The robed figures then cut the bodies of mother and son into small pieces, crushing their bones and placing them into clay-filled jars, which they bury in the crust of the earth. Over time, the burial site becomes lush with flowers, and crops as a montage of photographs depicting the robed god is shown. In the final scene, Mother Earth and her son appear, wandering through a forested path as the cycle of life and death begins anew.
Cast
Brian Salzberg as God Killing Himself:
A mysterious, robed entity who disembowels himself with a straight razor. He is also the father of Mother Earth and Son of Earth, the latter of which was born through artificial insemination.
Donna Dempsey as Mother Earth:
A female entity based on the earth deity of the same name. She is the mother of Son of Earth, whom she conceived via artificial insemination.
Stephen Charles Barry as Son of Earth (Captioned as Flesh on Bone):
The deformed, convulsing son of Mother Earth and God Killing Himself. Barry later reprised his role in the film's sequel, Din of Celestial Birds, which was also written and directed by Merhige.[8]
Members of Merhige's theater company Theatreofmaterial – which included Adolpho Vargas, Arthur Streeter, Daniel Harkins, Erik Slavin, James Gandia, Michael Phillips, and Terry Andersen – are credited as the Nomads and Robed Figures.[2]
Production
Development and pre-production
The writing for Begotten was all Vision material, or whatever you want to call it, and I used those parts that scared me, or that I just couldn't understand—the parts that stuck with me for days and forced me to wonder where within me did this come from? A tableau of the unknown was important to me. Then it was a matter of arranging this material as a myth. That was important, too. It began as a personal myth and ended as a collective myth, a myth of everyone involved in making the film.[9]
Begotten was written, produced, and directed by Merhige,[4][10] who had studied at State University of New York, developing an interest in the theater after attending several performances while in Manhattan. According to Merhige, he was drawn to theatre performers who created a highly visualized form of storytelling through dramatic movement, provoking what he described as "an otherworldly response". He was particularly fascinated by the performances of Japanese butohdance troupeSankai Juku,[11] which began performing to American audiences in the late 1980s with their unique blend of grotesque imagery, and transgressive dance style.[12] Attending these performances, Merhige was struck by the degree of personal and professional interconnectivity among its core members—knowing everything about one another and engaging in a more personal and intimate level of interaction. Wanting to accomplish a similar group dynamic,[11] Merhige founded Theatreofmaterial, a small experimental theatre production company based in New York City.[11][13]
Development commenced sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s;[14] although some sources have erroneously listed the date as 1984.[15] The initial concept was described by Merhige as a dance production at the Lincoln Center, performed to the accompaniment of a live orchestra.[14] The concept itself was personal to Merhige, representing his attempt at expressing the thoughts and ideas he had at the time.[16] After discovering that it would cost a quarter of a million dollars to produce[14] a decision was made to instead adapt the idea into a motion picture.[14] This change in format, from theatre to film, allowed Merhige the opportunity to document the company's work, as many of its members were transitioning to other projects outside the company.[9]
Merhige developed the script with members of Theatreofmaterial, who worked as both cast and crew during production. They decided that the film should be silent and strove to evoke what the director called "emotions on the fringes", which they felt were avoided by most directors and performers.[9] One of the reasons behind the decision to abandon the traditional narrative structure, in favor of an experimental story, came from Merhige's frustration with storytelling through exposition and what he felt were limitations imposed upon narration through the use of dialogue.[17] As a former painter and visual artist, Merhige was heavily influenced by the fine arts, with paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, Edvard Munch and Francisco Goya having a significant impact upon him in the film's early developmental stages.[18] Prior to working on Begotten, Merhige had directed several short films, including Implosion (1983), Spring Rain (1984), and A Taste of Youth (1985).[19] These were well-received, and gave Merhige the experience and insight he needed while working on Begotten.[20] In preparation for writing the script, Merhige and members from Theatreofmaterial performed intense, ritual breathing exercises. Describing the process of "breath[ing] to the point of hysteria", the group followed up by discussing these experiences, filtering these emotions into something he could replicate for the film. He then brought portions of the script to the cast members and began a process of rehearsals followed by group discussion and reflection on the material as it took shape.[9] Aged twenty, he completed the script's draft in six months.[14]
Over four-and-a-half months, the group gradually developed the script's abstract ideas into more concrete, enactable scenes, committing to extensive rehearsals during this period. Merhige has said that these rehearsals were focused on group cohesion rather than precise choreography, enabling the actors to get 'in tune' with their characters.[9] Working with the group, the ideas of Antonin Artaud and Friedrich Nietzsche, which Merhige felt had not been fully explored on film, served as additional points of influence.[14] Merhige further strove to imbue the film with the tribal and ritual aspects associated with alchemy and hermeticism. To achieve this, he and the cast experimented with techniques such as hypnosis and meditation until they reached a state of consciousness that aligned them with the thematic and emotional qualities needed for their roles.[21]
Filming
Principal photography began in the mid-to-late 1980s[14] and lasted for a period between three and five-and-a-half months,[9] in several different locations. (Some reports incorrectly list the filming period lasting three and a half years.) Merhige took on multiple roles in the film's production, including cinematography and special effects,[14] in the latter using a 16mmArriflex camera on black-and-white reversal film.[13][14] Celia Bryant,[22] who had worked on the set of the films Greased Lightning (1977) and I, the Jury (1982), is credited as the film's costume designer.[23] Working on a low-budget of around thirty-three thousand dollars,[24] the cast and crew were paid little to nothing, but they were given free room and board throughout filming.[25][26] Funding for the film came from Merhige's grandfather, who had set Merhige up with a trust fund for medical school.[Note 3] Additional costs were paid by Merhige from the income he received while working multiple jobs as a special effects artist.[14][25]
The opening passage depicting God disemboweling himself and Mother Earth emerging from his remains was the first to be shot. After editing the resulting footage, it was shown to the cast and crew, according to Merhige, to motivate them to complete production.[25] A majority of the film was shot at a construction site on the border between New York City and New Jersey, where Merhige had been permitted to shoot for twenty days when construction crews were not working. Members of the construction site occasionally lent the film crew a hand by constructing landscapes when certain shots of mountains were needed during a scene.[6][14][28] Scenes involving time-lapses of sunrises and sunsets were shot by the director,[6] who spent a couple of days alone in the mountains near Santa Fe or Albuquerque, while additional sequences of plants sprouting from the earth were filmed from inside a large terrarium constructed by Merhige. The atmosphere during the entire production was described by Merhige as a powerful, almost ceremonial experience that was 'life-changing' for those involved with the project.[14] As filming concluded, Merhige had difficulties moving on from the project, describing a sense of mourning and loss of an emotional high that he experienced while making the film.[16]
Post-production and visual effects
The film's distinctive decayed aesthetic was accomplished through intense processing through an optical printer. Each minute of the film required eight to ten hours of labor to process.
At the outset, Merhige intended for the visuals to have a decayed look, as if the film was an artifact that had been damaged and degraded by time and wear.[29] Merhige had always been interested in crafting imagery through analog format, stating it resembled the very nature of creation.[16] Prior to Begotten, Merhige had worked as a special effects designer for various companies, including a brief job for a Disney television series that involved rotoscoping. These jobs had provided him with the technical knowledge—and savings—he needed to handle the film's post-production and visual effects on his own.[14][25][30] The idea of visual perspective, according to Merhige, was also important to him while envisioning the film's visual style, as it challenged the viewer's interpretation of what is depicted on the screen.[31] This intentional visual ambiguity has been described by Ryerson University professor Carolyn L. Kane, who commented that its grainy and decayed visual style functioned as an allegory of uncertainty to what she referred to as "the hermeneutic of the image".[32] Visual underminings from 1930s horror films, such as intertitles, was also commented on by David Annwn Jones, who stated that it was utilized to express its own set of evolving visual ideas and techniques.[33] In his remarks on Begotten's unique look, Merhige described his intention while making the film:
