Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.
Polanski's atmospheric thriller excels in its moody European cinematography, with gorgeous location photography across New York, Toledo, Sintra, and the French countryside that gives the film a distinctly literary, occult ambiance. The plot is an engaging bibliophile mystery that sustains intrigue through clever puzzle-like construction, though it loses momentum in the second half. Depp delivers a characteristically cool, detached performance that suits Corso well, while Frank Langella is memorably sinister. The ending, however, is a significant weak point — deliberately ambiguous but frustratingly thin, leaving audiences feeling cheated rather than intrigued. The film's novelty lies in its rare-book obsessive milieu and slow-burn Rosemary's Baby-esque dread, though it doesn't break new ground for Polanski or the genre at large.