Plot: What’s it about?
Rob (Daktari Lorenz) works for Joe’s Streetcleaning and while the tasks aren’t glamorous, Rob doesn’t seem to mind much. He and a crew visit various accident sites, evaluate the situation, then clean up the blood, guts, and dismembered body portions. Rob has a special interest in some of the parts he finds, so he takes them home and stores them, to look at and such. His girlfriend Betty (Beatrice Manowski) doesn’t mind at all and in fact, she loves it when he brings home a new specimen, which is pretty often. After Rob has returned home with a new limb or other body piece, the two often use it in sexual ways, as both love that whole necrophilia angle, to be sure. But Rob and Betty long for a more complete experience, which becomes a reality when Rob stumbles across a rotting corpse. The corpse quickly becomes an important part of their lives and not just in the sexual sense, but in a personal one also. But as time passes, Rob finds himself in less and less of a role in the relationship, as the corpse starts to take his place. What will become of the members of this unusual love triangle?
The debut feature film from director Jorg Buttgereit, Nekromantik has been a real pain to find over the years, to say the least. You could always find bootlegs tapes, but these often lacked parts of the movie and looked very bad, usually unwatchable. But now those days have come to an end, as the folks at Barrel Entertainment have issued the definitive edition of Nekromantik, on our beloved format no less. Barrel claims to have spared no expense to bring the public this disc and I believe them, as it is one awesome package. But more on the disc itself later on, as this is the space to discuss the movie and oh, what a movie this one is. As you should be able to figure out from the synopsis, this isn’t a mainstream film and in truth, most viewers will be repulsed, some even sickened. Nekromantik has been banned in many countries and it’s easy to see why, as it is a memorable and highly disturbing picture. This flick has tons of blood, perverse sex scenes with a corpse, and of course, other indelible images of various kinds. A lot of surreal visuals, offbeat sex, gore, and one hell of an ending, all this and more from one motion picture, Nekromantik. I recommend this to all fans of extreme cinema, but be prepared, as this is not a simple horror movie, I assure you.
In the liner notes included with this release, director Jorg Buttgereit claims this movie was made in an act of revenge, aimed toward German cinema. He had applied to a film school and been denied, so he wanted to make a payback flick, which turned out to be Nekromantik. Shot on Super 8 and on an obviously paper thin budget, the movie looks like a home video project in terms of technical specs, but is much more than that. The equipment might not have been ace stuff, but Buttgereit and his team created an impressive picture, one that has style and pushes the envelope so far, it almost breaks at all the seams. I can understand why some would criticize Buttgereit’s choices within Nekromantik, but I think he made the right ones, since the flick is so memorable and shocking, though not in some cheap fashion. Yes, he uses some gross topics here, but he does so in an artistic way and as such, refrains some more simple shock techniques. Other films directed by Buttgereit include Schramm, Der Todesking, and of course, Nekromantik 2.
Video: How does it look?
Nekromantik is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. This movie was shot on Super 8 stock and then blown up to 16MM, which is what kind of source was used here, from producer Manfred Jelinski’s own materials. As you would expect from such a production, the image is not up to the usual standards, but then again, I doubt it ever could be. But Barrel has issued Nekromantik in splendid form, with the cleanest, sharpest, most detailed visual treatment the film has ever had, to be sure. I never expected it to ever look even close to this good, so I was stunned as I sat back and watched. The print used shows some grain and debris, but not as much expected, not by any means. The colors are on the muted side, but look solid, while contrast is sharp and allows for much more detail than prior releases. This is the kind of movie where you want to see what lurks in the shadows, so this new transfer is most welcome, kudos to Barrel on this one.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original German mono track is used here and of course, optional English subtitles have been provided, should you need those. The audio here isn’t too crisp, but it sounds good and on the whole, I think fans will pleased. The music sounds good, with minimal distortion to report, while the various sound effects come through well also. No issues with dialogue, as it sounds clean and properly balanced at all times. This won’t replace your current home theater demo disc, but given the circumstances, this is a more than adequate audio option.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Barrel has pulled out all the stops here and included a wealth of supplements, including an audio commentary with director Jorg Buttgereit and cowriter Franz Rodenkirchen. In this session, both men speak English, but at times their accents can be a little thick, so make sure to listen close on this one, to soak it all in. Both men are talkative and have a lot of memories from the production, from inception to the film’s legacy, so to speak. You can also view a Buttgereit Super 8 short film titled Horror Heaven, which is offered here for the first time ever with English subtitles. A massive selection of still photos have also been provided, over a hundred in total, all from the collections of Buttgereit and producer Manfred Jelinski. Two behind the scenes featurettes can be found here also, The Making of Nekromantik and Nekromantik Featurette, both well worth a look. The former is a treasure trove of behind the scenes footage, while the later contains some cool outtakes, as well as interviews with Buttgereit and Jelinski. This disc also includes some comic book adaptations, poster & home video artwork, a talent file on Buttgereit, the film’s theatrical trailer, and bonus trailers for other Buttgereit flicks.
