Released: January 29, 1988 (Berlin, premiere), September 7, 1990(United States)
In the late 80s, film was still in its adolescence, with all kinds of experimentation still a broad vista of exploring limits and horizons to cross. Thanks to pioneers like Nick Zedd and Richard Kern, Paul Morrisey and Alejandro Jodorovsky just to name a few, today we look at West German filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit and his first claim to fame; or rather infamy, with the film Nekromantik.
As connoisseurs of all kinds of transgressive cinema especially in the breach of taboos such as gore and death fetishes, cinephiles poured through magazines, newspaper film listings, collectors shelves and the darkest corners of VHS rental shops to find something even more outrageous than the next. One such conversation stopper that would get you ejected from (clearly the wrong) social circles or their accolades (by the right ones) was Nekromantik.
The film follows the gruesome lifestyle of a crime scene cleaner who brings cast-off human remains to his girlfriend, and together they engage in necrophilia. Until one day he absconds with an entire corpse in a state of advanced decay, the ultimate prize. However, this jeopardizes his job, and he gets fired, which in turn leads his wife to abandon him, taking their corpse with her. This leads to a series of mishaps leading to suicide.
The plot however is purely a guideline to allow focus on the cynical grave humor employed with clearly limited budget props and set design that are nonetheless brilliant. Buttgereit exceeds all expectations and sets new precedents in low budget filmmaking, tackling some of the most taboo subjects imaginable. With a respectable body-count, including that of the anti-protagonist, ample gore, and even comedic satire, Nekromantik is one sharp edge on the multifaceted polygon of cinema.
Director Jörg Buttgereit followed up with a sequel in 1991. He also directed Schramm and Der Todesking, and a video for dark electro punk band Shock Therapy.
Director: Jörg Buttgereit
Stars: Bernd Daktari Lorenz, Beatrice Manowski, Harald Lundt
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093608/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekromantik
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Summary: Nekromantik, Directed by Jörg Buttgereit, West Germany. Premiered in Berlin, January 29, 1988. Exploring necrophilia, social commentary, no-budget gore, political satire, guerilla filmmaking and oddities collections. Need I say more?