I wanted Begotten to look, not as if it were from the twenties, not even as if it were from the nineteenth century, but as if it were from the time of Christ, as if it were a cinematic Dead Sea Scroll that had been buried in the sands, a remnant of a culture with customs and rites that no longer apply to this culture, yet are somewhere underneath it, under the surface of what we call "reality."[34][35]
Before and during Begotten's shooting, Merhige experimented with different types of film reel to achieve an old, withered look. In one experiment, he ran an unexposed negative against sandpaper to scratch its surface before shooting on the damaged reel.[14] Unsatisfied with the results, Merhige decided on an optical printer for further processing. The "rephotography" removed almost all of the gray midtones from the visible spectrum, leaving only extreme contrasts of black and white.[16] He was unable to find an optical printer priced within his budget, so he built one himself.[25][38][39] He constructed the printer over a period of eight months[14][25][38] with spare parts from camera stores and special effects houses where he had worked before.[14][25][38]
The process was time-consuming, with each minute of footage generated by the optical printer taking between eight and ten hours to complete.[25][38] Once a test shot was sent to the laboratory for development, minuscule mistakes in calibration sometimes ruined the shot and require the process to start all over again.[25] Merhige began asking laboratories if they were willing to adjust their usual development procedures to his custom specifications, but was repeatedly turned away. Eventually, he found a small studio willing to accommodate his requests: Kin-O-Lux Labs, owned by Fred Schreck.[Note 4] Merhige quickly developed a friendship with Schreck, who allowed the director to use the laboratory to develop the footage while teaching him how to develop footage by hand.[1] At one point during the editing process, Merhige enlisted his father's input on certain scenes, stating that his father was "very open-minded" to the project.[40] Merhige used similar "rephotography" techniques for segments of his next film, Shadow of the Vampire (2001).[39][41]
Soundtrack
Begotten does not contain any dialogue, apart from its opening intertitles;[42] Merhige envisioned "a time that predates spoken language" in which "communication is made on a sensory level".[43][44] The soundtrack and sound effects were composed and mixed by Evan Albam, who, prior to Begotten, had not composed professionally. Merhige and Albam worked closely together to establish the right balance of visual and audio cues. The soundtrack took a year to complete.[14] The music is ambient and dirge-like, and the sound design is fleshed out by natural sounds such as bird calls, insect noises, and the sounds of a heartbeat.[18][45] In 2016, the former March Violets band member-turned composer Tom Ashton announced on his SubVon Studio website that he was working closely with Merhige on an "audio reimagining" of Begotten's soundtrack. As of 2023[update], there have been no new updates on its outcome.[46]
Analysis
In the years since its release, Begotten has been analyzed by critics and scholars who have put forth their analysis of the film and its potential themes. Merhige has said that he intentionally incorporated certain mythic and existential themes into the film.[16][47]
Death and rebirth
Language Bearers, Photographers, Diary makers
You with your memory are dead, frozen
Lost in a present that never stops passing
Here lives the incantation of matter
A language forever.
Like a flame burning away the darkness
Life is flesh on bone convulsing above the ground.
— The opening intertitle for the film, suggesting the film's themes of life and death.
Some critics have suggested that Begotten contains underlying themes of death and rebirth.[1][13][21][24] According to Elaine Dutka, these potential themes might have been inspired by a near-death experience Merhige suffered at the age of nineteen,[24] which Dutka states, had left a lasting impression on Merhige.[17]
Throughout the film, its three main characters are subjected to acts of extreme violence. The author and independent filmmaker John Kenneth Muir described these depictions of suffering, death, and rebirth as something imbued within the Son of Earth character and his journey. As Muir wrote, the character's mistreatment can be seen as a parallel to mankind's 'painful' toil of the earth for the planting of crops, and as an allegory to the bringing forth of life through great suffering. The film's characters also represented, according to Muir, certain concepts of mankind and the earth itself, with the depictions of life, death, and renewal all symbolizing the four seasons.[48] This thematic description of the film and its characters was echoed by Merhige himself, who states that the characters and events depicted in the film were metaphors for life and the struggle of mankind with itself and nature.[6]
