DIS (2019)- Unearthed Films Newest Video Nasty Takes on the Demonic Mandrake Legend-Fitz of Horror Review

Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) February 8, 2019

Synopsis-An ex-soldier with a criminal past takes refuge in the woods. A demonic figure seeks the seed of killers and the blood of the damned to feed his mandrake garden. DIS is an infernal descent into the root of the mandrake legend and a man who wanders too close to that legend and the unnamable terror behind it. What you sow you will reap.

As this year started I made a vow to review every Unearthed Films release that came out this year, a monumental task given the huge year they are about to have. DIS will be my second UF review of the year but by far my most highly anticipated, mainly due to the fact that it stars Bill Oberst Jr. (Circus of the Dead, 3 From Hell, Devils Knight: Volumes of Blood 3). 

Let’s get a few things out of the way first. Going into this film I had no idea what the “Mandrake Legend” was or what “DIS” meant and so I didn’t go in completely ignorant I decided to do a little research first which I will now share with you:

The Mandrake Legend-Mandrake is the common name for the plant genus Mandragora. All parts of the mandrake are poisonous, though its roots have been used in magic rituals. … Legend also says that when a mandrake root is pulled from the ground, it releases a scream fatal to any listener. This plant also grows in the shape of a man (2 legs, a penis, a body, and the leaves resemble hair).

DIS– The City of Dis was the infernal city that made up the sixth circle of Hell and the lower circles below. This theme can be seen played out through various easter eggs throughout the film.

Now that’s out of the way so we can focus on the insane film that I just watched. The film breaks down into 3 parts I-The Figure, II-The Mandragora and III- DIS. As we are introduced to “The Figure” he has a prisoner in a dark and wet room. This opening scene set the tone for the rest of the film as it shocks, confuses and intrigues you all at once. Shortly after we meet our troubled ex-soldier Ariel (Bill Oberst Jr.) who is hiking alone through the woods to a destination unknown but every so often we get the perspective of someone watching him letting us know that Ariel is most likely in grave danger. As he continues to travel through the woods he comes upon a massive and seemingly abandoned building but what he finds inside is going to make him pay atonement for his past vicious criminal sins.

With minimal dialogue and a short 60 minute run time DIS seems to be a trip into Ariel’s personal purgatory. Director Adrien Corona also throws in a nasty little twist on the Mandrake Legend and offers us a unique version of how these evil plants grow. The Figure is such a sadistic and menacing presence in the film as well and an excellent addition to this story. Equally sadistic though is Ariel who’s cold-blooded past is told through black and white drug-fueled flashbacks and is portrayed in a powerhouse performance by Oberst. The film plays out like an uncomfortable nightmare that you can’t wake up from…..Just the way I like it.

I went into this movie blind and I feel that is the best way to go in so I won’t elaborate any further on the demented insanity that takes place but I will say that when the credits began to roll I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and start DIS over.

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