A Delicate Romance That Shatters All Boundaries NEKROMANTIK REVIEW

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                      Nothing annoys me more then when someone tries to tell me they have a love for hardcore or obscure cinema and the most unusual film they can cite is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I'm not trying to be a stuck up cunt or view myself as above people who cherish and love RHPS , it is indeed a grand little film in it's own right and has no doubt paved the way for much more obscure things to be embraced by the masses. RHPS  is , however , as mainstream as you can get when discussing underground or cult films, so it just kind of irks me that it has become the staple and poster child that many run to as a reference.

      Jorg Buttgereit' Nekromantik is the true poster child for hardcore cinema , leaving all other forms of trash and art house cinema shivering in it's shadow and grasping to gain the kind of notoriety that it's sick little mind so effortlessly achieves. My dear readers it should go without saying that I have been witness to some of the true atrocities that the cinema gods have unleashed before me but nothing , and I mean NOTHING , was able to prepare me for the cinematic assault that was Nekromantik.

     German's have always had that certain knack of creating films that tend to be somewhat heavy handed when it comes to symbolism and hidden message. Be it with striking visuals ala Fritz Lang's Metroplois or with quiet shots of scenery used to tell the narrative story ala Werner Herzog's glorious documentaries , German's have always been ahead of the game when it comes to abstract storytelling in motion pictures. Jorg Buttgereit is no exception to the rule when it comes to German expressionistic cinema , yes at it's core Nekromantik is the story of a man , a woman , and the corpse they fuck. Mr. Buttgereit , however, uses simple placement of objects and abstract silent images to tell what is ultimately the story of longing and loss and what it means for a man to come to terms with the separation of a lost love and the eventual downfall into despair over the inadequacies of manhood.

   Nekromantik tells the tale of Rob ( Daktari Lorenz ) an everyman who work's for a streetcleaning agency that specializes in the removal of human remains after fatal automobile accidents. Rob's long time girlfriend Betty ( Beatrice Manowiski ) stays at home all day living off Rob's income and reading books in their fenced in living room area. Rob's job seems to work out famously for the couple since they have the delightful hobby of collecting body parts , and storing them in various containers around the apartment. One day , Rob brings home the slimy decomposed corpse of a shooting victim he has dug out of the swamp. Rob and Betty embark on a lustful spree of epic proportions with their new found playmate. They fuck the shit out of this corpse in some very unique and inventive ways. Rob eventually returns to work and is let go from his position due to excessive tardiness. Rob goes home to tell Betty what has just went down , instead he comes upon a vacant house, and a brief  " Dear John" letter. Yes, Betty and the corpse are madly in love and have taken off together  in hopes of starting a better life.

   Rob is , of course , devastated over his wife's departure and plunges into a life of pure decadence which includes but is not limited to; the mutilation of prostitutes, vicious cat murder , and long hot baths with said cat blood in attendance. Rob inevitably cannot find the happiness that plauges him so and resorts to one of the most disgusting and memorable on screen mutilations ever put to celluloid.

   The acting is top notch. The world that we are plunged into is one of utter despair and depravity , disgust and tenderness , and both Lorenz and Manowiski are able to handle their sick characters with ease and grace. It can't be easy to suck on a corpse eyball with such affection , but it is done here flawlessly . Once Betty leaves Rob he is thrust into a world of emotional breakdown and insanity and Lorenz handles this transition from loving corpse fucker to crazed sex killer with a steady understanding for the madness behind it all without going overboard. All in all my panties where very wet and my handes alway busy , good show ladies and gentlemen.

   The movie is FUCKIN SICK , make no mistake about that. Jorg Buttgereit has a knack of creating visually repulsive worlds that are disgusting and at the same time artistic in content. The film itself is surrounded with an almost death obsessed poetry that resonates and oozes out every frame, shit is bleak. The cinematography is grainy and washed out which gives the film a voyueristic angle. When Rob and Betty take the corpse for a spin in the first romantic encounter ,it's as if you are right next to them. The gorgeous piano score created by Lorenz himself as well as John Boy Walton, helps emphasis the death is everywhere vibe of the proceedings.


 In the end , it is up to you as a viewer to decide what you take away from Mr. Buttgereit self described piece of "corpse fucking art ". Some may be offended by the scenes of genital mutilation , necrophilia ,and animal mutilatoion; others may be turned on. However , there is no denying that Nekromantik is a true piece of undergrounde genere filmaking at it's most dark and dangerous , beautiful and raw. It's arthouse poetry for the sick fucker in us all.


 What do you say , babies ?