He falls under her spell, dumps Michael Madsen's daughter, moves to Russia (or some place that looks like Russia) with her, and they sit around in a Castle and drink odd concoctions together, and brood. Ligeia needs a new body you see, because she's cursed and will die without "transferring her essence" to another.
Plot holes galore and awkward body swapping ensue. |
So imagine my surprise to find him starring in The Tomb (aka Ligeia.) I immediately thought to myself "this isn't going to be good," and lo-and-behold, it wasn't.
It's a fine film in a few ways; it looks good, it's filled with some great scenery, there are a couple of hot chicks in it... and that's it. That's pretty much all of the "good." Aside from those few things, The Tomb is drab, dull, boring, slow, often feels choppy, and above all, it isn't scary. As a TV drama, maybe it works for some people. Maybe. As a Horror film, and one released under the Fangoria banner, it's a major let down. Let's not even mention that Ligeia was originally a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, because that makes the insult that much worse. Whoever wrote this script must have wiped their ass with Poe's short story and scoffed, thinking that they could do it better.
Why so frowny? |
I'm convinced that The Tomb was edited by someone who was drunk off their ass or wanted some kind of revenge, because the movie jumps scenes so awkwardly and nonsensically, that the plot becomes pointless and frustrating about 20 minutes in. Flat, uninspired acting doesn't help either when dealing with a shitty script, and that's pretty much what we got from just about everyone in this work of art. Wes Bentley pretty much sleepwalks through this movie. Seeing Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts in this movie makes me recall the days when they were both character acting powerhouses, landing plum roles and knocking it out of the park every time. Here, they just kind of exist for the sake of existing, and serve no purpose. Sofya Skya is gorgeous as Ligeia, but really can't act to save her life; Monica Belluci would have been perfect in her role. It's always fun to see long time character actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, as he just has that thing about him... like a Japanese version of Danny Trejo, if that makes any sense. And Christa Campbell was in this? Where? I must have missed her when I dozed off...
Why always with the eyebrows, Wes Bentley? |
Kaitlin Doubleday is in this.
The 1964 version, 'The Tomb of Ligeia' is probably much better, but I'll watch this one for the hot chicks anyway.
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