By David Dent
As a word ‘pandemonium’ derives from the name of the home of demons in Milton’s poem ‘Paradise Lost’, which is fitting in terms of where French multimedia artist and director Quarxx takes us; a darkly comic absurd journey from this world to the next.
Nathan (Hugo Dillon) emerges from a car crash on a deserted country road, seemingly unscathed. The rider of the motorcycle, the other vehicle involved in the accident, also seems miraculously unhurt; he is Daniel (Arben Bajraktaraj), But all is not as it seems; both men are actually dead. As snow falls, gradually cutting them off from the outside world, they are faced with two portals, clearly representing heaven and ‘the other place’. Sadly because of their own recent histories both men are destined for the second option, but what Nathan finds when he enters through the gates is a hell much worse than he’s imagined.
It’s very difficult to mention much more of the plot of Pandemonium, such as it is, without revealing detail which, without seeing the film yourself, might seem trivial. Quarxx’s follow on from his 2018 movie, All the Gods in the Sky, revisits some of the thematic ground of that film. This is a film that feels like it was lifted from the pages of an oblique short story; it’s often unbearably grim in tone, little is explained, but there is a seam of jet dark humour running through it.
The first half plays out like something from the ending of another film, one where the denoument shows us that the characters realise they are no more. Here it’s immediately apparent that these men have caused each others’ deaths and have ended their life frustratingly early. Daniel acts as a kind of guide to help Nathan come to grips with his new status, which includes having to step through the most appropriate of the two portals to face his spiritual future. The second half acts almost like a demented portmanteau film, as Nathan acclimatises himself to his afterlife.
Pandemonium won’t be for everyone. Like the films of oddball countryman Quentin Dupieux, this is niche ‘entertainment’, but is beautifully filmed and acted; it’s perhaps too arch to tug at the heartstrings, despite Benjamin Leray’s moving score, but is certainly worth a look.
Pandemonium screens as part of Frightfest 2023.
Bloody Flicks 