Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar (2014) User Reviews

An exciting thriller that is sure to entertain.

[jmcavoyfl · 8/10 · 2 May 2014]

Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar (2014)

Cast: Jerry Lacy, Nathan Wilson, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker, and Christopher Pennock

Writer and Director: Ansel Faraj

Ansel Faraj delivers an intense, gripping and extraordinary experience in Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar. This film, and the evil Doctor Mabuse, kept me on the edge of my seat from the opening frames to the ending credits.

With his insatiable lust for power, Mabuse seems poised to dominate all of Etiopomar and more. But with the theft of his 'Doctrine' and the appearance of his nemesis Madam Von Harbau, he becomes consumed by paranoia. Add to that a popular uprising by the citizens of Etiopomar and you have all of the ingredients for an intense thriller that keeps you guessing just who will prevail in the end.

From the appearance of the immortal sisters Von Harbau, Carrozza, and Hacate and the appearance of the 'Master Key', which offers the promise of everlasting life and power, to the emergence of the army of Automatons, who will wage Mabuse's ultimate war for dominance, Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar is guaranteed to excite and entertain from beginning to adrenaline-filled end.

At 82 minutes short, this film is perfectly timed. Congratulations to Ansel Faraj and all of the cast and crew for this exciting experience.

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 7/10 · 16 March 2017]

At first I had misgivings about Nathan Wilson taking over the role of Mabuse. Jerry Lacy was such a powerful performance in the first film that any less screen time involving him seemed to indicate a retrograde step. However, not only is Wilson very good in the role, but Lacy still features every bit as much as he did before; this time he is more of a side-lines observer, swapping apocalyptic pronouncements with the two brilliantly bickering witches played by fellow Dark Shadows stars Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott.

This sequel opens things up beyond events in the previous film. The city of Etiopomar is represented by a larger, Caligari/Metropolis-styled visuals and the cast is slightly larger. That is not to say that we are suddenly treated to any that betrays the tiny-budget appeal and style of the original. Direct Ansel Faraj's blue-screened anti-reality is still very much in evidence here, and usually that works to the film's weird advantage. The idea of automatons bringing down the city is realised with uneasy effect with a skillful economy of effects and the talents of the cast.

Dark Shadows' Christopher Pennock is a welcome addition here, playing the marvellous eye-rolling Professor who steals Mabuse's doctrine, with a zeal only matched by Dane Corrigan as Rotwang, one of the maddest mad scientists you will ever witness (based on the character from 1932's 'Metropolis'). Added to this a noir-ish quality that makes no concessions to the limitations of realism.

Now, if only the cast could agree on how to pronounce Mabuse!