Writer/director Miles Doleac is known for his rich, dark scripts as he weaves his passion and knowledge of history and mythological lore into visual tapestries that are often blood-soaked and visceral in not only each film’s style and look, but in the evocative emotional temperature. With DEMIGOD, Doleac ups the ante and ratchets up the cinematic temperature even higher, immersing us deep within the macabre terrifying bloody lore of Cernunnos as ancient beliefs meet the 21st Century.
The night is inky-black with a rising full moon. A thick forest gives way to a hilly thicket. A pregnant woman runs towards us. Panicked. Fearful. Screaming. Yet there is no one to hear her screams. Behind her in pursuit are four “creatures”. As they catch up to the woman we hear them speak in German. They are witches. Sisters. (With one very large grotesque henchman in tow.) They want something this woman has. They need that unborn child as these witches are in service to the god of the hunt and the forest, the lord of the wild things. They serve Cernunnos. And as the moon turns blood red and we hear the screams of a newborn child, like the more benign Mufasa and Simba, Cernunnos is silhouetted against the red sky holding up the child, announcing his power. And this is just the prologue!
Cut to present day. DEMIGOD is the story of Robin, a woman who spent her early years in the Black Forest of Germany with her grandfather Karl before suddenly being whisked away, never returning until now, decades later, with Karl’s passing and learning he has left his forest home and all possessions to her. What begins as a trip down memory lane as Robin talks about her childhood and Karl to her husband Leo suddenly turns a bit fearful as the couple encounters local hunter Arthur and his young daughter Amalia. But as night falls, fear turns into terror with the arrival of dark forces serving the legendary god Cernunnos and Robin realizes that the stories told her by her grandfather were not some dark Grimm fairy tales, but horrifying truths which she must now face if she, Leo, and others, are to survive the night.
Directed by Miles Doleac and written by Doleac and Michael Donovan Horn, DEMIGOD stars Rachel Nichols as Robin along with Doleac adding “actor” to his many hats here as Arthur, Jeremy London as Karl, Rachel Ryals as Amalia, Yiohance Miles as Leo, Tatiana Piper as Katya, and Manon Pages as Tabitha, while our devoted demonic witches come courtesy of Lindsay Anne Williams as Hettica, Elena Sanchez as Latara, and scene-stealing Sarah Fisher as Fell, with Christian Stokes as Grimur and Chukwuma Onwuchekwa as the imposing immortal Cernunnos.
Performances are effective and grounded, particularly those of Rachel Nichols and Rachel Ryals who spend a good deal of time onscreen together with Nichols providing an almost maternal protectiveness to Robin when it comes to Ryals’ Amalia. But don’t think for a minute that Ryals plays Amalia as a frightened child. She gives Amalia courage and inner fortitude and defiance, not to mention speaking some flawless German. And the camera loves Ryals. Together Nichols and Ryals give DEMIGOD a heart.
Equally strong work comes from Lindsay Anne Williams who commands the screen as Hettica. Garbed in heavy fabrics and furs that reek of nature and Hettica’s ties to Cernunnos and nature, Williams is spellbinding malevolence. Her movements are methodical, deliberate, ancient. Her facial expressiveness fierce and frightening. And take note of the chants and hymns of the witches; one beautiful haunting piece is also sung by Williams.
A real performance standout is Sarah Fisher. As Fell, she reminds me of Martin Short as “Frick” in the mini-series “Merlin”. Fisher is outstanding. Her physicality bodes a creepy quirkiness that makes you squirmingly uncomfortable just watching her.
But the real strength of DEMIGOD lies in the film’s aesthetic, visually and sonically, as “we are there.” The legend is real. Fear and terror are palpable. Blood-soaked violence reigns.
Shooting on Lomo anamorphic widescreen lenses, cinematographer Nathan Tape celebrates light flare, particularly horizontal light flares along the horizon line at the height of a full moon or with the break of sun. We feel the spectre of the lore, the terror. Taking advantage of the shooting location of Little Black Creek in Mississippi as a stand-in for Germany’s Black Forest, we are immersed in the moment, in the fear. It is palpable. Often laying on his back shooting upward, Tape has us feeling the centuries old trees looking so tall they become part of the sky. There is a timelessness and legend, not to mention isolation. He then counters that with flashbacks that are bright and super-saturated in yellow and green visuals. Inside Karl’s cabin, lighting is warm thanks to candles, fire and moonlight, showcasing Julie Toche’s production design within the wooded walls covered in antlers and laden with hundreds of bones. In darkness, negative space plays to fears of the unseen and unknown as everyone tries to escape the witches and their ultimate goal – human sacrifice for Cernunnos. Branches catch on clothing, rough terrain with roots, rocks, and steep incline are obstacles only intensified by the camera and by sound.
Sound is instrumental in creating the ambient aesthetic of DEMIGOD. We hear screams both front and center or muffled by foliage in the distance. Every footstep pounding on the ground fleeing in terror is distinct. The forest is a character. It feels alive and the crunch of leaves, the brush of a jacket against the bark of a tree, the swaying of the tree branches and leaves, the gurgle of water in a pond all bring it to life while the roar of Cernunnos reverberates throughout all.
Longtime collaborator with Doleac, Clifton Hyde delivers a score with instrumentation that celebrates the guttural earthiness and power of Cernunnos while lacing that with haunting, and at times, almost ethereal notes. And score is deftly mixed with the sound elements with each buttressing and feeding on the other.
Adding to the experience is the outstanding make-up work by Ashley Treadaway, most notably with witches Hettica, Latara, and Fell, as well as the overall gore and blood work make-up. Prosthetic masks for Grimur and Cernunnos are stunning, particularly that for Grimur, while costume designer Lindsay Anne Williams weaves her magic with a needle and thread costuming individual 21st-century wardrobe for Robin, Leo, Karl and the rest, along with designing the leather and fur work for Grimur and Cernunnos, and the telling and distinctive costuming of the three witches.
But DEMIGOD all starts with story and once again, Doleac and writing partner Michael Donovan Horn, create a world that is three-dimensional not only on the page and on the screen, but emotionally. Terror-filled at every turn, they play to the strengths of the Cernunnos mythology (and even embellish the horror a bit) and use that to craft action and adventure through a fully-realized ambient setting and compelling characters. But no kill, no blood-letting, no violent act is gratuitous. Each is purposeful and, dare I say, unique in its execution. Driving the story, though, is not only potential sacrifices to welcome Cernunnos, it’s a journey of life, of sacrifice, and of something bigger than even a DEMIGOD.
Directed by Miles Doleac
Written by Miles Doleac and Michael Donovan Horn
Cast: Rachel Nichols, Jeremy London, Miles Doleac, Rachel Ryals, Yohance Myles, Elena Sanchez, Lindsay Anne Williams, Sarah Fisher, Christian Stokes, Manon Pages, Tatiana Piper, Chukwuma Onwuchekwa
by debbie elias, 09/05/2021
