Trance (1998) Reviews

• Trance: Weird but not wonderful

  Platypuschow2018-07-07

  The weirdest thing about this odd little movie is that its labelled a remake of The Mummy (1932) (And subsequent remakes). But instead of a mummy we have a witch. And instead of Egypt it's Ireland. And instead of being good, its terrible. Starring Christopher Walken and Jared Harris, even a decent cast couldn't turn this one around. The plot is thoroughly confuddled, the script is dire and the only thing that the movie has going for it is the finale but even that is recycled. The Eternal (Otherwise known as Trance) is a hard one to pigeon hole. It's not exactly a traditional horror, more a supernatural thriller maybe? One thing is for sure, the movie isn't as smart as the creators clearly thought it was and falls under the category of instantly forgettable. The Good: Walken and Harris do fine The Bad: Messy score/soundtrack Walken is wasted Things I Learnt From This Movie: Getting knocked out twice within the space of a few minutes has to have a lasting impact right?

• Atmospheric and fun

  rgonzale2004-01-05

  If you are looking for a slasher or a monster movie, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a moody, humorous, beautifully-shot B movie, this is it. As in his previous film, Nadja, Michael Almereyda's "monster" has human frailties and desires. He manages to find humor in his characters' constant drunkenness (why did they come to Ireland to try to dry out!?) and conveys this drunken feeling in the way the scenes cut from one to the next. The inventive cinematography leaves several scenes etched in your memory, and the sometimes-trip-hop soundtrack is very hip and lends to the dark mood. The pacing starts out slow but becomes engrossing and heart-pumping. In the end Trance/Eternal/Kiss of the Mummy is a fun film and merits multiple viewings. My sole complaint is that the visuals and the soundtrack really deserve and would benefit from large-screen presentation.

• Haunting, creepy, beautiful, artsy, deep, confusing, modest budget...

  Wuchakk2013-11-19

  ...these are the words that came to mind after watching 1998's "THE ETERNAL Kiss of the Mummy," originally titled "Trance" and written & directed by Michael Almereyda. The story is about an alcoholic couple who travel to the wife's country manor in Ireland, supposedly to sober up and give their son the opportunity to meet her ailing grandmother. They discover that her weird uncle (Christopher Walken) has a 2000 year-old mummy of a Druid witch in the basement, which he's curiously trying to revive! This is Gothic horror in the modern day and struck me as a Hammer flick if it were released in more current times. Alison Elliott is fetching in the starring role of the alcoholic wife. You can tell she has a sweet figure, but you'll only catch a glimpse here or there (not that I'd want to see nudity or sleaze; I'm just saying that there's a way to film beautiful women like Alison and this movie doesn't deliver enough on this front, but it does a bit). "THE ETERNAL" is not your typical modern horror schlock. It doesn't shoot for conventional horror and gore, but it IS pretty creepy in a Gothic sense. I saw "Big Bad Wolf" (2006) before I viewed this one and, although "Big Bad Wolf" is thrilling and ultra-gory, it's not scary, mainly because the filmmakers & cast cop a semi-campy vibe. "THE ETERNAL," by contrast, plays it completely straight and the foggy Irish moors & centuries-old mansion add to the haunting ambiance. There's also a quality soundtrack with a few stand-out alternative rock numbers, like the one that plays during the end credits, "My Head Becomes the Sky" by Tara Baoth Mooney. Anyway, there's a Gothic beauty to the movie, which makes it a pleasure just to watch even if the story is "sluggish," as some criticize. It's clear that the writer/director was aiming for art more than common horror thrills. I'd compare it to "The Mothman Prophecies" (2002) in this sense, albeit not as good. It was limited by an obvious modest budget, which shows through here and there with awkward, amateurish filmmaking. After viewing, I reflected on the seemingly nonsensical story, particularly the perplexing events in the third act, and certain things started to make sense: This is only a story about a Druid witch coming back to life on the surface; and all that might be figurative. It's really about a woman in bondage to alcoholism who comes face-to-face with her lower nature, her self-destructive side (her "id" or "flesh"), not to mention confronting her incestuous uncle, and trying to prevail. Going back to her heritage, her roots, enables her to see WHY she turned to alcohol for succor in the first place. In essence, this is a Gothic tale about the purging of one's fleshly demons. The film runs 95 minutes and was shot in Connemara & Dublin, Ireland; New York; and Miami Beach, Florida. GRADE: B-/C+

• Excellent down-to-earth horror!

  marnoaro2001-04-13

  Here we have a great horror movie, presented in a very down-to-earth manner. Reminds me of classic English movies, combined with excellent acting skills of Christopher Walken, and a story line that keeps your ass tight on a sofa till the dramatic end. For people who don't necessarily need fancy special effects, and million dollar explosions to enjoy a good movie with an idea!

• A Mummy Film in Ireland!

  Jeremiah-81999-10-19

  For the art house crowd comes this critically panned film never released theatrically in the U.S. `Nadja' director Michael Almareyda comes up with his skewed version of The Mummy, complete with hip characters, fun surprises, a great alternate music soundtrack, Christopher Walken doing a Irish accent but otherwise being his quirky old self, brilliant cinematography from Jim Denault and a flair for the unexpected. The perfectly enjoyable heroes are Allison Elliott and Jared Harris, as a cheerfully drunken couple going to Ireland to dry out. The movie acknowledges the "alcoholic" problem by having them not deal with it or call attention to it, and it's to the movie's credit that it's never an "issue" or makes them into completely awful or unbelievably irresponsible parents (they're just normally irresponsible, like most parents.) * * * for The Eternal, an imperfect gem.