Review: La Petite Mort

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

La Petite Mort (aka La Petite Mort: Die Nasty)
Directed by Marcel Walz
Laser Paradise; Matador Film; Unearthed Films; MVD Visual
77 minutes, 2009 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com
https://myspace.com/lapetitemortmovie

German transgressive cinema, at the moment, has two shining stars of gore and, well, more gore: one is Marcel Walz, and the other is Olaf Ittenbach, both of whom deal with a combination of directing and practical SFX. Their films are certainly not for the squeamish. Naturally, the film is in German, with well-defined English subtitles.

For this film, we get a double-whammy. It is directed by Walz, and the SFX are under the guidance of Ittenbach. What can these two come up with? Well, this release of purposefully questionable taste.

The (translated) title cards let us know this is in 1998, and states this is a true, infamous story, and lists the names of the victims. I hate when that is done (and, unfortunately, so many “true stories” or “found footage” – which this is not – does that very thing). I do not want to know; I want to see and be surprised.

Inés Zahmoul, Anna Habeck

We are introduced to our protagonist/victims right off the bat, as they arrive in Frankfurt during a stopover on their way to Mallorca. They are the couple Simon (Andreas Pape, who was also producer and cinematographer) and blind Nina (Inés Zahmoul), and their companion on this vacation, Dodo (Anna Habeck)

After a way-too-long exposition of the three walking through the city, including the seedy, industrial side, they get mugged. To drown their sorrows, they end up in a local bar called, ironically (or not) Jail’s, where the music is loud, the dancing is raucous, the denizens are scary, and kidnapping is nigh after an argument with their obnoxiously flirtatious waitress, Dominique (Annika Strauss).

From this point (i.e., Act 2), they are now in what is known as Maison la Petite Mort (“House of Little Death”), located in an abandoned factory, which has rooms with the names of the likes of “Slaughterhouse” and “Surgery,” each of which has its own primal colors of blue, red, and cyan. If this is starting to sound a bit like Hostel (2005), yeah, it is a similar theme, but instead of just having customers pay to torture, the action is live streamed for profit.. The joint is run by middle aged Maman (Manoush), who runs it like a business, stealing from her victims.

Magdalèna Kalley, Habeck

I will not continue on and tell you the types of ordeals they go through, as this is typical torture porn at its highest standard. However, I will honestly say, I turned away when the rusty-looking sewing needles came out (needles and eyes are my Kryptonite, and while it is not all that happens, it happens). After all, the whole purpose of these types of transgressive cinema pieces is to revolt and disturb its audience in intimate detail, most of whom watch it with glee or disgust. There is no middle ground, though my tolerance is somewhat varied, depending on the action.

The problem with stories like this, and this is my opinion, is the plot revolves around the action, rather than the action being a result of the story. This is not meant as finger-pointing, as I have a relatively high tolerance for onscreen violence, but sometimes it goes beyond what even I can tolerate. If this is your idea of fun, well, please, have at it.

The film looks really good, with just the right industrial tone, and acid-laced and occasionally philosophical dialogue. The imagery of the story proper actually looks really fine, which is no surprise since both Walz and Ittenbach have experience as filmmakers (and SFX), knowing how to get the right look, tone, and desperation feeling that suits the gorehound’s tastes.

The women who run the Maison, Maman and her “servants” Dominique and blonde Angélique (Magdalèna Kalley), are almost like Cenobites, Maman phrases it by telling Dodo that she will “…take you into a world of your own. A world of your own secret dreams and fantasies…” as she begins her work on Dodo.

While estrogen-based at its core, like Hostel, Maman “rents” out the victims to men who pay large sums to do as they wish, all of which is painful. For example, there is Klaus de Kobold (Thomas Kercmar), with half his face burned and mutilated (fire? Acid?), who gleefully watches as the women are tortured to his specific requests (he does not do it much of it himself, unlike Hostel).

And through all the explicit gore, I still laughed at the occasional title cards that separates some scenes, which are all in French, rather than German. I wonder if this was a nod to Donatien Alphonse François, also known as the Marquis de Sade (d. 1814). Or, perhaps, Giles de Rais (d. 1440). Or both.

It is interesting that there is a subtle Christmas theme to parts of this. But will there be some revenge or will the bad guys…I mean girls win?

As gross as the film was, as it was meant to be, the credit can easily go to Ittenbach who did all the practical SFX. There is no doubt this does not have a cartoonish look, but instead has a strong sense of realism. Tom Savini learned about the insides of the human body as a medic in Vietnam. I wonder where Ittenbach learned his craft, as it is that exact.

Just know, along with the heaping of torture and gore, on occasion there is an additional sense of unsettling, thanks to a shaky, handheld camera. Not to the nauseating level of, say, Cloverfield (2008), thankfully, but it serves it purpose to keep the action on uneven ground, as it were.

I did not see the Blu-ray, which has the following features: a “Making of La Petite Mort” featurette, a commentary with Marcel Walz, an interview with director Marcel Walz and with SFX wizard Olaf Ittenbach, deleted scenes, a gallery, and trailers.

If this film floats yer boat, there is also the sequel, La Petite Mort II: Nasty Tapes (2014).