Its portrayal of violence and death was commented on by William E.B. Verrone, who stated that viewers are encouraged to mourn the film's characters through the agony and torment inflicted upon them. Verrone argued that, with these depictions of death and violence, the viewer is then symbolically "offered salvation" in its visualization of the blossoming flowers seen growing upon their graves.[49]Narrative motifs symbolizing death and decay were also described by Jason Wood, who stated that the film's "evocation of the body as the source of horror and decay" was redolent of surrealist works by Buñuel and early David Lynch. Wood also compared the film's grainy look and landscapes to the recurring themes of hopelessness and desolation in the works of Russian filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov.[20]
Begotten has been highlighted by authors and critics for its incorporation of religious and mythological imagery and themes, with some citing possible connections to Christian, Celtic mythology, Slavic paganism, and various creation myths.[4][40][50] Merhige, himself, was a believer in alchemy and hermeticism,[51][52] and has said that the film was deliberately arranged to appear as part of a mythology.[9][14] According to DiMatteo, the idea of "God's eye", is applied to the film's depiction of its human characters, with their movement and behavior comparable to insects "the way, [that] ants move when they carry food up a hill".[13] Verrone would state, Begotten's story-line was founded on ancient mythologies, recounting the birth of a divine entity and their subsequent suffering, describing the film's premise as "a cryptic passion play about Earth's birth and torture".[53] The interweaving of various world mythologies was highlighted by scholars Penny Papageorgopoulou and Dimitris Charitos, who argued that it was used as a means of establishing the relation between humanity, earth, and religion. Through this mixture of myth and religion, they said, Begotten represented 'the evolution and transition of the anthropocene narrative'. They would further comment that the characters, while human in representation, were given a set of 'inhuman' characteristics referencing the Genesis creation narrative and Egyptian mythology.[54]
The film's opening sequence has been the focus of some publications, who have written on its symbolic qualities. Marc Savlov described the plot as an allegory of the death and rebirth of god,[55] with similarities to creation mythologies depicting the death and dismemberment of a primordial being, whose violent act brings forth the creation of the universe.[56] Art historian Herbert S. Lindenberger suggested that, the narrative of the film was a reworking of early writings on creation mythology published by social anthropologist and folkloristSir James Frazer, who intended to shock his readers with what Lindenberger described as "the savagery of their ancestors". Certain motifs from Christianity were also commented upon, concepts of the "buried god", and the Mother Earth characters, were, as Lindenberger states, worked as symbolic mirrors to Christ and his resurrection, and Mary, mother of Jesus.[57] In his review of the film, Richard Corliss argued that the film 'enacts a biblical narrative through the lens of Druidism',[43][58] with the stories of Genesis, Nativity, and Christ's torture/death retold in a ritualistic fashion that was both steeped in Christianity and Druidism.[49][58][59]Ernest Mathijs and Jamie Sexton have argued that the film "makes perhaps the most serious attempt to visualize elements of Dionysian orgiastic cultism in combination with Gnostic and pagan myths".[60]
Its narrative correlation to early creationism was further written upon by Ted Knighton, who described Begotten as the representation of the very act of creation itself. Stating that many of its thematic elements, such as the sound and visual aspects, were an invitation for viewers to participate in 'putting the pieces together' for the film's narrative.[61] On the film's narrative structure, Scott MacDonald states the allegorical plot represented many of the popular attitudes towards the origins of life and religion at the time of its release,[6] and told in the transgressive style of Viennese Actionism.[11]
Release
Distribution
Once editing for Begotten was completed, Merhige spent two years trying to find a distributor willing to release it.[14] Merhige screened the film to possible distributors but most refused as it did not fit into a specific genre, making it difficult to market.[31] He said that at first "everyone laughed at me, saying 'We don't know what this is...'"[59] Merhige took it to several museums; only two showed interest, but he turn both down as he felt that they were not the right choice. As a result, he became very protective of the film, and after only screened it to people he felt he could trust.[31]
Through these private screenings, film critics Tom Luddy and Peter Scarlet eventually viewed the film, becoming fascinated by its distinct visual style.[13] Although uncertain how the film might be received, they were able to put together several screenings of the film at the San Francisco International Film Festival,[1] before showing the film to fellow critic Susan Sontag.[62] Sontag held a private screening at her home for twenty of her friends and became one of Begotten's leading advocates and was instrumental setting up its eventual theatrical release.[14] Sontag later brought a copy to the Berlin Film Festival where she informally screened it to interested cinéastes, proclaiming it to be an artistic masterpiece.[63] During one of her screenings, it was supposedly viewed by director Werner Herzog, whom Merhige later claimed was "very supportive of the film".[14]
