Review: Planet Zee

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Planet Zee
Directed by Zetkin Yikilmis
Yikilmis Filmproduktion; Digital Media Rights; Midnight Pulp; Darkside Releasing
96 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/planetzee1

Recently I reviewed Zetkin Yikilmis’s twisted fairy tale of the supernatural and violence, Pink Rabbit (2022), which is also based on a kill-or-be-killed supernatural scenario. This inspired me to check out this earlier film of hers; both are available for free on TubiTV.

This film is out of Germany, written and directed by a woman from Turkey, and filmed in English. Needless to say, some of the characters are quite accented, so I recommend using the English subtitles, just to make it easier. Personally, I like to do that anyway, as much as possible. Seeing so many live bands in clubs with no ear protection has had its toll, though I would not change my experiences. But I digress…

Zetkin Yikilmis

One would think offhand that the title would indicate this is a film about zombies, but no, Zee is actually the name of the lead character (Yikilmis). Zee is an indie filmmaker who is in the middle of making a slasher flick, while she lives with here elderly-but-nice granny, Sam (Trish Osmond), who is my favorite character in the story. While Zee is anxious about her filmmaking future, Sam gives a solid feminist standpoint to encourage her: “Never give up and know your own strength.” Yay. And you know that advice, much like Peter Parker’s uncle in Spiderman, will come in handy at some time in the film.

Within this film, Zee is writing a script titled Blue Smoke and a Locker. Amusingly, in 2019, Yikilmis directed and wrote Some Smoke and a Red Locker (which I have not seen). That is so cool and a great reflectionary inside joke. Note that this film was written by Bernd Strack, who was the screenwriter for Bunker of the Dead (2015).

Yikilmis and Trish Osmond

Zee is a heavy pot smoker, which amusingly is “dogwhistled” in the IMDB description as her being a “hippie.” Anyway, her producer is Serge (Alexander Tsypilev), an annoying sexually predatory twit who is just dripping in misogyny and toxic masculinity, but hopefully Serge has a comeuppance, because his gold chain indicates he imagines himself more the player than in reality. He is the kind of guy who gives us nice guys a bad rep. His attitude does not help when Zee’s computer is infected by a contest called “The Game of Power,” which claims it will improve “self-esteem” by forcing the user to do “diabolic tasks.” In her own “macho” momentary stance – despite the computer warning it is a matter of kill or be killed – Zee and Serge, who proves to be a coward, naturally, perform a blood ritual and are trapped in a room in Zee’s abode.

At about halfway through, the action finally starts in earnest when a demon shows up (Roland Bialke, a German professional wrestler who was also the titular Pink Rabbit in Yikilmis’s next feature). The make-up is kind of humorous; it is even commented on in the story (see the trailer, below), which I thoroughly enjoyed. The big question is, who will be the last person standing, and gets to leave the room? If anyone…

Alexander Tsypilev and Yikilmis 

So much of the story takes place in a single, small room, that has a strong yellowish ‘60s-‘70s motif (maybe that’s why they said “hippie”?), implying to the budget. Luckily, it is effective. Yikilmis seems to like small, confined spaces in what I have seen of her output. I say, make every dollar count. I respect that.

Another thing I found amusing was the subliminal anarchy hidden beneath the nonsense words scrolling on a computer screen (yes, I am the kind of guy who pauses the screen to read even the absurd words; I also do this when there is a bookcase behind the character, to see if I can make out any of the books; but again, I digress…), such as “Capitalism” and “Revolution.” I do not know if this was intentional, but I am hoping it was.

Paranoia and insanity, as well as anger close in on the couple as they continue to be stuck in this one space. Cabin Fever, or possibly something more sinister than that? Well, there is a demon…

Roland Bialke

The film could use some editing to cut it down to an even 90 minutes, such as a gratuitous dance sequence near the beginning that does nothing to advance the storyline. However, I am happy to say that the ending has a really nice twist that I did not see coming.

