Storyline:
Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a New York City rare-book dealer motivated solely by financial gain. Wealthy book collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) hires Corso to compare his recently acquired copy of the book The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, by seventeenth-century author Aristide Torchia, to the other two known to be in existence. Balkan informs Corso that only one is genuine and is reputedly a version whose author was the devil himself. The book contains nine engravings that, when correctly interpreted and the legends properly spoken, will summon the Devil. Balkan suspects that his book might be a forgery and asks Corso to travel to Europe to determine whether his is genuine and to acquire the others for Balkan - at any cost, or by any means.
Balkan's copy of The Nine Gates had previously belonged to bibliophile Andrew Telfer, who committed suicide soon after selling the book to Balkan. Moreover, Telfer's widow Liana (Lena Olin) wants the book back, as Telfer originally bought the book for her. Liana seduces Corso, but she fails to re-acquire her book. Meanwhile, Corso's business partner and rare-book shop owner, Bernie (James Russo), whom Corso had asked to hide the book, is murdered and his corpse is posed to reflect one of the engravings in The Nine Gates, which, as in the image of The Hanged Man Tarot card, shows a man suspended by one foot upside down.
Corso travels to Toledo, Spain, to talk with the Ceniza brothers, both twins played by José López Rodero, book restorers who point out to him three of the book's engravings signed "LCF", which, with their prompting, Corso understands means that Lucifer himself designed and cut them. Corso next goes by train to Sintra, Portugal, and visits Victor Fargas (Jack Taylor), whose copy of The Nine Gates Corso compares with Balkan's. To his surprise, Corso discovers that the signature "LCF" is found in three different engravings in the Fargas copy, which vary in detail from their counterparts in the Balkan copy. The next morning a mysterious young woman (Emmanuelle Seigner), who has crossed paths with Corso since Balkan summoned him for this assignment, awakens Corso and leads him back to Fargas' house where he finds the old man murdered and the engravings ripped out of his copy of The Nine Gates.
In Paris, Corso visits the Baroness Kessler (Barbara Jefford), owner of the third copy of The Nine Gates. The Baroness initially refuses any contact with Corso once she realizes who his employer is, but Corso returns and intrigues Kessler—a lifelong devotee of the study of the book—with evidence that the engravings differ across the three copies. Having gained access to Kessler's copy, he records three further differences. Later, Kessler is killed and the Girl displays supernatural abilities in rescuing Corso from Liana's bodyguard (Tony Amoni). Now believing that each copy of The Nine Gates is genuine, Corso suspects that the secret is a combination of the "LCF" versions of each of the nine engravings, distributed across all three copies of the book. Liana steals Balkan's copy from Corso's hotel room; he follows her to a mansion and witnesses her using it in leading a Satanist ceremony. Balkan suddenly interrupts the ceremony, kills Liana, takes the engraving pages and his own intact copy, then flees.
Corso pursues Balkan to a remote castle, which was depicted in one of the engavings, and in a postcard that Corso found in Kessler's copy, and finds Balkan preparing to open the nine gates. After a struggle, Balkan manages to trap Corso in a hole in the floor, thus immobilizing him and allowing Balkan to perform his summoning ritual unmolested—but with Corso as a 'witness'. Balkan recites a series of phrases related to each of the nine engravings, then douses the floor and himself with gasoline and sets it alight, believing himself immune to the flames. Balkan's invocation, however, appears to fail, and Balkan begins screaming in agony as his body starts to burn. Corso frees himself and, with Balkan engulfed in flames, puts Balkan out of his agony with a shot and escapes the fire.
Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) shows his 17th-century copy of The Nine Gates to Dean Corso (Johnny Depp).
Outside the building, the girl appears to Corso and they consumate their attraction by the light of the flames. She tells him that Balkan failed because the ninth engraving Balkan had used was a forgery. Corso, following her directions, returns to the Ceniza brothers' shop. Upon arriving, he finds the store gone and the last piece of furniture being removed, from the top of which falls the authentic ninth engraving, which includes a likeness of the mystery girl. With the last engraving in hand, Corso returns to the castle it depicts, and crosses the threshold of the Ninth Gate.
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