Medusa

Medusa has nothing at all to do with mythological Gorgons, people turning to stone, or anything else that comes to mind when I hear the word. In fact, I can think of no correlation between familiar uses of the word and this movie at all. If they're there I must have slept through them.

At the center of the story is a brother and sister pair who have been living a life of wealth that is threatened when a new will turns up that cuts off their inheritance. The brother (George Hamilton) is particularly bothered as he owes a lot of money to some dangerous people and is counting on that inheritance to get him out of trouble. The people he owes recognize their stake in the matter as well.

So the search for the will begins leaving bodies in the wake. Who is victim and who is culprit? Who is the black clad figure lurking in the shadows? And who on earth has that will?

It all sounds like it could pan out to be a fairly decent story. In actuality it’s as dull as dishwater (an expression that I don't typically use but that feels somehow appropriate here). The characters are weak; throughout most of the movie I felt like I knew very little about any of them. There’s little in the way of discernible motivations, and in the interest of trying to create mystery, there’s a great deal of ambiguity about what’s actually happening. Some ambiguity is good for a mystery, but there has to be enough information to engage the audience which this movie lacks.

The only character I really liked is actually one of the smaller roles: the inspector. He plays mind games with his suspects and has a calm, quiet, ominous air about him. You better fly right or he'll nab you.

That’s not to say that all the actors necessarily suck. George Hamilton and others are good as far as acting out any given scene; it’s the tying of one scene to another in such a way that creates believable characters and responses to situations that fall short. But while not all of the actors are bad, some most certainly are terrible.

Pacing is often poor. The first 15 minutes of the movie has almost no dialogue. We don’t know who anyone is or what’s going on (I thought bro. and sis. were ex-lovers at first which changed the nature of their interaction in my mind – it would have helped to know their relationship sooner). The party scenes drag on and on, have little baring on the story as a whole, and set a bland mood (even if George’s drunkenness is somewhat amusing). Plus, it’s nearly half an hour before any indication of the plot starts creeping in.

We know within the first few seconds of the opening that the main characters die. No, that’s not a spoiler, that’s literally the first bit of information the movie offers. And George narrates the opening from beyond the grave. This unusual bit initially gave me hope that this would be a good movie, but the surrealism isn’t played up enough. We do at least get some insight into George’s spiritual search to tie in his posthumous comments.

MORALITY:

This one has some strong language but not too terribly much.

There is minimal sexuality (though with some incestuous comments made), and a quick shot of a guy’s backside in the shower.

While there is murder and blood there is little and only mild depicted violence.

SPIRITUALITY:

George's character does have something of a spiritually inquisitive side to him. While that does add a little bit to him it's not enough to make it interesting or generate discussion.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you want to watch a movie, watch Medusa. If you want to watch a good movie, watch something else.

#Medusa