Velvet Buzzsaw is a satirical American horror film written and directed by Dan Gilroy, featuring a supernatural entity haunting an Art gallery, which is unleashed after a series of spirit repository paintings created by an unknown Artist are discovered after his demise.
The entity then sets about enacting its revenge upon the leeches of the elitist Art establishment who have allowed their monetary greed to get in the way of Art. If the the truth be told, Artist’s don’t make Art history, it’s the elitist buyers with deep pockets, who determine what Artist makes it into the history books or not. In other words, it is all fixed! As far as the Art establishment is concerned, if you are not in the club, you’re a Hobo to rip off!
Velvet Buzzsaw is slang for the vagina/vulva as well as the practice of cunnilingus. The initial first letters of each, V and B, could be a Freudian slip reference to the next two letters of the alphabet, W and C, which is a British abbreviation for a toilet, otherwise quaintly called a ‘Water Convenience.’ Okay! I’m going way out on a extended limb of brain-storming symbol crunching there; although Art is a symbolic means to transmute the prima materia of experiential detritus into gold!
As another pop-surrealist aside, of sorts, there is a particular grimoire spirit called Belphegor, who is one of the very few grimoire spirits described manifesting as a young girl, looking like the Velvet Buzzsaw Mona Lisa, the French author Arthur Bernède immortalised as a spectral Velvet Buzzsaw phantom terrorising the Art gallery of the Louvre, which was later made into a highly popular 1965 French television miniseries, directed by Claude Barma.
The Velvet Buzzsaw actress who played Belphegor was Juliette Gréco.
In the classical grimoires Belphegor is as per usual depicted as being a ‘Bearded’ male daemon of a deified Animus fixation, whose female (Anima) manifestation is just a way to tempt a horny magician.
Said daemon is depicted seated upon a WC, ‘Water Convenience.’ Though a basic, everyday ‘invention,’ one’s foundation stone of a base Chakra will consider it to be one of the greatest inventions since the invention of fire, created by the likes of a goatee bearded inventive Artist looking like a Mercurial Leonardo da Vinci.
The Bishop and witch-hunter Peter Binsfeld believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Some to have considered da Vinci being afflicted with laziness due to his inability to complete many of his Artworks. Also as a daemon, Belphegor is described in Kabbalistic writings as the “disputer”, an enemy of the sixth Sephiroth “beauty,” da Vinci was somewhat of a disputer, who disputed church dogma, such as having an under-painting depicting an ancient Egyptian temple arising out of the rubble of a church.
Belphegor is classified as being a daemon of the month of April; it just so happens da Vinci was born on Friday, April 14th, in the year 1452, at 9:40 PM (Julian cal.) As for Belphegor being depicted seated on a toilet, if you did not have the commonality of basic sanitation, such as a WC, a Vatican city would quickly find its self drowning in its own holier than thou shit!
Anyway, in the 1965 French TV miniseries, Velvet Buzzsaw Belphegor is shown having an affinity for ancient Egyptian artifacts who wears a mask.
Belphegor later haunted the Louvre pyramid in the 2001 film, Le fantôme du Louvre, starring Velvet Buzzsaw actress Sophie Marceau.
Le fantôme du Louvre was directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, but it was not the first Belphegor movie. There was the prior 1927 film, Belphégor, directed Henri Desfontaines. The screenplay was written by Arthur Bernède. Belphegor was played by the Velvet Buzzsaw actress, Elmire Vautier.
Many a writer to know that the names for their characters are very important, which are often utilised as subconscious mnemonic devices that trigger off symbolic associations. Character names can be used to indicate influences, or to subversively credit, let alone satirising situations or other people, etc. Sometimes, character names are likened to symbolic codes, which the general public are not privy to, unless they dig a bit deeper.
In the film, Velvet Buzzsaw, the actor Jake Gyllenhaal plays the part of Morf Vandewalt. Morf is slang for being both male or female. Gyllenthaal plays a gay character in Velvet Buzzsaw. The Dutch surname, Vanderwalt, or Van Der Walt, is derived from Van Der Valk, which means ‘a soldier who worked a Falcon/Hawk.’
The Falcon (Valk) is a reference to a 16th century cannon, which like all early artillery was named after a bird of prey. Morf is also the reverse reading of FORM.
The actress Rene Russo plays the part of Rhodora Haze. The Rhodora is a common flowering shrub. You also have “The Rhodora,” which is an 1834 poem by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century philosopher. Haze, means something such as heat or smoke in the air that makes it less clear, so that it is difficult for the ‘Eye’ to see well.
The actress Toni Collette plays the part of Gretchen. The name of Gretchen refers a willing victim of Faust’s seduction, who endures much woe, heartache and a horrendous demise in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s version of Faust.
The British actress Zawe Ashton plays the part of Josephina. The name of Josephina is the female variant of the Hebrew name, Joseph out of the book of (Gen-Isis) Genesis, who no doubt knew about the worship of the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis. The Goddess Isis has another aspect as Ahathoor, who was worshipped at Aunnu, Heliopolis. Ahathoor is otherwise known as Velvet Buzzsaw Belphegor.