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Premutos: The Fallen Angel (2-Disc Extended Director’s Cut)

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Premutos: The Fallen Angel (aka Premutos: Der gefallene Engel)
Directed by Olaf Ittenbach
IMAS Filmproducktion; Unearthed Classics; MVD Entertainment
106 minutes, 1997 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com

As I said when I reviewed the only other film by Bavarian writer/director Olaf Ittenback that I have seen in its entirety, No Reason (2010), his films are basically bat-shit crazy, and I wanted to see this one because of that, rather than in spite of it. This is the “Director’s Cut” of the film, which is longer and has never before been released in North America. More bizarre for the buck.

For this story, the basis of which is told in narrative form over the credits and lots of bloody violence throughout history shown, the titular Premutos is a fallen angel older than Lucifer, who had power over the dead, with instructions on how to raise the deceased. One man in 1943 uses it to try and revive his dead wife and others who become flesh-gobbling zombies, while villagers with torches search for the madman. This is all presented in a 20-minute prologue before our actual story starts. There is already more blood and gore than most slasher films put together.

Ella Wellmann, André Stryi

The protagonist to start, in the modern era, is ne’er-do-well man-child Matthias (the director, Ittenback), who lives with his S&M-interested sister, Rosina (Heike Münstermann) his mom Inge (Ingrid Fischer), and his military-obsessed, Nazi-era-loving father, Walter (Christopher Stacey, who is arguably too young for the role, but what the Hölle). The latter, while digging up his garden for a plant, finds the hidden potion for raising Premutos. Meanwhile, Matthias is having flashbacks to previous lives during the Plague-ridden 13th Century and in Russia for the Battle for Stalingrad during World War II, among other periods, where he was reincarnated as the son of the titular Fallen Angel, each time meeting a bloody and painful end.

Coming to visit for Walter’s birthday party is Matthias’ sister Tanja (Ella Wellmann), who has been away in China, and has been mooning over a lost love, Hugo (André Stryi), now married to spoiled, comic relief Edith (Anke Fabré). They also show up at Walter’s party. Meanwhile, Matthias has some of that Premutos potion spilled on his…sensitive area, so you know that’s not going to be good for the people at the party, but most likely joyous for the viewer.

Olaf Ittenbach

As Matthias transforms into…well, is it the son of Premutos or Premutos himself? – it could be both; given how much Christian myth is also in the story, since Jeebus and “his father” are different but one in the same according to some versions of the Biblical story – he becomes increasingly violent and ugly (reminding me a bit of Rawhead Rex with less of a make-up budget), and the dead rise up from the mortuary to attack the living, including in pub (where someone is wearing a Ramones shirt with the circle design created by Arturo Vega, d. 2013) and, ‘natch, Walter’s party. As a side note, when the zombies attack, there is a sole Black guest, the amusingly named Christian (Fidelis Atuma), who makes me think of Night of the Living Dead (1968)

There is an enormous cast here, and the director has certainly stretched his budget to the max, with weaponry, explosions, a tank(!), and just gallons upon gallons of fake blood, relying heavily on practical SFX. Peter Jackson would, indeed, be proud. The zombies look cool, and on occasion, so does Premutos/son. What was free and well spread was the sharp sense of humor

Christopher Stacey

There is a lot of Christian symbolism, including a back-story scene of Jeebus and the crucifixion/resurrection (thanks to the “potion” administered by Mary). No one in the film seems overly religious, but that doesn’t keep it from getting knee-deep in the imagery. Even without the religious iconography, the style of the film reminds me quite a bit of Michael Armstrong’s classic Mark of the Devil (1970). But there is also a strong influence by the Italian giallo films of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, especially The Beyond (1981), with some George A. Romero thrown in for good measure.

There are some fun extras on this Special Edition, including a “Making of Premutos” featurette (50 min.; available in English and German, and also filmed in 1997). There are lots of interviews with the core cast, and especially the director, discussing the motivation of the characters, the philosophy of gore and free speech without getting preachy, and a large focus on the practical SFX, both the good and bad of it, and discussion about the wintery shooting in Prague. The English dubbed version seems to not translate everything, but the gist is easily gotten and it is worth the watch, even at this length.

“Olaf Ittenbach, ‘The Early Years’” (13 min.), is essentially a “Making Of” of Ittenbach’s earliest films, including Deadly Night (Todliche Nacht) from when he was still a teen, and he was still learning and experimenting. With interview commentary by the director, we see scenes that describe what he is discussing; the main focus is on developing his skills as an SFX artist. If these gore effects interest you, this is both a good primer, and it is interesting to see the limitations of the technology at the time compared to now.

There is also the original cut of the film from its initial release available in both German and an English dub international release. Honestly, I did not watch this, but did see the Director’s Cut in its entirely. There are also some Unearthed trailers, including of this one, and a “Photo Gallery.” Also included is a second CD disc of the film’s soundtrack, which is fun.

This certainly was an insane ride, from the beginning right through to the ironic ending. It was more coherent than I was expecting, I’m happy to say, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. It may be aging like wine over time, because it is so worth the experience.

IMBD Listing HERE