The acting here is, well, pretty wooden, but for some reason, that’s part of the charm of the whole thing. Yeah, it is not scary in any way, but the story is fun and there are some really nice moments of humor, as well as some gore (my favorite moment was probably unplanned but is so effective, when some brain matter gets stuck to Zee’s hair). The body SFX are practical, and range from cheesy to good, yet the digital effects (lightening, fire, etc.), look obvious and weird. But in this film, it works, because this was never intended to be Shakespeare, or Spielberg. This is what it is: independent, low-budget filmmaking, which, for all its faults, still manages to tell a fun story around the mishigas.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: No Reason

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

No Reason
Directed by Olaf Ittenbach
IMAS Film Entertainment, Unearthed Films; MVD Entertainment
77 minutes, 2010 / 2021
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdb2b.com    

Bavarian director Olaf Ittenbach is infamous for his gore films. His previous release, The Burning Moon (1992) was so over the top that it was banned for extreme violence (honestly, I have never seen it). No Reason was first released in 2010, and quickly became an out-of-print collectors’ item, often bootlegged. Actually, that says a lot for his reputation.

Der Anfang dieses Films ist ein Heimfilm, der auf Deutsch, aber nicht ubersetzt ist. Leider spreche ich kein deutsch. It certainly seems benign at this point at the beginning of the credits. But what one needs to keep in mind is that the film is being re-released by Stephen Biro’s infamous gore-gore group, Unearthed Films, so you just know this is just to lull the viewer in, and blood and uncomfortable body horror is to follow. Plus, films from Germany are known for their extreme cinema (think Nekromantik, for example).

Irene Holzfurtner

I guess this review is going to be shorter than usual, because the entire film has no translation in the version I viewed. There is some deep psychological and philosophical shit going down, and basically, I missed most of it. There are long stretches of dialog, sometimes shouted, between the main character, Jennifer (Irene Holzfurtner) and a mysterious person in a Lovecraftian Cuthulu-esque mask (though it is pretty easy to figure out, in the words of The Cramps, “What’sBehind the Mask”). 

We see a number of possibilities of Jennifer’s life, from the wholesome to the – err – not. Is she a loving mother and wife, or a drug-crazed bank robbing insaniac? As Queen said, “is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?” Or perhaps this is all a “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” motif?

While there is a lot of general violence scattered throughout, the centerpiece of the film and what will be discussed the most, is Jennifer’s trip through…hell? It’s sliced (pun intended) into four sections represented by primary colors. Each is slightly different, and to get from one to another, Jennifer must make some physical sacrifice.

While in each of these rooms, they represent different “sins,” such as sexual deviations/extreme S&M, or drug-related. Everything is excessive, from close-ups of genital mutilation, a whipping scene that is reminiscent of a part of Irreversible (2002), and yet another “Jesus wept” type SFX from Hellraiser (1987).

There is a lot of thematic playing with time, changing the order of events, sometimes showing events that seem to occur at the same time in another multiverse of Jennifer’s life. There is definitely some confusion on my end, but I honestly do not know because the film was unclear or that I just could not understand the literal language.

Speakers of the German language have a history of really complex philosophies, such as Kant, Heidegger, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Schlegel, and there’s nothin’ Nietzsche couldn’t teach ye ‘bout the raisin’ of the wrist… Even in English, the title of the film has at least a double meaning (as in “someone having no reason to do that” or “not making sense”). Both work, but show the possible intricacies of meanings. Much like Jennifer’s degradation in the story: is it her own, or was it thrust upon her?

Jennifer spends most of the time roaming around full-naked, and there is male frontal nudity, as well. As for the gore, well, it is hyper-realistic. After all, Ittenbach made his name as a practical SFX person, and he proves he is certainly in his element.

I have read a few reviews (hoping to get an inkling of the story that I may have missed), and many of them, even from hardcore horror fans, were uncomfortable with this level of violence and torture porn. In some instances, I agree with them. Please know that I am not trying to restrict Ittenbach’s art in any kind of way – more power to him – but I also believe the viewer needs to know what they are getting into.

Note that the trailer below does have English subtitles, as does the DVD/Blu-Ray release, but, again, not the version I saw. The full release also contains an interview with actor Timothy Balme, a Making Of featurette, a photo gallery, and some trailers. So, if you are anywhere near squeamish, you may want to pass on this coming attraction, but if not, this is an exquisite package for you.