Perhaps what separates German splatter
icon Jorg Buttgereit from the majority of his peers is his playfully morbid sense of humor when it comes to his art. Where others were
channeling their demons through home-made horror, Buttgereit seems to
have been having merely a bit of twisted fun when he made his most
infamous film, Nekromantik. It is as much a nakedly emotional and
honest account of a particular sexual fetish as it is non-degradingly
humorous. It’s also a very tough act to follow, so how does
Buttgereit’s sequel rank in comparison to the original? Let’s
jump right into the autopsy and find out.
How exactly does one do a sequel to
Nekromantik? Well, like all good sequels, you take the key elements
of the original film – and that includes both what people liked and
what they didn’t – and turn everything up to eleven. Nekromantik
2 is for all those critics who thought the first film was too
extreme, too slow, too pseudo-artsy, too slight, and featured one
unnecessary animal killing too many. It plays out very much like a
parody of Nekromantik for the most part, with the difference being
that this time Buttgereit has some new toys. And oh boy does he use
‘em.
Do you recall how, at the end of the
original, our poor necrophilia protagonist offed himself in a
particularly fashionable (read: over-the-top, and then some) way, and
then a shovel and red heel are seen desecrating the grave? This is
where the sequel begins, with the main corpse-lover now being a woman
named Monika. She takes the corpse back to her apartment, has her way
with it, dresses it up all nice, and then takes some pictures with
her new lover. You know how it goes.
The conflict of the film comes from a
man by the name of Mark – a man who does voiceover dubbing for
porno flicks and by coincidence gets mixed up with Monika. We see her
trying her damned hardest to have a normal relationship with this
man, but ultimately it’s the dead she desires, and from there you
can pretty much guess where the story is going.
It’s pretty simple, although
Buttgereit is content to milk it for all it’s worth. There are a
few notably bloody sequences, and this is an area where Nekromantik 2
certainly does one-up its predecessor, and I appreciated the darkly
comic touches, which are more prevalent this time around. I also
enjoyed the feminist angle that the film assumes, with the audience
seeing everything through the eyes of Monika, and in the end she is
more or less empowered. Once again, there is no judgement in regards
to her perhaps unusual activity; so really, this is the Buttgereit
that I know and love.
Nevertheless, there are many things
that bother me about the film. For starters, it’s ridiculously slow
at times, one could even call it a bit of a slog. There are scenes
which seem to go on forever, for no particular reason; and yes I
understand that this is all a part of the satire but there should
always be a good deal of entertainment that can be derived from these
things, and unfortunately Nekromantik 2 just isn’t always fun to
watch. I wish that Buttgereit had focused even more on Monika,
getting inside her head-space, rather than wandering so much outside
of it. I consider it a missed opportunity at a character study.
Still, this is splatter cinema with
brains, and it’s hard not to admire the attempt to be
transgressive. Nekromantik 2 is not a bad film by any means, in fact
I lean more towards the positive side of things in spite of my
problems, and I will admit that it made me chuckle a few times.
Beatrice M. showing up too late to be in the sequel, the severed
penis kept on a plate in the refrigerator, and then the ending, which
ranks amongst one of the funniest I’ve seen; all of this is gold.
Buttgereit is a talented fellow, and Nekromantik 2 just goes to show
that even when at his most indulgent, he is still able to produce
compelling art.
The Cult Epics disc is sure to please
the fans. This is clearly the best the film has looked, a worthy
upgrade from past standard def releases, with good audio to boot. And
then there are the extras, which alone make the disc worth the
purchase. Included is a commentary track, a making-of featurette, a
collection of trailers for Buttgereit’s other films, a short film
and recent music video (both directed by JB), and a trio of
featurettes that show much love for the outstanding original score.
This includes a live concert video in celebration of the 20
th
anniversary of the film, the original motion picture soundtrack, and
a live concert track as well.
Overall, I would highly recommend the
disc to any JB and/or Nekromantik fans. It may not be a great film,
or reach the emotionally resonant heights of the first film, but it’s
a commendable effort nonetheless, and may indeed improve upon
subsequent rewatches. Nekromantik 2 is an outrageous and violent
portrait of German angst that puts many of the director’s skills as
an artist on full display, and should not be missed by any
adventurous genre fans.
-Ryan Marshall
Director: Jorg Buttgereit
Lead Actor/Actress:
Genre: Horror/Exploitation
Blu-ray Release Year: 2015
Theatrical Release Year: 1991
Time Length: 104 mins.
Rating: NR
Region Code: A
Release Company: Cult Epics
Website:
