By Schwartzie
While the title of the movie sounds promising enough, the documentary film “Jewish Ritual Murder Revisited” is ultimately a let-down, as director Mark Farrell inexplicably bungles what should have been a sure-fire hit. In the documentary, Farrell sets out to explain that while we may have thought the practice of human sacrifice had been relegated to a dwindling few “primitive” cultures, in actuality human sacrifice is a phenomenon that may be occurring in modern society every day, right under our very noses by an ostensibly “progressive” people- viz, the Jews. Thus the film embarks on an ambitious journey to shed light on the historical and present day crimes committed by Orthodox Jewish fanatics. Farrell is quick to point out that the perpetrators of the crimes are likely a secluded few- a group dedicated to worship of the occult, perhaps- giving the film an air of mystery and intrigue. But while the director’s message may contain all the characteristics of a compelling theme, his method of delivery is utterly lackluster.
The film does open with a bang, as a Jew with beard and peyos, Woody-Allen glasses, a ponytail, and a hook-nose held in place by an elastic string slowly makes his way through a forest, stalking his prey. Through a stunning display of visual effects, the Jew appears invisible, and we are only able to see his outline. This invisibility proves handy, as the Jew soon catches and overpowers his victim, binding his hands and stabbing him repeatedly in the neck while collecting his blood in a bowl. But the excitement is short-lived. With very little live footage aside from this, Farrell dwells on history, citing examples of ritually murdered Gentile children from time out of mind. Art History 101 Byzantine portraits depicting terrible acts inflicted on Christian babies by the Hebrews linger in the foreground as the narrator drones on and on in an Australian monotone. These archaic paintings and dull narration are no substitute for the rapid-fire cinematography and adrenaline-fueled storylines that the youth of today have come to expect.
Surprisingly, Farrell managed to rope Dr. Harrell Rhome, a renowned yokel and Neo-Nazi of some note to provide occasional interview-style commentary between the historical monologues. Rhome drawls country wisdom about the nature of the Jews with half closed eyes behind circa 1978 double-bridged glasses, but risks being drowned out by his screaming necktie. While he quotes extensively from the Bible and Prophets, Rhome is essentially only mimicking the narrator, and his actual contribution to the movie is almost nil- save for his enlightening discourse regarding the subversive agendas of Bnai Brith (whose name he is able to make sound downright diabolical) and the Anti Defamation League.
The documentary is also peppered with “dramatic reenactments” which portray the Jew in his natural habitat, performing a variety of rituals never before seen by the outside world. The return of the character “the Jew”, who was featured in the movie’s opening scene, has to be the documentary’s one redeeming quality. Whether the reenactments were intended to recall the “Dawn of the Dead” series or not, the poor quality camerawork and acting in these scenes combined with the chilling haunted-house soundtrack do bring to mind the corny horror movies of that era. Indeed, the sometimes tongue-in-cheek smile of the Jew as he parades around in his obviously low budget costume provides a much needed air of campiness to the film. I couldn’t help but laugh with glee as the last of these reenactments showed the Jew kneeling on the ground, struggling like a dunce to knead the blood of a Gentile into Matza dough. The Jew holds the tiny piece of dough in his hands, clumsily trying to massage the blood into it with his thumbs, all in all making for quite the comical image.
The movie closes on a more somber note, with a chilling FBI report that over 750,000 children go missing each year. Many of these children are runaways, have been taken by relatives, or may even have been abandoned, but after all is said and done there are over 1,000 unaccounted-for children each day. Nobody can tell for sure how many of them might have been taken by Jews for the bloodletting rituals, but it is best to err on the side of caution. And so the narrator finally leaves the viewers with the caveat to please keep a close watch over their children, especially around the time of the events of Passover, Purim, and Chanuka.
Final thoughts: with some more live action drama and a repeat performance from the Jew, this film has the potential for success. However, the part of the narrator would need a complete rewrite- including a once over to correct some basic grammatical errors- and Dr. Rhome would need to be replaced with a more charismatic interviewee. As it is, the documentary is astoundingly mediocre, lacking in both excitement and substance. Rating: 2 stars.