Brian Yuzna (producer of RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND, as well as director of BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART III) brings to life this adaptation of the Rebel Studios "graphic novel" (that's a comicbook to you "uncultured") about a man who was wronged in his life and, through arcane magic, gains the powers needed to avenge himself and those he loved. Though not an entirely original concept (we saw it in two other comicbook movies: THE CROW and SPAWN), Faust puts that extra "Batman" twist to it. Whereas the Crow and Spawn are both killed before being returned to wreak havoc, Faust is still alive when he decides to dedicate his life to avenging the ones he lost and protecting the ones he loves, like Batman. Even the costume is similar to Batman's. However, unlike Batman, Faust tends to slaughter his enemies with demonic powers, so he'd best be described as a mix of Batman and Spawn... with a dash of Wolverine... I'll explain when it comes up.

As we start, we find police Lt. Dan "Hound Dog" Margolies (Tomb favorite Jeffrey Combs!) checking up on a crazy serial killer he captured, and who now resides in a padded cell. The guy also has an inverted pentagram carved into the palm of his hand, which Margolies thinks may connect him to a mysterious organization known as "the Hand". Seems the man went berserk, slaughtering 19 people before Lt. Margolies interjected and arrested him. Don't get Margolies wrong, if any of you saw him in FELONY, then you know that Combs doesn't exactly make a strong, intimidating, skilled man of the law, so there's no way he overpowered the guy, especially when the guy had 3 foot talons on each hand! Nope, the guy just stopped his homicidal killing spree and went catatonic, making it a simple task for the "plays by his own rules" Margolies to detain the lunatic. No offense to Mr. Combs, but come on Jeffy, the whole "plays by his own rules" cop role is NOT in your acting arsenal, so I suggest you keep stuff like FELONY and FAUST off your resume. While chilling outside the crazy's cell, Lt. Margolies bumps into Dr. Jade DeCamp, the psychologist assigned to try and snap the killer back to reality so he can be questioned and put on trial for his crimes. Right off the bat Margolies takes a shine to the young lady... though he'd like to take something else to her, as we can imagine, heh heh. She of course is not interested, as it's one of the "Rules of Combs" that any character played by Jeffrey Combs shall NOT "get the girl... maybe that's the reason horror fans like him so much, because they can IDENTIFY WITH HIM! I know I can...

During the whole incident in which Margolies "captured" the man, he also saw a veiled babe lurking around the scene of the crime. The cops were unable to find any such woman on the premises, obviously because they were too busy hassling stoners and minorities out in front of the MURDER scene. Murder, destruction, danger, these all takes a back seat when it comes to teens that smell like pot and black men in Armani suits. Anyway, the chick escaped and when we catch up with her she's in the home of a notorious and wealthy deviant who simply goes by the name "M" (as played by another Tomb favorite, Andrew Divoff). The woman reports the situation and the status of the serial killer, who's obviously a pawn in M's grand scheme... how do I know? Come on, every bad guy has a "grand scheme"! Even I am working on a plot to, uhm, do bad things to people... okay, so it's a scheme in progress, but it will be grand damn it! Or at least special and extensive in it's evil! Back to "Hound Dog", he's decided to take to the Internet in search of any information he can find on a clandestine organization known as "the Hand"... and finds their home page on Alta Vista... yeah, they're REAL clandestine, nobody will ever find them out. Oh, and to "help" there mysterious underground status, each member wears the Hand logo: an inverted pentagram that encompasses their ENTIRE palm! I can see it now...
Business Man #1: "hey Bob, how's it hangin' amigo?" :::shakes hands with Business Man #2:::
Business Man #2: "Damn Jim, feel that iron grip handshake! Like Burt Reynolds and shit!"
Business Man #1: "Hey Bob, I don't know if you noticed, but there's a big mystical insignia carved into your palm there."
Business Man #2: "Oh that, that's just from this great new demonic cult/health spa I joined. You can find out more on our website at www.thehandcult.com! Oh, and speak of this to no one or we'll hunt you down and kill you and those you hold dear. Hahahaha! Just yankin' your crank buddy."
Business Man #1: "Oh Bob, you're such a larf! Hope to see you at the orgy later! Take care."

Back to Dr. DeCamp, she finally brings the lunatic back to our plane of existence when she plays some heavy metal tunes for him, which trigger his traumatic memory and cracks him back to reality like a whip across a blindfolded fat man's ass. After lashing out at the good doctor, the man comes to his senses and frantically regales the woman with his story. First of all, his name is John Jaspers (which mean I can call him "JJ") and he was married to an illegal immigrant woman. One night, the men responsible for bringing her across the border come along looking for overdue payment for their services. The babe can't pay and gets killed for it while JJ simply gets his ass beat and is forced to watch as his love is tortured to death. Following the unhappy incident, the enfeebled artist high tailed it to the nearest bridge with the intention of jumping to his end and putting the finishing touches on his tortured soul. Before he can take the Nestea plunge though, JJ's approached by a white haired eccentric, this of course being M. M and his concubine henchwoman Claire seduce JJ with the promise of power to avenge his lost love and channel the bubbling cauldron of rage he's got inside him, all for the cost of one little thing: his immortal soul, complete with the standard contract signed in blood... who didn't see that one coming? After all his cheesy metaphors and artsy-fartsy pussy babbling, JJ finally accepts this power... in the form of a pair of Wolverine claws... no offense, but if I'm selling my soul to somebody, it wouldn't be for a pair of claws I could throw together myself with a few household items (provided the "household" in question belongs to Jeffrey Dahmer), it'd be for something cooler, like immortality, invulnerability or my own Denny's restaurant! But, I'm just a God, what do I know?

So, fueled by hatred and brandishing a fancy pair of hedge trimmers, JJ sets out to kill come criminals. But, after wasting them and returning to M's mansion, JJ wants out of the contract, vowing to never use his talons for evil and murder again. He doesn't really have a choice though, as M controls the claws and Claire is just too much woman to resist as JJ is seduced and forced into being M's personal assassin. His next job is to take out an embassy full of important people, which is where we picked up with Lt. Margolies capturing him. The original plan was for JJ to get gunned down and killed, forfeiting his soul to M for his own twisted uses, but seeing Claire brought JJ out of his red haze and allowed him to surrender before the fuzz could turn him into a very dead Swiss cheese. But, now that's he 's conscious again and has his self-control back, JJ's become the target of M and his goons, who show up that night to kidnap our hero and bury him alive, leaving him with the unsettling knowledge that M will also be paying Dr. De Camp a visit, as JJ's become attached to her, thereby forfeiting her to M as well. Soon after being dumped 6ft. under though, JJ finds himself in Hell, being strangled by a big spider-like skeleton! But, using his talons (which M buried with JJ, oddly enough), John fights back, decapitating his foe and opening the door for him to fight his way back to the Earthly plane as the demonic anti-hero Faust. His first unholy heroic act? Save Jade from M's minions with as much overkill violence and dismemberment as possible! After eviscerating and decapitating the lot of them (except for one messenger he sends back to M), Faust suddenly disappears from the crime scene, leaving Dr. DeCamp to be taken care of by "Hound Dog".

The Lieutenant and the psychologist join forces in the hopes of uncovering the mysteries of what happened to JJ, as well as just what role the Hand and M play in the whole drama. Meanwhile Claire intends to seduce Faust and use him to get her dirty mitts on M's evil powers, a goal that M doesn't take kindly too, as he shows Claire just why she should reconsider, utilizing cruelty and magic not unlike those of the Djinn... no wonder Divoff was chosen for the part! When DeCamp returns home following a hard night of researching with Margolies, she finds none other than JJ waiting inside for her, his claws unsheathed and prepared for more dark vigilante work as he kills the two cops sent to watch over the lady's apartment, claiming they're demons of M. Of course he's not all wrong, as we soon learn Margolies is about the only member of the donut patrol NOT being manipulated by M and the corrupt Chief o' Police, so perhaps those guys at Jade's apartment WERE bad guys... though that'll never hold up in court. When Dr. DeCamp winds up trapped on a train and has to choose between the cops or Faust, she opts for the anti-hero, probably because you can at least see HIS evil side. The two return to the apartment of the recently "deceased" Mr. Jaspers and his lover, so he can show her his "etchings"... no, seriously, he has some nice etchings, he does good work! The two get into their intimate embrace and it looks like DeCamp's finally about to thaw out, when she starts screaming and panicking. Turns out she was raped by a guy when she was 11 and now avoids intimate situations with members of the opposite sex... though her stance on SAME sex relationships is never denied! Heh heh...

Though Dr. Jade doesn't know her rapists face, her nightmares and hallucinations show none other than THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN! The guy's face looks like a big slimy ball of cum, hence why she refers to him as "Mr. Smooth", however, if any of you out there watch Lifetime, then you know it's always the father in cases like these... not that I watch Lifetime mind you. It's not even because all they show are chick flicks, but most of them contain Eric Roberts, and that's just too much for me to sit through without slashing my wrists and drinking it down. I also know that it couldn't been her mother with a strap-on who raped her, because that shits always saved for the movies in the backroom at the video store. As DeCamp's dumping her emotional baggage on JJ, Margolies follows the police commissioner to M's mansion, where he snoops around and discovers the commish is in fact part of M's inner circle... which also includes an old woman and a bald midget! When the commish gets all back-talky and sassy with M for letting JJ live, M puts the fuck in his place, unleashing two massive demonic arms from his stomach EVIL DEAD style and playing Rubix Cube with the guy's brain! Remember kiddies, if you don't want demonic arms coming out of your stomach, do "8 Minute Abs" for 8 minutes and 8 minutes only! Don't tempt fate by being over ambitious! "Hound Dog" doesn't stay hidden long though, as M uncovers him and possesses his mind, using him to call Dr. DeCamp and lure her to M's pad with the premise that he's discovered JJ's blood contract and they can destroy it and save Mr. Jaspers' soul. She of course falls for it and the good guys are in for a rough ride...