Josephina means, ‘God will add.’ The character of Josephina looks to be ‘Egyptian.’
The actor Tom Sturridge plays the part of Jon Dondon. The name Jon is an English name. In English the meaning of the name Jon is an abbreviation of Jonathan, meaning ‘Jehovah has been gracious or has shown favor. Dondon or Dundon, is a Gaelic surname. Don means ‘Brown, Chief and Noble,’ of similarity to Dun, which also means a hill-fort, such as Glastonbury Tor, which was once surrounded by an inland sea, of similarity to a pyramid surrounded by the sea of Nun.
The actress Natalia Dyer plays the part of Coco. The name of Coco is a Spanish nickname, which is derived from, Socorro, meaning, “succour, help, relief.” Socorro is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary María del Socorro meaning “Mary of Perpetual Succour.” Coco is also a French pet-name.
The ‘Bearded’ character, David/Daveed Diggs, whose first Hebrew name means ‘beloved,’ while Diggs is a name for someone who was a person who had a duck-like gait or bore some other resemblance to a duck. The surname Diggs is derived from Old English words duk, dukke, Duck, doke, and dook, which all mean Duck. Like a Duck takes to… Water/WC!? Or a Horus (Falcon/Hawk) takes to Velvet Buzzsaw Isis, Ahathoor, Belphegor.
The actor Peter Gadiot plays the part of Ricky Blane. The name Ricky in English is a nickname for Richard, which means, ‘powerful strong ruler.’ Blane is a Scottish surname meaning “the son of the disciple of Blaan (yellow) or Blane (the lean).”
The actor Billy Magnussen plays the part of Bryson. The name Bryson is an English surname meaning, “Son Of Brice.” The name of Brice, is Celtic, composing of bri (force, strength) or brígh (valor, strength). Variant Bryce. Short: Bri.
The actor Jon Malkovich of ‘Art School Confidential’ fame, plays the part of Piers. The name of Piers is the Medieval form of Peter. The name of Peter is derived from Greek “petros” meaning, “stone, rock.” Peter no doubt refers to St Peter, who is considered to be the rock, foundation ‘stone’ of the Church, or in the case of the Velvet Buzzsaw character of Piers, he is the Masonic foundation stone of the rich club Art establishment, which is no different to the big-business Church.
SUMMARY: This is just a ‘Wild Guess,’ just like much of the above Pop-Surrealist symbol crunching, which is no doubt completely and utterly wrong. Jake Gyllenhaal who plays the part of Morf Vandewalt, has a fling with Daveed Diggs. Morf indicates he can help Diggs with his Artistic career, or Diggs seduces Morf as a means to get into the elite Art club.Toni Collette, who plays the part of Gretchen, might have also been seduced by Diggs in his climb into the elite Art club.
Zawe Ashton who plays the part of Josephina also has an intimate interaction with David Diggs, who reveals to him that she is not what she seems, as well as indicating she can help him with his Artistic career; somewhat like a Faustian pact, she had prior enticed another Artist to enter into, who was transformed into Hoboman. Rene Russo who plays the part of Rhodora Haze, was unable to ‘See’ through Josephina’s machinations, due to her greed.
The possible twist could be, Josephina turns out to be the Velvet Buzzsaw, who is a Tulpa, or that of an ancient Egyptian (Belphegor) spirit. Her fleshly manifestation had been conjured into being from out of an oil painting, which is her spirit repository. The painting had been created by the unknown Artist, who was pissed off with the elitism of the Art establishment.
However, he had become afraid of what he had conjured into being, who set about leaving a will that his Art should be destroyed. He was then snuffed out by his Art Muse creation. The Velvet Buzzsaw Art Muse has other ideas, who makes sure that his spirit repository paintings and turn her self survives by showing Rhodora Haze, the unknown Artist’s work. The Velvet Buzzsaw Art Muse then goes around slaughtering much of the elite Art club members, before she is eventually transformed back into a painting. The Velvet Buzzsaw painting mysteriously disappears… Diggs has it!?
Actually, this summary of a wild guess is actually way off the mark; it turns out that the spirit of the dead Artist is the one who is seeking revenge upon the Art establishment.
Strewth! I missed a very predictable and a rather cliché scenario, which is common knowledge… most Artists only make any money out of their Art when they are dead and buried; while, the ghoul gallery owners rake in their cash.
As mentioned, it isn’t the Artists who make Art history, it is the elitist buyers who determine those Artists who make it or not… the Art game is fixed by the Feudal Few!
Oh, well, a sexy Velvet Buzzsaw Art Muse sounded far more Jungian fun, to me!
Not too sure about the Freudian title, Velvet Buzzsaw, but then I can’t afford Netflix!
BELPHEGOR DEMON GIRL: SUCCUBUS OF THE LOUVRE.
BELPHEGOR: MYSTERY OF THE LOUVRE PYRAMID.
BELPHÉGOR: GHOST GIRL OF THE LOUVRE AND HER WITCH SISTERS OF PURGATORY
FAUSTUS CROW 