Less than honest book collector, Dean Corso (Johnny Depp), is hired by Boris Bolkan (played by Frank Langella) to find an extremely rare book supposedly written by the devil himself. Bolkan owns a copy and merely wants his compared to the other existing copies. He gives Corso a nearly unlimited spending account in order to do this task. Corso visits the other shady owners of the book and they begin turning up dead in mysterious ways. A beautiful nameless girl (Emmanuelle Seigner) shows up and saves him from tight spots in order to keep Corso moving along in his quest.

Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion) directs The Ninth Gate, yet another horror film about people selling (or trying desperately to sell) their souls to the devil. Thankfully, Polanski is oddly obsessed with the topic and the cast is top notch making this subtle and somewhat bizarre film stand out among the myriad of devil-gonna-get-ya flicks. Yes, I loathe The Devil's Advocate, thank you very much. Anyway, The Ninth Gate is a masterfully filmed (by cinematographer Darius Khondji (Se7en)) and plotted film which fits deservedly in the Polanski canon. Two problems keep this one from being a genuine masterpiece. One is the long running time (patient viewers need only apply) and two is the overly tight dialogue. It is one thing to have a smart and quick speaking character in a film and it is another to have smart and quickly spoken dialogue throughout a film. Composer Wojciech Kilar's excellent score for The Ninth Gate has a comfy Ennio Morricone feel to it.

No slack performances to be found here. Skeletor himself, Frank Langella (Dracula, Masters Of The Universe) is quite creepy as Boris Bolkan, a book collector with seriously some satanic aspirations. The damnably sexy Lena Olin (Darkness, Romeo Is Bleeding) easily steals every scene she graces and the gorgeous Emmanuelle Seigner (Frantic) is a great addition to an already talented cast. Johnny Depp's Dean Corso is subtle, humorous, and dynamic enough for his intentions to sneak up on you. A well-realized character played by one of the greats.

I avoided The Ninth Gate for years thanks to some crap marketing scheme (be sure to watch the trailer if you've got the DVD) plus that dang Devil's Advocate was still fresh in my mind. Luckily, I came to my senses (thanks to my wife) and gave this one a shot. Polanski's film has its own dark beauty, a frightening subtlety, and a disarming sexiness which few horror films achieve. Fans of the director and horror films that require some thought and patience will be pleased with The Ninth Gate. Who else besides Depp and Polanski could get together to make book collecting seem sexy and dangerous? Oh yeah and apparently Emmanuelle Seigner can float through the air. Good stuff.