Upon her arrival, the good doctor is captured and tries to convince M to release JJ's from his contract. He says he'll do it for one thing: Dr. DeCamp's body. Just the thought of getting laid drives her crazy though and she refuses, so M locks her up until he can get what he wants out of her. Meanwhile, Claire's seduced Dr. Yuri, the man responsible for keeping the aging M (who played the wacky neighbor of the Hitlers in the zany sitcom that was World War 2) in one piece, meaning that he poisons the fiend and kills him. Just to make sure, Claire also blows the villain's head off and takes over his operations a.s.a.p. As for Dr. Yuri, M managed to take care of him before the poisons finished him off, leaving Claire the sole survivor of the little coup. Her first act as Queen She-Bitch? Well, she gets all dominatrix on Dr. DeCamp, determined to break her little intercourse phobia by showing her how well pleasure and pain can mix... I feel all tingly! As for JJ, he wakes up while all this is going on and discovers Jade's absence from his bedside. He goes wacky of course, leaping from his comfy silk pimp sheets and leaping out to do some avengin' as the sideshow attraction that is Faust! While Claire's putting Jade through the motions in her electrified dyke dungeon, M shows us why he's the boss, regenerating completely and busting in on the girls during playtime, just as the literal shock of these new sensations has cut DeCamp's memory free and finally lets her realize what we all knew: her father was her rapist... well DUH!

M proceeds to turn Jade into the whore she was always meant to be, making her perfect for the Hand's demon summoning ritual. As for Claire, she and Margolies get to be sacrifices for the event, which involves the alphabet's most insidious letter, M, yanking a big yellow python from Claire's guts and feeding it to the willing Margolies, who would make one Hell of a gay porn star with that kind of deep throat talent! Meanwhile, all around them the Hand's other members proceed to fuck and kill each other... were I a member, I'd really hope to be one of the fuckers, or at least one of the killers... knowing my luck with cults though I'd probably end the night with Vaseline coating my ass crack or with new puncture wounds in my vital organs. But, then Faust busts in to notch a few Hand agents in his demonic superhero belt. Then he sees just how trashy his new lover has become and losses his constitution, going into shock and reverting to human form as all he can do is watch while M taps his pie, staring in disbelief as the only thing he believed in is taken away from him yet again. This final act of consecration on M's part finally brings about the summoning of a giant worm monster that resembles the sand worms in BEETLEJUICE, a true Freudian nightmare. Jade suddenly has a change of heart though, freeing JJ from his bonds so he can become Faust once more as the giant Arthropod goes about flambeing it's emissaries like so many arcane spare ribs. It attacks Faust, but the spandex-clad (at least I hope that's a spandex suit) lunatic fights back, planting his steely shish-kabob stickers in the creature's face and sending it up in flames, back to the fiery womb from which it crawled. It's not over yet though...

In a last ditch effort to save John's soul, Jade makes a deal with M: the immortal soul of her first born in exchange for making John's contract null and void. Of course, agreeing to this, M's contract stipulation of "hands off" is eliminated, allowing Faust to hack the bad guy up with his own weapons. So, M winds up going to Hell and John's soul is saved... but he still dies. Oh well, can't win 'em all. Besides, it's not a total loss, because DeCamp can't even HAVE kids, since her womb was completely destroyed since she was raped so young. This means she can't have a child, leaving M empty-handed and JJ free. With this our story ends on a bitter-sweet note, the hero fallen and the villain vanquished. All in all a good effort by Yuzna, with exceptional FX by the ever overachieving Screaming Mad George and a soundtrack that actually features REAL metal industrial bands like Machine Head, Fear Factory, Soulfly, Sepultura and Coal Chamber to name a few. Better than the usual Judas Priest and Iron Maiden cover bands that litter Direct-to-Video horror features. On the acting front I saw a semi-solid performance from Isabel Brook as Dr. DeCamp, and Monica Van Campen makes a perfect power whore in Claire. Divoff was over the friggin' top as he usually is, always fun to watch. Combs wasn't really impressive in his role as the rogue police officer, but his forte is more the mad scientist role he's been type-cast in, and for good reason. Mark Frost on the other hand, who played John and Faust would've definitely been a last resort if I were doing the casting. Especially his voice, which just isn't nearly sinister enough for a demonic based character like Faust. The story should've used some tweaking too, as I felt lost at points, wondering if the ritual was supposed to make M "whole", like he mentioned at one point, or just to summon that big worm. A little story clearance can go a long way. Other than that I hope there's a Faust sequel in the future! Far better than that softcore SPAWN movie... and no John Leguizamo either! "I'm the pornography that gets you HOT!"

Sequels: None

If You Liked This Flick, Check Out: SPAWN: THE ANIMATED SERIES or RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART III