Medousa

Director - George Lazopoulos
Starring - Thanos Amorginos (Ferryman), Vana Rambota (Think it Over), and Eleni Filini (The Final Payoff)
Release Date - 1998
Genre - Horror
Tagline  "A surreal and disturbing exploration of myth and mystery"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in elementary school, years before my horror fixation, I had an interest in Greek mythology.  Hell, what 2nd and 3rd grader doesn't?  Something so alluring about the titans, Zeus, Hercules, Medusa, Hades, and so on.  These stories were endless and really sparked my imagination.  As my life took the horror route I often found myself wondering why we don't have more horror films centered around Greek mythology.  We have the Ray Harryhausen films and a few horror flicks centered around the ferryman but that is about the extent of it.  Recently I came in contact with Mondo Macabro and they sent me their newest release, Medousa.  This 1998 flick was one I had never heard of but I was glad they sent it my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a young boy who lives with his mother, an older man, and a strange woman that hides in her room.  The young boy is fascinated with magic and throwing knives.  One day he kills his mother's chicken and she disappears along with everyone else in the house.  The boy grew up alone and is now doing illegal things to put food in his belly and money in his pocket.  His gang catches wind that a rich lady is leaving her castle for a few days so they decide to head out into the country and rob her while she is gone.  They arrive and find several wallets full of cash and driver's license stashed inside the home.  It is then that the young man tell's everyone that this was once his home and the mystery of the older lady is revealed.
        Medousa was explained to me that it was an art film of sorts that focused on the Greek legend of Medusa.  I was expecting something that I would honestly not be interested in.  My mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that the film would be incoherent and difficult to follow.  Luckily, I was wrong and Medousa turned out to be a very entertaining film.  The acting in this one is not the best.  The film's lead, Thanos Amorginos, plays Perseus.  His character is void of all emotion and really comes off as unsettling.  He is like a statue which is ironic considering the film's plot.  The reminder of the cast does a decent job but the film is still awkward to watch when Thanos has the most screen time.  The story for this one is pretty great.  It mixes daytime crime dramas with Greek mythology resulting in a very well polished horror thriller.  With that being said, the Medusa angle was not fully explored.  When people think of Medusa they think of hair made of snakes and a deathly stare.  Sadly, we only get the stone statues from legend and that is about as far into the mythology as we go.  Would have loved to see her snake hair!  Finally, those of you looking for the gore will not find it here.  The story of Medusa is one riddled with bodies but they are not mutilated or butchered.  The dead simply turn to stone and that is what we get in this film.  The effects are simple and the stone statues are creepy but does lack gore.  Overall, Medousa is a very entertaining film.  Horror fans that are wanting a break from the mindless blood and gore should really check out this story rich film that takes an unusual path and explores some Greek mythology.  Check it out!