Jakob the Evil One (2009)

With a masterstroke that would later give Aronofsky the courage and inspiration he needed to complete the production of “Black Swan”, FOKING FILMS went beyond the teen-angst hype of “Sex and the Zombie”, in order to produce a truly impressive work of art. “Jakob the Evil One” (the original Danish title is “ONDE JAKOB”) was something else entirely, a mysogynic vision of vomit-inducing perversion and persecutory psychosis, that silenced even the most stalvart of critics with its hardcore plotline, uncompromising sequence cuts, and fear-inducing soundscape.

Theaters boomed with the pulse of the tortured protagonist

Even the French movie masons of Cannes – famous for their sanctimonious art-wars, and vainglorious attempts of perceiving everything not-french as being not-art, shut up! – and listened, as the theaters boomed with the quickening pulse of the tortured protagonist’s heart-beat, blanched as they were caught in the maelstrom of a constant first-person perspective, and many did indeed faint as they – like the protagonist – discovered the full horrifying knowledge that lay behind his protective psychosis.

A sexually perverted, violently deranged schizophrenic punk

Setting aside their differences for a short while in a truce quite unheard of, Hans Bruntt and LarsBP co-directed the entire movie together in a series of punishing takes, where the thoughts, feelings and endurance of the actors were tested to the limits. Afterwards, once more with the aid of Simon Dohn from Angry Ape Sound Productions, they edited the most frightening psychological drama ever made, its untold visual and auditory layers of evergrowing subtle complexity making Anderson’s ‘The Machinist’ seem like a careless stroll in the park. As the Mind-Camcorder sets the stage for a full-on identification with the main person, we sense the world through the eyes, ears, feelings and thoughts of actor Jakob Vogdrup, who – as always – delivers a masterful performance as his own alter-ego, and whose sacrifices during filming were termed nothing less than heroic (although “insane”, might be a better term). Though predicted by William Gibson in the 1980s, this is the first time ever in the history of movie-making that an attempt has been made to perceive the world through the mindlink-impulses of a sexually perverted and violently deranged schizophrenic punk.

In his confrontation with ROSKILDE FESTIVAL 2009, the unhygienic conditions, low-grade music quality and the presence of many Radiohead fans slowly assert their dominance upon the poorly integrated mind of Jakob, resulting in massive persecutory delusions, hallucinations and acting-out behavior, on a scale seldomly seen except in the more religious parts of the US, the Middle-East and the small local Netto in Hjørring. We quickly learn that Jakob, despite his heavy metal aspirations, has a fragile identity, instantly shattered as he is confronted with the “Orange Feeling” one gets when approached and subtly violated by a nazi-homosexual. In a series of horrifying sequences, Jakob struggles to retain his mental faculties, but is destined to surrender to psychosis as trauma upon massive trauma pile up in front of him.

Under the influence of alcohol

As a close encounter with a shameless whore forces him to gorge himself upon alcohol until he reaches a state of oblivious drunken stupor, his inner world is dominated by auditory hallucinations in the form of persecutory presences – mocking his life and heritage. As the voices of disappointed fathers, authoritarian judges and sadistic doctors recede, his senses are once again assailed as his daytime view of the world is visually distorted – and what before was friendly (though non-metal) festival guests, now become masked and threatening figures, groping and fondling him. As even the comforting presence of live heavy-metal music and the seething crowd-surfing metalheads is broken by blackouts and flashbacks, Jakob’s sanity splits in a surge of homosexual panic.

Unable to resist the knowledge that there is something truly attractive about being brutally raped from behind in the direction of Mekka by a massive black librarian, who shows him nude photos of Paul Nyrup, and recites the collected works of Strindberg – Jakob’s mind tries one last gambit to reassert its power. It fights back!

The most stunning movie of this decade

In this final sequence of the movie, FOKING FILMS takes us on a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, with constant references to “Being John Malkowich” and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, as the full power of a psychotic experiential universe is thrown at the viewer, who has by now completely identified with Jakob. In Cannes, these final scenes caused many in the audience to leave the theatre, faint or womit in pure disgust and terror, and the board of directors unanimously announced ONDE JAKOB to be “the most stunning movie experience of this decade”.

This in an abridged version of a paper by Dr. Mindstripper, The English Journal of Psychoanalysis, October 2010

Reviews

“This is a rare jewel of psychoanalytic insight. The brotherhood of Bruntt, Foged, Jørgensen & LarsBP demonstrate a remarkable understanding of the fragile mind of the paranoiac, his desperate need for psychotic defenses to stave off feelings of low self-esteem, sexual confusion, demasculinization-prone need-fear dilemmas and the annihilitory fear of having one’s identity consumed or subsumed in the common, poor and bland musical reflections of the masses. Truly, this work of art will be something to discuss for many years to come, even in learned circles.” – Otto Kernberg, The American Journal of Psychoanalytic Insight, 2010

‘Filth! Filth!! Confess!!!!! OHHHH! Foul deviants – burn, Burn, BURN in SHAME, heretics! GOD – Why have You forsaken Me!!!!’ – Pope Benedict XVI, The Vatikan Times 2010

“Jesus wept…” – Paolo Pasolini, Italian Art, September 2010

“Jeg syntes faktisk at telt-scenen med mande-luderen var fed, altså på en lidt grænseoverskridende måde, ikke, men helt sikkert fed. Fed luder! Jeg vidste ikke at gaffatape blev brugt i deres branche. Alle mine venner spørger om ikke de kan blive facebook-venner med Peter Okking Madsen, fordi han er så lækker og blød i den rolle. Please-please Okking, vær venner med os!!!” – Bubber, Til alle medier hvis publikum fodres med substansløst kendiscrap, September 2010

Jakob the Evil One production photos