Dr. Mabuse. The name may or may not sound familiar to you. Once upon a time he was one of the most feared of villains, both in novels and in movies. He, along with his peers Dr. Fu Manchu and Fantomas were the inspirations for modern comic villains. He could control your mind simply on a whim. He was a master gambler, a cheat, a con artist, a master of disguise, a hypnotist. He was evil incarnate. He was fear – the “Great Unknown”. He appeared in two novels, three classic Fritz Lang films, and was so conniving, so terrible, so horrifying – he was even banned from Nazi Germany.
But that was long ago, and then he was forgotten.
Until now.
This May, a new independent film will be released – a dark psychological thriller about a hardboiled detective, and his pursuit of a mysterious criminal mastermind. Its title – Doctor Mabuse.
Inspired by the classic character, the film comes from small production company Hollinsworth Productions, and is written and directed by Ansel Faraj. A fan of the nefarious doctor, Faraj concocted his own original tale about the return of Mabuse at the age of 16. Now at the young age of 21, he has brought his story to life, with a little help from Dark Shadows cast members Jerry Lacy (as Mabuse), Kathryn Leigh Scott (as Madame Von Harbau) and Lara Parker (as Madame Carrozza).
Faraj, a self-confessed Dark Shadows fan wrote the film with his cast in mind: “I've wanted to make a Dr. Mabuse film since I was 16 years old. The whole time I was writing, I kept thinking 'Wouldn't Jerry Lacy be diabolical as Mabuse?', but I never thought I'd ever get him – it was just a pipe dream. The same thing happened with Madame Carrozza and Madame Von Harbau. As I was writing, I kept imagining Lara and Kathryn in the roles. So imagine my excitement when they all agreed to play these parts."
Supporting the Shadows trio is cult actor and frequent Faraj collaborator Linden Chiles as Inspector Von Wenk, and newcomer Nathan Wilson as the film’s hero Inspector Carl Lohemann. Wilson said of the film: “It’s a Gothic noir thriller is how I’d describe it. The world that the film’s characters live in is dangerous, and is being controlled by Dr. Mabuse in a way, and Lohemann is forced to hunt him down. He doesn’t know the strange world he’s entering and it starts to scare him, but not in like a horror movie way, more like paranoia terror. You can’t trust anyone, you don’t know what’s a lie and what’s truth, and what’s real and what’s fantasy. Its ultimately a study in paranoia."
“It’s an apocalyptic film noir”, adds Faraj “we have this character called ‘The Apocalypse Man’ who walks around carrying a sign saying ‘The End is Nigh’, and he’s sort of commenting on what is happening in this city where the film plays out. It isn’t the end of the world in a literal sense, but more of a metaphorical sense. Dr. Mabuse gets into one’s mind and messes with it to suit his own purposes, and my thinking is that if you lose your mind, then your world has ended. You have no control anymore, if you had any to begin with. You’ve lost and you’re stuck in your own fantasy, or nightmare, and the real world is gone; and those are some of the themes we explore throughout the film.”.
That isn’t to say the film isn’t fun and exciting. Wilson assures us “it will keep you wanting to know what is going to happen next. It’s different and unusual, and is quite original. It has nothing to do with Fritz Lang’s films, it’s not a remake. I can’t think of any film that’s like it, actually.” Ansel Faraj also tells us “I’m a comic book geek, and to me, Dr. Mabuse – the character himself, is the first truly great super-villain. So keeping in that tone, we have the classic comic-book city, sort of a 1920’s Gotham – though in our film we never state the year nor the location; we have the man in charge of keeping the city safe like Commissioner Gordon, in the form of City General Oscar Lang; we have the reluctant hero with Lohemann; and we have this great criminal mastermind like the Joker in the form of Dr. Mabuse. And we have some other really crazy characters and neat stuff, but I cant talk about that, you’ll just have to wait to see the film!”
Doctor Mabuse will premiere on April 27 2013, at San Diego’s Historic Coronado Village Theatre in California, and then begin screenings in May (details are to come soon). The film co-stars Bahia Garrigan, Julian Grant, David Graham, Derek Mobraaten, Annie Waterman, John C. Smith, and Vivian Brasch.
Visit the film’s official site here: http://www.doctormabuse-themovie.com/