Johnny Depp might be in the midst of a comeback of sorts following his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, but back when he was still a Hollywood darling, he appeared in a slew of movies that showed just how much range he has as an actor. No genre was off limits for the star, as he appeared in everything from sci-fi thrillers (The Astronaut’s Wife) to romance classics (Chocolat), and even took on the challenge of being directed by the controversial Roman Polanski in a 1999 horror thriller that’s now taken over free streaming.
We’re, of course, talking about The Ninth Gate, which hit theaters in Europe in 1999, but didn’t make its way to North America until March 2000. Starring Depp as Dean Corso, a ruthless rare book dealer, the film follows his character after he’s tasked by an eccentric billionaire (Frank Langella) to authenticate a 17th-century book that’s reportedly able to summon the devil himself. As he gets drawn deeper into things, Corso finds himself caught up in a mystery that’s filled with occult rituals, Satanic symbolism, and an enigmatic woman who may or may not possess supernatural abilities.
Produced on a budget of $38 million, The Ninth Gate went on to earn $58 million at the box office during its theatrical run, which didn’t exactly make it a runaway hit. Factoring into the equation things like marketing and distribution, the film didn’t generate a lot of profit, but in the years since, it’s gone on to be regarded as a cult classic among fans who enjoyed it for what it was: a hip occult thriller that featured a strong performance by Depp even if the material he had to work with wasn’t exactly what some would call great cinema.
Critics Have Not Been Kind to ‘The Ninth Gate’
While many might consider The Ninth Gate to be a cult favorite, it’s proven to be one of Depp’s most divisive films over the years. Holding just a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6.7/10 on IMDb, and a 3.1 on Letterboxd, David Forsmark called the movie “ludicrous” in his review, while Mike Clark from USA Today wrote that “the script is so bereft of real surprises that it’s best to keep the lid on what few there are.” Kat Halstead from Common Sense Media is another who was critical of The Ninth Gate, writing:
“Depp’s Dean Corso seems at once generic and elusive, stumbling from set piece to set piece as The Ninth Gate’s plot takes predictable twists and turns until it wanders into oblivion.”
Of course, The Ninth Gate does have its fans, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about it. One Rotten Tomatoes user called it “a gem of a movie” that “deserved to be more popular than it is,” while another echoed those same sentiments, adding that it “never got the credit it deserved for being a genuine thriller with just the perfect amount of supernatural elements.” Others called it “a successful marriage of drama, suspense and the supernatural,” while some even went so far as to name it one of the “extremely rare” movies that they watch at least once a year.
You can see for yourself if The Ninth Gate is a worthy entry in Depp’s filmography, as it’s now streaming for free on Tubi, where it currently sits in the #7 spot on their list of Top 10 movies.
Source: Tubi