If you think Inquisition Spain, you might think Dostoevsky’s weird creation in The Brothers Karamazov. Writer/director Adrian Rudomin’s foray into history is nowhere near as lyrical nor cerebral. Rather, it is an often bloody and violent tale of bizarre conspiracy and cover-up within the Catholic Church. The tensions between church and state are explored nicely, and there is dramatic tension throughout the 109 minutes. 

Christopher Lambert plays a sheriff who discovers a series of disappearances of certain local nobles. He gets researching and stumbles onto a mysterious list of people whose disappearance is in the works. He must not only prevent more murders by a hired Hungarian assassin, but must solve their motivation. Revealing this ‘web of intrigue’ here would dissolve the whole engine of the film, so I’d rather not. 

This is a very atmospheric production, convincing enough for a period piece. It was shot in Budapest, but I guess their cobble-stones are as authentic as Spanish ones. There is enough gore to keep even the most sadistic of us interested, and also an obvious critique of blind piety and unquestioned submission to the clergy. The cinematography is quite gripping in some scenes, but I was a bit peeved to see evil articulated in the person of a homosexual pornography viewer. I mean I know it’s set in the XVI century, but if Rudomin is trying to attack the Church’s hypocrisy (vis-à-vis Jews), should he not be consistent and also reject homophobia? 

*The preview disc had stereo sound and no special features.