Unable to find a distributor, Begotten did not attain either wide or limited theatrical release. However, it became a popular underground film, as a film released outside of conventional commercial channels, especially one with subversive or transgressive content.[65][66] Lacking a standard theatrical release, Merhige booked one-off screenings at various film festivals and art museums.[67]
The earliest public screening took place at the Goethe-Institut in Montreal on October 24, 1989, as part of the Montreal World Film Festival.[68][69] It had three screenings from May 5–7 at the 1990 San Francisco International Film Festival,[64] marking its premiere in the United States.[13] It also premiered later that year in New York at the Museum of Modern Art,[70][71][72] on October 22 with Merhige introducing the film, followed by a post-screening discussion with the audience.[73] On March 22, 1991, it was screened in New Mexico's Center for Contemporary Arts, with Merhige in attendance.[74] New York City's Film Forum also screened the film on June 5, 1991.[45][71][72] It was exhibited at the Stadtkino Theater in Vienna in 1992, as a part of a retrospective of American independent cinema titled "Unknown Territories".[75] Its final screening that decade was at the Berlin Film Festival in the early to mid – 1990s.[14]
From the mid-2010s and onwards, it has consistently appeared at multiple film festivals, in retrospectives and celebratory screenings. The first of these screenings began on October 20, 2014, where it was shown at Brooklyn's Spectacle Theater as a part of its fourth annual "Spectober" film event.[76][77] The film appeared at the third annual horror film festival SpectreFest on October 28, 2015, along with its spiritual sequelDin of Celestial Birds, followed by an onstage discussion with Merhige.[78][79] The film was shown at the Music Box Theatre in Midtown Manhattan on September 25, 2016, during its 25th Anniversary celebration, where it was screened from Merhige's personal 16mm print. It was viewed as a double-feature alongside the director's other film Shadow of the Vampire, and was followed by a Q&A with Merhige.[80] The film was later screened at the Short Film Festival in London on January 8, 2017, where it was shown again in its original 16mm format, accompanied by a live music score from the film.[81] It was screened on October 17, 2019, at the Rice Media Center, as part of a celebration of "Low-Fi" Analog film series.[82] It had its more recent screening on March 29, 2022, at Cinemateca Portuguesa in Lisbon.[83]
Begotten received a very limited home media distribution after its theatrical release,[60] with copies of the film currently out of print and difficult to acquire in secondhand markets.[43]
Initially, Merhige did not intend for the film to be released on home video at all, stating in an interview with Scott MacDonald that he had previously hated the concept of home video as a medium. Merhige eventually changed his mind and felt that the original soundtrack mix, with which he had not been completely satisfied, could be enhanced through the medium.[36]
The film was briefly released on VHS[14][84] by World Artists Home Video on March 10, 1995.[85][86][87][88]
It was later given a very limited DVD release by World Artists on February 20, 2001,[89] and included a souvenir booklet, the original theatrical trailer, rare and never-before-seen movie stills, and production photos.[90][91] World Artists' DVD release of the film was listed by Film Comment's Gavin Smith as the ninth of his "Top 10 DVD Picks".[92]
Due to the film's severely limited availability on home media, its fans began to spread it through bootleg copies and digital piracy.[93] The circulation of unlicensed copies would help the film to gain more exposure, overtaking the legal means of distribution in volume.[94][95] The film is typically encountered via ambiguously legal methods, a situation which—according to Mathijs and Sexton—fostered a "copy-cult" that enhanced its cult status.[7] The film was reportedly banned in Singapore due to its graphic and disturbing content.[55]
On July 29, 2016, Merhige announced that the film was to be released on Blu-ray in the fall of that year,[96] but the distribution deal fell through. A second announcement,[62][80] during its 25th-anniversary screening alongside Shadow of the Vampire at Music Box Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, did not provide a release date either.[80] As of 2023, Begotten is still awaiting an optical restoration and upscaling from its original 16mm format.[97]
Reception
Susan Sontag (pictured in 1979) was one of the main advocates for Begotten and helped ensure the film's release.
