See You in Hell, My Darling (1999)

While all the films of Nikos Nikolaidis are connected by a set of key ideas, one of the most interesting things regarding his filmography is how six out of his eight theatrical features form two trilogies. The most obvious being “The Shape of the Coming Nightmare” trilogy, consisting of Nikolaidis' debut feature Euridice BA 2037 (1973), Morning Patrol (1987) and Nikolaidis' final film The Zero Years (2005), all three focusing on a dystopian future with its remaining inhabitants placed under constant surveillance. Another, more loosely defined trilogy forms out of The Wretches are Still Singing (1979), Sweet Bunch (1983) and Loser Takes All (2002) with the focus being on a collective of outsiders on the fringes of Greek society. Nikolaidis' two remaining features stand totally on their own outside of the trilogy concept while still featuring many of the same obsessions that fuel Nikolaidis work as a whole. Singapore Sling (1990), Nikolaidis' most well known film outside of Greece is one such work and it would be nine nears before Nikolaidis would follow it up (setting aside the 1993 made-for-TV curiosity The Girl With the Suitcases) with another film that stands completely on its own. Even in a body of work filled with unique films, 1999's See You in Hell, My Darling manages to stick out just a bit more, so much so that the film could easily be considered Nikolaidis' magnum opus.

Nikolaidis' most surreal and inaccessible film, See You in Hell, My Darling (Tha se Do stin Kolasi Agapi mou, Θα σε Δω στην Κόλαση Αγάπη μου) is in a class of films alongside the likes of Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981) and David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), films that certainty aren't plotless yet any attempt to summarize them is an ultimately futile endeavor. The film focuses one three characters, Elsa, Vera and a nameless man who spends the majority of the film floating face down in Elsa's pool, presumably dead, occasionally joining the two girls. Through Robbe-Grillet-esque fragmentation, Nikolaidis precedes to tell the tale of their doomed triangle while still leaving plenty open to interpretation as to what their current situation is. It's clear that there was a love triangle, with the man and Elsa once married and Vera getting in the middle. Its also clear that there was a robbery and money was to be split between the three. What Nikolaidis leaves out in the open is the exact nature of the relationship between Elsa and Vera. Obviously best friends at one point, the hint of a romantic relationship between the two is there but again, nothing is made clear and the same could be said of the affections of the man as well. The power dynamic between the Elsa and Vera is fascinating, with both alternating between dominant and submissive as well as love and hatred, all brilliantly realized in the performances of the gorgeous duo of Vicky Harris and Valeria Christodoulidou.

The film is, despite the use of the word “Hell” in the title, Nikolaidis' most explicit in the way it explores the idea of purgatory and being stuck, both from a physical standpoint but also in a state of mind. It's as if purgatory for all three characters is their own private Hell's, forever doomed to repeat the same events over and over as a form of otherworldly karma, making the film the most overtly supernatural and horror based of Nikolaidis' works, something which is also apparent from the films visuals which are some of the most astonishing in Nikolaidis' cannon. A stylist from the very beginning from the start black and white photography of Euridice BA 2037 (1975) to the neon colors of Sweet Bunch (1983), See You in Hell, My Darling trumps them all in every aspect from a visual standpoint with a slick, almost erotic thriller type of look to the film, complete with Borowczyk like attention to detail and as well as highly stylized lighting, particularly for every scene involving the pool. Again, the film is Nikolaidis' most abstract with flashbacks to the aftermath of the trio's crime somewhat recalling the bleached out flashbacks from Donald Cammell's White of the Eye (1987), and even feature Disney-esque masks ala the opening robbery in Zulawski's L'amour braque (1985). Nikolaidis also utilizes music in an interesting way, making Etta James' “I Found a Love” the theme of the movie as well as a plot point signaling the man's entrance in a scene.

The film was a personal favorite of Nikolaidis who expressed his love for the world he created in the film by saying “I feel wonderful inside this after-world of guilt, lost time, memories of my past and of my future. Naturally, this is where I seek all of my loves. Besides, the girls of paradise are so boring.” He would also say “This movie is a necro-romance about the darkness and the thrashing humidity of unfulfilled desires and of ghosts. It’s where those marvelous carnivorous flowers of noir film blossom.” In an interview discussing his career, Nikolaidis described the film as an “automated film” as he wrote the script in one go without edits. He went on to call the film “A dive into a foggy, damp and rotten subconscious... very personal film. Not one the public loves... Too damp, this film, and too tender at the same time”. The film was apparently difficult to complete, though in the same interview Nikolaidis said the manner in which he worked on the film was the method he preferred and its hard to argue with the results. Nikolaidis' work as a whole may present several difficulties for those unaccustomed to eccentric films but See You in Hell, My Darling reaches new levels of eccentricity even by Nikolaidis' standards. His most challenging film by far, but also his masterpiece and an essential piece of fringe cinema.