I'm usually skeptical of anything about the culty author, speaker, necromancer and renaissance man of all things evil, Aleister Crowley. It's because I have yet to read a really good solid book about him, to see a decent documentary, or especially: a well-done, serious A-list film.
So I just watched the DVD of the upcoming In Search of the Great Beast 666, and let's just say… The quest continues. There is no doubt about it: Crowley (pronounced to rhyme with "holy") is a charismatic, logic-defying and shocking historical figure, but every single presentation on him I have seen to date is either too scholarly, too biased, or (usually) just plain inept.
Great Beast is basically a dramatized documentary, showing actors being interviewed as if they are actually Crowley's contemporaries. There is also Crowley himself (portrayed by Thomas Bewley), giving his side of the story. It's just "talking heads" all dressed up in period costumes, intercut with the occasional still photo and B-roll of some of Crowley's old stomping grounds and lavish residences.
Essentially the movie is pointless and unentertaining — I mean, why employ actors to just sit there talking unless you are going to make it cinematic? (Louis Malle did it with My Dinner With Andre; Richard Linklater did it with Before Sunset; Jim Jarmush did it with Coffee & Cigarettes — movies of people sitting around talking CAN be made interesting.)
The cinematography is poorly lit, flat, unidimensional, uninspired and downright dull. As your eyes glaze over, you can scarcely open your ears long enough to tell if the script is any good (mostly, it's not — the dialogue is informative, but quite stilted). The acting is OK. Actually, it's surprisingly good at times, given the talent pool and the low-budget circumstance. At least Great Beast is nicely narrated by the gravitas-gifted Joss Ackland (Watership Down, White Mischief).
In case you hadn't guessed, I do not recommend Great Beast as a movie on its own merits. If, however, you're curious about Crowley's life (not the legend — this is perspective-free, presented as if made in the moment), you could do worse. The fictional horror film Crowley (released earlier this year) wasn't bad, but hopefully someday The History Channel or PBS or some-such entity will produce the definitive doc… in the meantime, there isn't much else. So I guess you could say Great Beast is the "lesser of the evils".
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson