This German slasher flick finally made it to the UK this week despite the
trailer for it first debuting back in February.
The premise sees year old jeanette, who has been in a mental institute since her parents were murdered years ago, sent to live at a mansion in the German countryside where she will be tutoring a millionnaire’s teens.
Thinking that the country life will be a less stressful way of coaxing her
back to normality, Jeanette’s doctor insists that she take the job and sends her off. On arrival however, someone begins playing pranks on Jeanette, such as moving her belongings and stealing her clothes. But who is it that is making prank phone calls and spying on Jeanette, and why have her student’s friends begun to disappear? Could the man who killed Jeanette’s parents be back to kill her?
I had wanted to see this film since I first saw the trailer as it had shown a lot of promise and had received some favourable reviews, however it turned out to be somewhat disappointing.
The main problem I had with the movie was the fact that it was dubbed rather than subtitled and therefore was quite distracting to watch. Also the characters are all so miserable and obnoxious that they deserved everything they got.
As noted in most reviews there is a lot of animal cruelty in this movie so
perhaps animal lovers should steer clear. But by far the worst aspect is the attempts at humour. When done subtly it works, but this film is hardcore horror one minute and out and out spoof the next. There’s just no balance.
On the plus side though the film is aesthetically pleasing, showcasing beautiful locations and the effects work is of a high standard most of the time too. Director Michael Karen’s execution of the material cannot be faulted as it is very stylish and well handled. The problems lie with the script itself, though I will say that the twist and revelation of the killer were quite unusual and I certainly hadn’t guessed correctly as to who the killer was.
OVERALL SUMMARY
In all it is always nice to see a new slasher flick and this one isn’t all bad. It’s just the humour that somewhat dampens the atmosphere.