Begotten has received little to no attention from film critics, with most mainstream reviewers ignoring the film entirely.[43] Merhige was initially afraid that audiences might misunderstand certain parts, or the entire film altogether, "When I finished the film, I felt sure it would be misunderstood and consigned to the underground again. I see it as a very serious, very beautiful work of art, but when it was first finished, I was always thinking, 'What if everybody just laughs? What if they don't see anything in it?' There is always that possibility."[31] Reactions to the film upon its release were extremely polarized, but Merhige has stated that he remains grateful for starting his career with the film.[98]
Limited reviews of the film were mixed to positive, with some critics praising the film's unique visual style and resonating themes, while commenting on its graphic violence.[8] Susan Sontag—one of the leading advocates for the film—praised it, referring to it as "a metaphysical splatter film"[17] and "one of the 10 most important films of modern times".[99] In his 1991 review, Joe Kane of the New York Daily News praised the film's minimalist soundtrack, visuals, and its subversion of traditional narrative structure.[45]Newsday's Jon Anderson awarded it his highest score of four stars, lauding what he felt was its deconstruction of the barriers of dream and reality, bestowing additional acclaim towards its exploration of the human condition through its unconventional style.[100] Marc Savlov from the Austin Chronicle called the film "Experimental, haunting, dreamlike, and intentionally confounding", further writing on the film's grainy visuals, and horrific imagery as having an influence on the VHS sequences in The Ring series, and the works of Guy Maddin.[55] In their annual publication of The Video Movie Guide, authors Mick Martin and Marsha Porter rated Begotten their highest score of four stars, praising its uniqueness, while commenting that viewers would either 'love or hate it'.[101]
Adrian Halen from Horror News.net opined its use of symbolism from Christianity and Egyptian mythology, in addition to the ambiguity of what was displayed on the screen, created a unique viewing experience that was admittedly not always easy to digest.[102]Jonathan Rosenbaum at the Chicago Reader called it a "remarkable if extremely upsetting" film, applauding the originality of its visuals, but cautioned that its graphic violence was not for the squeamish or the faint of heart.[15]The Christian Science Monitor's, David Sterritt compared it favorably to Samuel Beckett's novel How It Is in regards to its symbolism and narrative structure. Sterritt also commented that the film's claustrophobic atmosphere, and dark narrative were hard to stomach but equally entrancing overall.[103]
Although some critics were favorable towards its visuals and narrative themes, others have criticized these same elements, in addition to its brutal violence and running time.[104] Awarding it two and a half out of a possible four stars, John Kenneth Muir felt its narrative was better suited as a short subject rather than a feature film, despite its admittedly powerful imagery and originality.[104] Echoing this sentiment, Polish journalist Bartłomiej Paszylk thought the first half was compelling and genuinely frightening, but further commented that its narrative could have been accomplished at a much shorter length.[105] Its graphic violence and visuals were criticized by Janet Maslin of The New York Times, who described it as "too grotesque" to engage its audience, regardless of its unique narrative.[4]
Legacy
Since the start of the 21st century, Begotten has gained more exposure through its availability online through various streaming platforms such as YouTube helping it receive a wider audience.[28] It has gradually developed a cult following[24][106] and is considered by some to be the director's masterpiece.[43][98][107] As one critic wrote, Begotten "earned its reputation as an endlessly provocative and mystifying experience always centuries ahead of the rest of American cinema".[108] In his 2014 book Disorders of Magnitude: A Survey of Dark Fantasy, author Jason V. Brock wrote that Begotten was his seventh favorite work of radio, film, or television production.[109] It was listed in the 2011 book 100 Cult Films by Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik[43] over Mendik's objections, as he felt that its following was too small to merit inclusion. However, it ultimately made it in because, to Mathijs, the film's following represented "the real sectarian cult; it's a very small committed group of people. It's like a secret handshake that goes worldwide. If you've seen Begotten, you're in that cult."[110] Over the years, several sources have erroneously reported Time as ranking Begotten in its top-ten list of either 1990 or 1991, but the film was not included in either year.[Note 5]
