Black Circle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Black Circle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 16, 2023

The ways of mental manipulation are examined in 2018’s “Black Circle,” a Mexican/Swedish production looking to creep out viewers with its slow-burn study of control. Writer/director Adrian Garcia Bogliano has something sinister in mind with the picture, trying to replicate a low-budget brain bleeder from the 1970s, merging the ways of exploitation and underground cinema for this exploration of self-help gone horribly wrong. There’s a fantastic idea for a freak-out at the center of the endeavor, but Bogliano has some difficulty staying focused on unnerving business in “Black Circle,” which often gets lost in its own world-building. It’s an interesting feature, but only periodically, eventually diminished by a weak climax, which doesn’t carry the kind of payoff invested viewers deserve.

Celeste (Felice Jankell) is struggling in life. She’s recently lost her job and broken up with her boyfriend, feeling directionless and isolated, in need of help. Visting her sister, Isa (Erica Midfjall), Celeste notices how well put together her sibling is, showing confidence at work, becoming a new woman after battling her own personal issues. Isa offers a solution, introducing the concept of “Magnetism,” with the hypnosis-like experience managing to clear her mind and set her right while she sleeps. Such treatment comes in the form of a record album from the 1970s, a release from the Magnetic Research of Stockholm, and Celeste is eager to try it out. Listening to the vinyl as she drifts off to sleep, the young woman sees immediate results, but trouble isn’t far behind. With Magnetism comes a new frontier of mental fracture, as Celeste begins to feel paranoid and unwell, eventually connecting with Lena (Christina Lindberg), the daughter of the movement’s founder and the face on the record. Recognizing what’s going on, Lena looks to help the sisters, introducing them to the horrors of “ethereal doubles” and The Supreme, a deity located on a different plane of existence Celeste and Isa are currently residing in.

While the effort has big ideas, Bogliano has no money, keeping “Black Circle” small in scale. He opens the feature with a display of hypnosis, asking viewers to get lost in a screen pattern – an idea, like everything in the picture, that goes on for too long. Celeste is the lead character for most of the story, and we’re soon introduced to her glum ways, struggling to make sense of her mistakes and misfortune, but finding no way out. The concept of Magnetism and the album is promising, and early scenes work relatively well, showcasing the audio’s power over Celeste, who’s shocked by her response to side A instruction before she begins her side B descent into the power of suggestion. “Black Circle” sets an unsettling mood, supported by abstract and dreamlike visuals, and there’s a sense of the unknown, with the ways of this dark force remaining unclear, giving Bogliano an opportunity to toy with screen events and unreality, boosting the core mystery.

“Black Circle” finds trouble when it begins sorting through the evidence, looking to piece together a viable chiller. Exposition replaces enigmatic ways, but even that’s not enough to make full sense of everything, with the writing introducing the incestual ways of psychic twins Victor (Johan Palm) and Selma (Hanna Asp), but never doing a distinct job explaining where these two come from. There’s also business involving The Supreme, with Bogliano generally better with introductions than payoffs, eventually skipping on promised bigness to deliver a more affordable nightmare as the action travels to The Institute, the place where Magnetism began.

While broken up into chapters, the last half of “Black Circle” remains in one place, exploring Lena’s attempts to help Celeste retrieve her “ethereal double” and regain control over her mind. Isa is present as well, promoted to the lead character in the climax, which is an unusual creative choice. There’s Marten (Hans Sandqvist) as well, acting as the lone caretaker of The Institute, keeping the dream alive for Lena’s family business, while she prefers to shut it all down. Bogliano increases use of odd imagery and unexplainable events, playing with the unknown while keeping viewers in the dark, intending to overwhelm them with strange experiences involving the slimy pursuit of “umbilical cords” used to pull together all that’s been divided by Magnetism. Therapy goes on for quite some time in “Black Circle,” and it’s not nearly as involving as Bogliano believes, coming across as more of a directorial show of force than a necessary dive into a sticky psychological abyss.

Black Circle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.44:1 aspect ratio) presentation preserves the effort's unusual imagery, offering a nice sense of texture on costuming and skin particulars, which observe displays of age and weariness. Interiors retain decorative detail, and exteriors are dimensional. Encounters with the unreal retain sliminess. Colors are appealing, with distinct primaries on mood lighting, while a cooler palette is found elsewhere, maintaining the feature's menace. Skin tones are natural. Grain is nicely resolved. Delineation is acceptable.

Black Circle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix plays a little with sound, with "magnetic" sequences pushing into the surrounds, tracking voices and movement. Dialogue exchanges are crisp. Musical moods are defined, with clear instrumentation, also going circular. Low-end isn't challenged, handling with a subtle presence.

Black Circle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• CD Soundtrack is included.

• Commentary features director Adrian Garcia Bogliano.

• "Inside 'Black Circle'" (9:02, HD) is a making-of for the movie, featuring interviews with director Adrian Garcia Bogliano, and actors Hanna Asp, Christina Lindberg, Jonah Palm, Hans Sandqvist, Felice Jankell, and Madeline Barwen Trollvik. Brief mentions of character and the film's tone are supplied, but more interesting are glimpses of BTS footage, watching the production in motion.

• Interview (57:25, HD) and extended chat with actress Christian Lindberg, conducted by director Adrian Garcia Bogliano.

• Image Gallery (14:05) collects shots from the film.

• "Don't Open Your Eyes" (10:55, HD) is a 2017 short film from director Adrian Garcia Bogliano.

• And a Teaser Trailer (1:08, HD) is included.

Black Circle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Black Circle" struggles with its limited funding, with Bogliano stuck with herky-jerky hand-held cinematography that exposes the spareness of the shoot, and such rough movement distracts from the focus of scenes. The production also deals with editorial permissiveness, presenting a bottom- heavy feature that tries to wind up with treatment complications that expose doubles and puts pressure on some characters to perform for the cause. The effort is missing a great grip of suspense where it matters the most, as Bogliano gets too caught up in his own mischief, failing to invite the audience to join him as danger increases and the siblings are pushed to the edge of multiple realities. The endeavor ends with a whimper, but there's a first hour of reasonably inviting doom and distortion, setting up a strange world of human puppetry. The actors also understand what's expected of them, doing well with little dramatic meat, and the stunt casting of Lindberg (the star of 1973's "Thriller: A Cruel Picture") has its appeal for genre fans as she quickly reaches her thespian capabilities. "Black Circle" is effective at times, but also feels like a misfire, ending up an uneven movie with potential for greatness. Bogliano offers a big swing with all this weirdness, but he doesn't seem to have interest in sorting all the psychotronic-ness out for others.