Apparently Polanski is not acquainted with American 20th century stories of "those who seek knowledge beyond Human ken". You know, the pulp musings of Merrit, Lovecraft, Ashton Smith, et al (for that matter, most of American filmmakers can't seem to grasp it either). Or perhaps he chooses to ignore it. Such is our loss. I always enjoy stories about hidden mysteries and covert histories, but his effort here just doesn't present enough eerie juxtaposition between the mundane elements of modern life and the supposedly preternatural parallelism of the supernatural stream of forces hidden just below our grasp. Polanski's satanism is like a dull bureaucracy made up of silly regulations - take nine engravings and call me in the morning. "Rosemary's Baby" showed a little more quirkiness, but still gets bogged down in ritual... I guess it's all those centuries of feudalism in Europe. There is no awe and wonder in this movie - certainly not from Johnny Depp. He's done better elsewhere.
Contrast this movie with something like "The Resurrected" and you will see what I mean - and not just for the bizarre shocks, of course they are there to pull in the "correct" audience of jaded young video gamers, but are limited and dispersed for story effect also. It's the same story of ordinary humans confronting a traditional and historical "evil" in the modern world with a considerably more cohesive effect.
Contrast this movie with something like "The Resurrected" and you will see what I mean - and not just for the bizarre shocks, of course they are there to pull in the "correct" audience of jaded young video gamers, but are limited and dispersed for story effect also. It's the same story of ordinary humans confronting a traditional and historical "evil" in the modern world with a considerably more cohesive effect.