Dante’s Inferno (2007) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Sean Meredith
Starring: Tony Abatemarco, Scott Adsit, Matt Besser
Rated: UR/Region: 1/1X77/Number of disc: 1
Available from TLA Releasing
HELL goes animated as apocalyptic graphic novel artwork and eerie Victorian toy theater converge in this subversively satiric update of a literary classic. Reinterpreted with the use of intricately hand-drawn puppets and stunning miniature sets, this bizarre travelogue narrated by Dante, a hard-living hoody-clad twenty-something slacker, will take you on a gritty, violent tour of hell that bears a disturbing resemblance to our own world. Featuring the dark, mood-drenched voice of Dermot Mulroney (Zodiac, Undertow) as Dante, and the wizened pipes of James Cromwell (L.A. Confidential, “Six Feet Under”) as his ghostly guide, Dante’s Inferno is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Featuring the voice talents of Dermot Mulroney and James Cromwell, Dante’s Inferno is trippy animated strangeness, that is certainly not for the kiddies.
Every now and again you’ll run across something that just seems new and different. If nothing else, Dante’s Inferno, comes across a very new and different film experience. And a big part of that is due to the unique way that the movie is told, in the form of paper characters and a small stage that is handmade. It comes across sort of like stop motion, only it isn’t. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it and as it process on you forget you are watching paper and enjoy the film for the weird and creative film that it is. As we pass through the levels of hell, we even have time for a song or two. It’s all weird, but it all works.
I’m not saying that this is a movie that a lot of you will like, because I see that it clearly is an acquired taste. But for those of you who enjoy a weird story (re-telling of a weird story) and a very different style of filmmaking, then you will be able to appreciate this movie for what it is. By the time this movie wraps you realize pretty soon that you’ve seen something that just comes across as cool. Just by seeing the trailer you might think that this isn’t something you’ll want to try to check out, but I believe if you take a chance on it you will find that you enjoy it overall.
– Commentary with Director Sean Meredith, Art Director Sandow Birk and Head Puppeteer Paul Zailoom
– Commentary with America’s Leading Historian of Puppetry John Bell and Renowned Dante – Alighieri Scholar Peter Hawkins
– Filming the Inferno Featurette : “12 Days Underground”
– Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
– Original Trailer
– Mp3s (DVD-Rom)
