Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Pandemonium Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 21, 2024

What happens after we die? Does consciousness outlast the decay and demise of the body? If so, what does it experience? Are our Western notions of Heaven and/or Hell the only possibilities? And even if they are, it probably goes without saying that there are as many conceptions about what Heaven and/or Hell might be like as there are people indulging in those conceptions. Hell is very much a character in Pandemonium, a French film with considerable style but maybe the exact tonal opposite of that famous French laissez faire attitude, by which I mean the focal character, a hapless guy who discovers as the film opens he's just perished in a horrifying car crash that was at least partially his fault, is not left alone to ruminate on his fate, but is instead hounded, albeit not by Cerberus.

Nathan (Hugo Dillon) awakens spread eagled on a windy mountain road, and is shocked to see his car overturned and pretty much totaled, and even more shocked to see a guy named Daniel (Arben Bajraktaraj) just standing there, waiting for Nathan to regain consciousness. It turns out, of course, that both have perished in an accident which involved a perhaps distracted Nathan hitting the bicycling Daniel. Perhaps that's one reason that Daniel hears the call of the veritable Pearly Gates while Nathan has a bit more treacherous route to traverse. Writer and director Quarxx is on hand in a supplement mentioning that his main theme is "guilt", and of course Nathan bears the psychological scars of not just having unwittingly ended his own life, but that of Daniel's as well.

What ensues, however, is no hellish version of Pilgrim's Progress, but instead kind of interestingly (if also unavoidably disjointedly) a portmanteau of sorts, once Nathan gets to what seems to be hell, and in touching some of the corpses lying on the ground, is "ushered" into their stories. It's a patently strange conceit, and it may in fact not entirely gel, especially since both of the vignettes at least suggest nefarious behavior far beyond a distracted driver taking out a bike rider on a foggy mountain pass.

But it's in this very concept that Pandemonium can play more like an anthology television series ("who's he going to touch next?") and less like an organically woven together story. Both of the central vignettes involve females (one a child, the other an adult) who may have more than merely a skeleton in their closet (and/or living room floor, and/or bathtub), but what do either of these stories have to do with Nathan? And the ending, while gonzo in the extreme, is probably going to engender more questions than answers. Still, Pandemonium is almost relentlessly stylish and it at least offers a depiction of a hellish afterlife that is distinctly different from your ordinary everyday Dante sort of thing.

Pandemonium Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pandemonium is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers only a generic note on the transfer, as follows:

Pandemonium is presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio with stereo and 5.1 audio. The high definition master was provided by Film Seekers.

The IMDb doesn't have much information as of the writing of this review, and I haven't been able to track down anything authoritative online and I similarly wasn't able to really spot a camera model in the Making Of featurette, but the closing credits at least disclose Panavision lenses were used. Joking aside, this is an appealing looking digital capture that has obviously been toyed with pretty aggressively in post, leading to a unique appearance that is at times almost weirdly desaturated and at other times either seemingly swaddled in dust and ash or alternatively bathed in some really vivid tones, including some appropriately hellish reds. The result is that fine detail can definitely ebb and flow at times, which may actually play to the benefit of some of the makeup effects. That said, general detail levels are typically excellent, save for the very darkest moments, where it's frankly hard to see much of anything.

Pandemonium Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pandemonium features expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options in the original French. The surround track definitely opens up the proceedings noticeably, not just with background ambient environmental effects (which are numerous and fairly consistent), but also with regard to an effective score by Benjamin Leray. The sound design tends to ping pong between more staid moments, as in at least some of the scenes in the two central vignettes, and then more hallucinogenic and frankly weird moments where surround activity is more immersive. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Pandemonium Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Different Textures (HD; 19:58) is a new interview with writer and director Quarxx. Subtitled in English.


• Tony the Monster (HD; 16:41) features Quarxx and special make up effects supervisor Olivier Afonso discussing the creation of the character. Subtitled in English.


• Filming a Real Birth (HD; 4:44) looks at the real birth depicted late in the film. Subtitled in English.


• Premiere (HD; 3:58) is subtitled in English.


• Making Of (HD; 22:37) offers some interesting behind the scenes footage, especially with regard to how Hell was created. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 1:15)

Additionally Arrow provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with some interesting writing (including a Director's Statement from Quarxx as well as an interview with him). The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a folded mini poster. Packaging features a slipcover.

Pandemonium Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of interestingly while an on disc supplement features Quarxx talking about "guilt" being a through line in Pandemonium, the Director's Statement in the insert booklet offers a whole separate perceived focus (or in fact focuses), and that dialectic in and of itself may indicate that Pandemonium may succeed more in individual parts than as an organic whole. The film has an audacious visual style that may be its most immediate calling card. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very interesting. With caveats noted, Recommended.