10 Horror Movies That Deserved To Become Cult Classics (But Didn’t)

2. The Ninth Gate

The Ninth Gate (1999) is a classy occultist thriller created by controversial director Roman Polanski (Chinatown). This it is also a film that few people will think of when looking back on the pinnacle period of Johnny Depp’s career; a time where he also starred in movies such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and From Hell (2001).

The Ninth Gate is a gloriously written and executed supernatural feature, which takes influence from classic tales of devilry we’ve seen before, such as Polanski’s own Rosemary’s Baby (1968). This feature mixes such influences with the inspiration of classic film noir, as we follow Depp’s book dealer Dean Corso as he heads down a rabbit hole of the supernatural while investigating the authenticity of a rare book called ‘The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows’ after being hired by the shadowy Boris Balkan (Frank Langella).

The film blends fantastical elements of horror with a series of gruesome murders, and the body count steadily increases as we head deeper into the investigation of Depp’s protagonist. There is a clever use of dark humour sprinkled throughout The Ninth Gate, which combines with the macabre tone to create a highly enjoyable experience that has all the hallmarks that should see it regarded as one of the finest genre films of its kind from that era.