BEGOTTEN a film by EDMUND ELIAS MERHIGE

Begotten is a 1991 Experimental/horror film, directed and written by E. Elias Merhige.

The film heavily deals with religion and the biblical story of earth creation. But as Merhige revealed during Q&A sessions, its primary inspiration was a near death experience he had when he was 19, after a car crash. The film features no dialogue, but rather uses harsh and uncompromising images of human pain and suffering to tell its tale.

The film was shot on black and white reversal film, and then every frame was painstakingly rephotographed for the look that is seen. The only colors are black and white. There are no half-tones. This is intended to add to the eerie atmosphere of the movie, as sometimes the viewer cannot always exactly make out what it is being shown, but can still infer a sense of suffering. The look of the film has been described as "a Rorschach test for the eye". Merhige said that for each minute of original film, it took up to 10 hours to rephotograph it for the look desired.

Mehrige also revealed in Q&A sessions that he would like this film to be the first of a trilogy. He is experiencing difficulties getting proper funding, and it is unknown if/when the two other films will be made.