Islamic Horror movie
Dawoud Kringle | New York City | 08/12/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Yes, you read correctly. This is, to my knowledge, the only Islamic Horror movie. Now, Muslim nations such as Pakistan, Turkey, etc. have produced plenty of horror movies. But this is the only one that presents the genre of horror from truly Islamic mindset. All the others were copies of Western / Christian based horror.
In a nutshell, a concert flautist and his astronomer girlfriend go to rural Turkey to investigate a solar disturbance that threatens the earth. While there, the flautist is taken under the wing by a Sufi (Islamic mystic) who helps prepare him to battle a powerful djinn (demonic spirit) - and they do battle using nothing but music as their weapons.
The film has a few flaws, and the symbolism will be a bit confusing to some who are unfamiliar with the base material. But all is all, its a good film; and if nothing else, it holds its own as a unique piece of cinema."
Visual Rumi For The Soul
Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 04/22/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"`Born of Fire' is an obscure, surreal film from '83 starring Peter Firth (Equus). Based on Arabian Mythology, the tale delicately unfolds of a young man who travels to the Middle East in search of the mystical Master Flautist bent on destroying the world through sound.
This film is definitely not geared to the general audience. It's extremely slow and the storyline is ill-defined and difficult to follow. However if you give it a chance you'll discover it has a unique, melodic feel all its own that will draw the attentive viewer into it's mystical world and leave its audience a lingering memory of mood and texture if not understanding.
My Rating: -3 ½ Stars-."
Not Islamic Horror, a Sufi Fairy Tale
Brett McCoy | Germantown, MD United States | 03/03/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't see this film so much as horror but as Sufi fairy tale... the Rumi quote at the beginning of the film really sets the tone for theme of the film. Yes, the symbolism (if you want to call it that) is hard to follow, and really, the only way to understand the film is not to take everything literally. I dont know what else I can say about this film, it's very surreal and gorgeous and sensuous and mystical and fiery, all at the same time."
Born of Pire
Bartok Kinski | Prague | 12/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't think most people reviewing this understand that Born of Fire (1987) should not be attributed to Islamic Horror. Yes, there's shots of some of the Sun symbolism footage but it was not even close to being Horror. Director Jamil Dehlavi is responsible for this aspiring feature. It would have been just as interesting as a mystical documentary."