Nemesis Game 
(Lions Gate Region 1 DVD)
(2002)
review by Big McLargehuge

Imagine that the universe had a distinct and knowable design that was so incredibly complex that it appeared as chaos. Now imagine you could learn that design by answering a series of riddles provided by some unknown person. The final riddle, of course, is “what is the meaning of everything?” There, I’ve just set up the central idea explored in Jesse Warn’s unbelievably great film Nemesis Game.

Sarah Novak is a pretty normal older college girl, she’s getting so-so marks, is hit on by the weird kid in philosophy class, and has a distant relationship from her cop father. However, just beneath all that normalcy Sarah is far removed from the world around her. Sarah spends her time with Vern, the local comic shop owner and part-time philosopher played beautifully by Adrian Paul (of Highlander the Series fame) solving complex riddles.

Nemesis Game uses a pretty standard mystery movie framing device, that is, it begins near the end then flashes back for most of the film until the events catch up with what we saw in the beginning. Nemesis Game begins in a police interrogation room as Ian McShane interviews Emily Gray. Although the reason for the interview is not made clear. Emily claims to know the meaning of life, the universe, and everything and will have a greater and greater effect on the plot as the film spools out.

We learn that the reason Emily was driven to apparent madness by a game in which the player solves riddles that lead them to an abandoned building where they write their answers on the wall, then solve more riddles, then write their answers on the wall... until, they’ve answered them all and the grand design of the universe is presented to them. This is known as Nemesis Game, because it’s named for a Buddhist Monk who first began the Nemesis Game practice some 2000 years ago.

The bulk of the film concerns Sarah’s quest to find the origin of the Nemesis Game and determine why she was chosen to play. To say anymore about the plot would do the viewer a disservice, so I am going to stop here.

The acting is uniformly excellent with Carly Pope putting in her best performance to date, Adrian Paul easily shedding his Highlander typecasting, and Ian McShane delivering the concerned dad/gruff cop routine to a T.

Aaron Morton’s cinematography is claustrophobic when it needs to be, which is often, and he balances the movement of the characters within Peter Cosco’s excellent set designs. The train stations are train stations, the classrooms are classrooms, the abandoned buildings LOOK abandoned, and Vern’s comic shop is a perfect replica of almost every city comic shop I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been in plenty.

Although not a feast for the eyes, Nemesis Game is a feast for the mind. I was compelled to write my plot guesses down for the length of the film, and I was wrong on every single one. Normally this would make me fling the DVD out into the street because it suggests that the film is lying, and during a mystery that’s a big time no-no. However, the revelation in Nemesis Game had me slapping my forehead and shouting “of course, why didn’t I think of that!” Now that’s the mark of a good mystery.

I am not sure why this didn’t make it into US theaters, but my guess the films origins as a joint Canadian, UK, and New Zealand production had something to do with it, and it’s a shame. Nemesis Game is easily one of the best mystery stories I’ve ever seen. The plotting and pacing are perfect. The clues are hard to decipher. The riddles are difficult. The motives are confusing.

Although this may be marketed as some sort of supernatural thriller, and admittedly it does contain hints of supernatural stuff, it’s a mystery through and through. Jesse Warn really outdid himself with the script. There isn’t a note that doesn’t play perfectly, not a sentence that isn’t natural, not a riddle that isn’t multilayered. In fact, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in years.

Lions Gate DVD brings Nemesis Game to the US market with a few nice extras. The DVD includes a making of featurette, choice of language, and the trailer. I director’s commentary would make this a must buy, but sadly, there isn’t one. I don’t know about Jesse Warn, but if I’d written and directed this, I’d be all over a commentary track.

Get it, make some popcorn, and pull out the notepad and pencil (you’re going to need it) and enjoy 137 minutes of fantastic mystery.