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Movie: Merhige's Begotten - Paul Ferguson - 07-31-2026
"Motifs within the alchemical, gnostic and hermetic traditions permeate Begotten; Mathijs and Sexton note that Merhige "makes perhaps the most serious attempt to visualize elements of Dionysian orgiastic cultism". By the 1980s New Age beliefs and practices including alchemy, western esotericism and hermeticism had grown in prominence. Merhige was a follower of these philosophies, and described Begotten and its creation as an "alchemical process.. [made to] bypass intellectual interpretation". The performances of the cast are ritualistic and symbolic, a trait that Merhige imbued into the film's narrative."
Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begotten_(film)
Gary Rhodes article:
https://filmint.nu/alchemy-technology-and-the-cinematic-grimoire-e-elias-merhige-begotten-1989-gary-d-rhodes/
Full movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEQzDzK5rXY