Ghost at No. 9
Experimental artistic film which uses the milieu of experimental art with a background of various kinds of sounds and music. (worldcat.org) Posthumously released short film compiled from reels of film found at Balch’s office after his death.
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Antony Balch
Following his forced retirement from an appalling rock band, Jason decides to vacation at Brittlehouse Manor, a health farm run by the leather-gloved, ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Storm. Along the way, Jason meets Judy, also on her way to Brittlehouse Manor to visit her aunt, who married Dr. Storm some years ago. Once they arrive, the pair realise rather quickly that something is wrong, probably because the other guests have had their brains surgically removed, or all the blood pouring from the sink, or possibly just because the creepy midget keeps telling them to brush their teeth.
Antony Balch tackles key themes and ideas from the writing of William S. Burroughs in a unique, cinematic style.
An offbeat anthology film, mix of sex, horror and humor filmed in varied styles.
A bizarre silent short film showing author William S. Burroughs negotiating to buy a parrot.
Experimental film by William S. Burroughs and Antony Balch
Essentially a dizzying montage of quirky shots of legendary Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs and noted surrealist artist Brion Gysin, this nearly 20 minute avant-garde short features repeated articulations of such random things as "Hello," "Where are we now?," and "Look at that picture" instead of music or standard dialogue. The narrative is decidedly nonlinear and perplexing, with no discernible plot whatsoever as we see images of Gysin working on his paintings and calligraphic designs and Burroughs rummaging through draws, packing a suitcase, giving a young man a physical, making a call in a phone booth, and waiting on a platform for a subway train.
Also Directed by Genesis P-Orridge
Moonchild is a long lost gem in the canon of esoteric cinema. The title references a 1923 novel by Aleister Crowley, and Genesis originally stated of the film, 'Moonchild is a spell, to create a new person or a new stage in people, through compassion and through thought, and it's a construct, just like a spell is.'" “Moonchild is a spell, to create a new person or a new stage in people, through compassion and through thought” The film stars Genesis’s wife at the time, Paula P-Orridge, and is dedicated to their first-born child, Caresse. It also features John Gosling of Zos Kia and Psychic TV. "Moonchild was originally broadcast in 1984 on Spanish television show La Edad De Oro, alongside interviews with Genesis P-Orridge, filmmaker Derek Jarman, and musician and conceptual artist Jordi Valls, and performances by Psychic TV and Vagina Dentata Organ, which caused a forced shutdown of the network by the government at gunpoint.
This is a video performance of their holiest ritual, the Sabbath Assembly, as recorded August 23, 2009 at The Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles CA. About 50% of the video is the ritual itself, consisting of recitations from their unique liturgy interspersed with vintage hymns. The text is read by original Process minister Sammy M Nasr and the songs are performed here by the band Sabbath Assembly (Jex Thoth, Imaad Wasif, Kevin Rutmanis and Dave Nuss - obviously taking their name from the ceremony itself). Following the ritual is a slideshow presentation on the church narrated by original Process member/author Timothy Wyllie and finally a Q&A interview with Timothy conducted by Feral House publisher Adam Parfrey. So while it's not a documentary exactly, you certainly learn about the history of the church, its practices, and get a good feel of what it was like to be a member.
Genesis P-Orridge: We used to just improvise at night, making up stories to each other. And so at some point we began making videos but when that one was done we don’t remember. It was completely made up on the spot. We were doing something else and then Jay just said, ‘Why don’t you do one of those weird women?’ ‘Okay.’ And made the story up out of nowhere.