Though initially mixed in his response to the film, Muir has since called Begotten "one of the most disturbing films ever made".[112] Natalia Keogan of Paste described the film as one of the best and the most unsettling avante-garde films.[28] Several publications selected it as one of the most disturbing films of all time, including Highsnobiety (2016),[113]Entertainment Weekly (2017),[99]Screen Rant (2019),[114]NME (2023),[115] Similarly, Begotten has been ranked in several top film lists, including number four by Joblo.com (2012),[116] and Nylon (2017);[117] number twenty by GamesRadar+ in 2018;[118] and number twenty-three by Complex Magazine in 2021.[119] Publications such as Collider and MovieWeb have placed it in their top avant-garde/experimental films,[120][121] with the later describing it as an 'unforgettable experiment in horror'.[121]
The film helped provide a foundation for Merhige to continue his filmmaking career.[14] A decade after Begotten's release, Merhige directed the critically acclaimed Shadow of the Vampire,[122][123] followed by the less well-received Suspect Zero.[124][125]Nicolas Cage, a co-producer of Shadow of the Vampire, advocated hiring Merhige to direct the project based on his positive impression of Begotten.[14][41][126][127]
Merhige was later hired by singer Marilyn Manson to direct music videos for his songs "Antichrist Superstar" and "Cryptorchid", the latter utilizing imagery incorporated from Begotten.[108][128][129][130] Manson was a huge admirer of Begotten,[1][105] having the album's art designerP. R. Brown watch the film for inspiration while developing cover art for the album.[130] When preparing to adapt the album into a music video, Manson personally contacted Merhige to ask him if he was willing to direct the music video for his song "Cryptorchid".[105] Manson has stated that Begotten was played on a loop during the entire recording for his album Antichrist Superstar.[59][131] The music video for "Cryptorchid" premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1997 where it won a Golden Gate Certificate of Merit Award.[1][132][133] It was subsequently barred from release by Interscope Records, whom Manson claimed were "appalled by it" due to its fascist iconography, namely the Nuremberg rallies and images of a Ku Klux Klan lynching. "Antichrist Superstar" was also beset with troubles and remained unreleased until it was leaked on YouTube in 2010.[129][133] Merhige has since become a prominent member of the theatre, directing numerous stage plays which include A Dream Play, an adaption of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Waiting for Godot.[8]
Influence
Since its release, Begotten has become a minor influence on several avant-garde and experimental films, and has been cited by several artists as inspiration for some of their works.[108][134]Michael Pope's acclaimed 2001 experimental film Neovoxer has been compared to Begotten, featuring a similar visual style and "impressionistic mythology".[107] According to Panos Cosmatos the flashback sequences in his 2010 film Beyond the Black Rainbow were directly inspired by Begotten. When interviewed by CHUD.com's Joshua Miller, Cosmatos stated that he had wanted the flashback sequences to 'have the look and feel of an artifact that was in the process of deterioration', and Begotten's visual style was the perfect look for these sequences.[135] Kyle Turner from Mubi.com compared the 2015 experimental film Ville Marie as being very similar to Merhige's film in terms of cinematic style, and use of reverse-exposure.[136]
A number of scenes in Can Evrenol's 2015 surrealist horror filmBaskin were compared to Begotten.[137] James Quinn's 2017 experimentalhorror filmFlesh of the Void was described by several critics as being similar to Merhige's film in style and narrative.[138] However, Quinn himself stated, in an interview with Nightmare on Film Street, that he felt his film did not fall into the same category.[139] Certain scenes from Blake Williams' 2018 avant-garde science fiction filmPrototype were compared to Begotten by Glenn Kenny of The New York Times.[140]Jimmy Joe Roche's 2018 experimental short film, Skin of Man, was also said to have been influenced by Begotten.[141]
The film's influence has also extended into the music world. As scholar Andrew M. Whelan wrote, cult and underground films such as Begotten often share the same thematic style as power electronics, a form of noise music noted for its lack of conventional rhythm, often inviting strong reactions from both listeners and critics in a manner reminiscent of Merhige's film.[142] In 1997, Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia released their third album Sounds of Decay, which featured a screenshot of Begotten as its front cover artwork. In an interview with webzineChronicles of Chaos, band member Jonas Renkse recalled the idea behind the inclusion of the image came out a conversation with a member of the record label Avantgarde Music.[143] In the promotional video for their 2001 song "Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels", Swedish black metal band Silencer used clips from Begotten interspersed with their own original footage.[144] American music artistZola Jesus listed the film as a major inspiration for her 2017 music album Okovi, stating in an interview with ARTnews that during the development of the album, she played the film on loop in order to help with Okovi's audio and visual aesthetic.[145] For their experimental musical composition Frankenstein Bemshi! at the 2018 Rochester Fringe Festival, performers Dave Esposito and G. E. Schwartz mixed portions of Begotten with the 1910 film Frankenstein, accompanied by live guitar music, electronic soundscapes, spoken narration, and with poetry added as text to the movie's image.[146]Heavy metal magazine Decibel compared the music video for the Texas gothic rock band Sword Collector's single "Inherit the Scepter" to Begotten and Ari Aster's 2019 folkhorror filmMidsommar.[147]
