Director: Ken Russell
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Timothy Spall
Screenplay: Stephen Volk
88 mins. Rated R.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, parties like literary types.

Gothic is a fictional chronicling of the night in which Percy Shelley (Julian Sands, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson, The Parent Trap) visit Villa Diodati in Switzerland where Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne, Hereditary) resides, a night of sinful storytelling and shocking mayhem that led to Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein and Dr. John Polidori (Timothy Spall, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) writing The Vampyre.

At its core, Gothic is a rather enticing subject for a film, one where fact and fiction collides into a cosmic gumbo of myth and legend, and with Ken Russell (The Devils) at the helm, Gothic spends its 88 minutes slowly ramping up the tension and the opium into a fever dream worthy of the very horror works that were completed following this night. I had no preconceived notions for what to expect in the film, and I was still wrapped up in the mayhem along with Mary, who fills a audience surrogate for much of the film. While it doesn’t reach the unhinged heights of Altered States or The Devils, Gothic does have a lot of psychological horrors hidden behind its seemingly comfortable facade.

This is not a film of plot. Russell merely sets his chess set up, putting his opening moves together, and then there are a number of, what I can only describe as character vignettes or individual moments before the film’s final scenes. This is all character work, and seeing the real life humans portrayed by notable performers and visualized through the lens of their written works, Gothic frequently folds in on itself, and it’s best to just embrace what is being seen on first viewing rather than trying to unlock its puzzles, which can be found easier on multiple viewings, like how the film cleverly foreshadows of the deaths of these characters all through the night, or a number of literary mentions that circle back to friends of the group.

When you are light on plot and heavy on experiential atmosphere, it helps to have great performers playing layered characters, and using the framework of the real-life figures, Gothic allows some free interpretation of the characters. Julian Sands and Natasha Richardson are excellent in their roles and excellent together. Gabriel Byrne knows how to play mean bastards, and Lord Byron is a bit of one, a little pathetic and frivolous and lonely. I only wish we got more time with Claire, played by Myriam Cyr, who gets a little shortchanged as the narrative lingers on.

Is Gothic the weirdest thing Ken Russell has ever been apart of? No, that would be Celebrity Big Brother UK, but never mind that. Gothic is fully experiential, and your mileage may vary only due to your knowledge and interest in the central players. The film doesn’t attempt to translate the major authorial machinations of such a night, so those unfamiliar or uncaring about them will not be swayed by the film, but I thought it was an excellent evening of debauchery, sin, and horrible revelations that will aid in the creation of a masterpiece. With great performances and a perfectly paired filmmaker at the helm, Gothic is a win, perfect for the spooky season.

4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe