This could've been something so much more. Johnny Depp (who's still an underrated leading man in my book) stars as a scamming book specialist who's hired by eccentric millionaire Frank Langella to research and hunt down an ancient Satanic book only to get involved with murder, mayhem and evil goings-on.

What starts off as a heady and quite interesting time (thanks to its different premise) starts to lose its footing due to being a bit drab in some aspects, having no real feeling of menace to it and a last third that is just ridiculous. Not to mention a totally anti-climatic ending, the fact it wastes the usually good Lena Olin in a side-role and a feeling of lackluster that flows through the entire film.

Depp tries, the idea behind it is good; but it just flops and gets too sloppy for its own good. Polanski has done much better and this is only recommended to those who want to see Depp chainsmoke and to see how an interesting idea can fail even in the hands of a good director.

Directed By: Roman Polanski.
Written By: John Brownjohn, Roman Polanski, Enrique Urbizu.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Frank Langella, James Russo.