Sequels
Begotten is the first in a trilogy of films described by Merhige and media outlets as The Begotten Cycle, a series of short film sequels delving into different aspects of creation mythology and mysticism.[148][149][150]
Din of Celestial Birds
The first sequel is the 14-minute short film Din of Celestial Birds.[43] As with Begotten, Merhige acted as writer, director, and producer. The short was in part funded by the Q6 production group, a collective of philosophers and artists. His principal inspiration came from silent films such as Jean Cocteau's Blood of a Poet (1930), Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), and the works of Auguste and Louis Lumière.[8]
Merhige intended the short as a depiction of "creation in its simplest and purest form".[8] Focusing on the theory of evolution instead of religion and mythology,[151] it opens with an intertitle that reads: "Hello and welcome ... do not be afraid ... be comforted ... remember ... our origin...", followed by images depicting the Big Bang. Then, after a hyper-accelerated trip through the evolution of life and the Earth, it culminates in the birth of an embryonic pseudo-humanoid named the Son of Light (Stephen Charles Barry) who reaches towards the sky as the scene fades to a shot of the Earth.[152]
Din of Celestial Birds premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 6, 2006, as one of their showcased short films.[153] It was later screened on Turner Classic Movies on September 15th.[8] The film was also screened at the European Media Art Festival in 2009 as a part of that year's theme, "The Future Lasts Longer Than The Past".[154] It was later screened alongside its predecessor at the SpectreFest Film Festival in 2015.[78]
Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera
Merhige's trilogy later concluded with the 40-minute short film Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera, alternately titled Polia & Blastema: A Metaphysical Fable, marking the director's first operatic effort.[97][155] The film is a collaborative effort between Merhige and fellow filmmaker David Wexler, and music artist Gavin Gamboa,[156] through the production companies Century Guild Creative, Strangeloop Studios, and The Teaching Machine. Inspiration for the film came from the short-lived transgressive art movement Viennese Actionism, in addition to philosopher Eugene Thacker's notions of supernatural horror and dissolution known as "[a] world-without-us".[157] Production for the film began in mid-2016, after a successful Kickstarter campaign.[158]
Described as "a gnostic creation myth" in promotional material for its premiere screening, the film incorporates several different genres, including fantasy and science fiction in the series' typically grainy, black-and-white visual style.[156] The story follows two otherworldly beings (Nina McNeely, and Jasmine Albuquerque) who believe themselves to be a single entity separated by unknown circumstances, as they journey through a desolate and hellish landscape. Through their quest across space and time, they discover more about themselves and are finally reunited. Embracing, the two beings 'become one' as they devour each other in ritualistic ecstasy, merging in an act that transforms them into a new deity.[52][159][160]
It premiered at the Opera Philadelphia's Opera on Film Festival on September 30, 2022.[159][161][162] It was later screened at Offscreen Film Festival, as a part of their The Screen of the Sky series, in the Brussels Planetarium, alongside Begotten and Din of Celestial Birds, on March 26, 2023.[163] The entire "Begotten Cycle" was screened at the 2023 L'Etrange Festival in Paris, beginning on September 9 and concluding on September 17.[149][164] On November 4th, Polia & Blastema made its official premiere in the United Kingdom at the Leeds International Film Festival, where it was screened alongside the entire trilogy followed by a Q & A with Merhige.[165] At the end on the year, on December 16, 2023, it was screened at the 17th Annual Film Mutations Film Festival in Croatia, with the previous entries in the series.[97][166]
^No relation to famed German actor Max Schreck, the subject of Merhige's later film Shadow of the Vampire.[1]
^Fangoria, Filmmaker, and author Bartłomiej Paszylk claimed that Time listed Begotten among the best films of 1990.[1][16][111]Los Angeles Times and the film's DVD packaging claimed it had been listed in 1991.[24][90]
^ abc"filmskemutacije" [Film Mutations]. Filmskemutacije.com (in Serbo-Croatian). December 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^Garcia, Salvador (January 18, 2014). "Videos musicales que perturban". MorbidoFest.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
Beahm, Justin (September 30, 2013). "Begotten Son: Filmmaker E. Elias Merhige Challenged and Confounded with His Chillingly Allegorical First Feature". Fangoria. No. 326. United States: Cinestate. p. 32.
Malcolm, Paul (August 11, 1994). "Begotten". LA Weekly. p. 43. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com(subscription required).
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