DVD Tartarus
Run time: 106 min
Rating: 4.8
Genres: Adventure | Drama | Horror
Director: Stefan Müller
Writers: Martin Kroissenbrunner, Martin Kroissenbrunner
Stars: Moritz Thate, Martin Kroissenbrunner, Ines Gruber
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Storyline Austria-Hungary 1813: Jacob and Veith return home from the Napoleonic war. Their road leads to the remote mountain village Pahlbach. The two newcomers encounter a frosty reception – and as the night has barely passed, they already understand why: In the woods around the village a strange evil is brewing mischief. Unknown creatures of extraordinary violence and cunning, lure the men into the woods and make a silent demand: In order to further propagate, the beasts claim women’s bodies. While Jacob refuses immediately and calls out the fight, Veith is still uncertain: The enemy appears to overpowering. Maybe they should try to come to terms. Progressing events put the courage and humanity of the two men to the test and threaten to shatter their friendship. But Jacob Veith and are not the only ones to whom the demand was made. The battle lines are hardening – and in a single bloody night, the future of the whole place is at stake … Written by Ken Gooruh |
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Plot Keywords: village, mountain, napoleonic wars, invasion, gore | |
Details: Country: Austria Release Date: 15 October 2010 (Germany) |
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Box Office Budget: €40,000 (estimated) |
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2 comments
(This review was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)
(Oh ya? Then I'll simply re-review it!)
If you are reading this, you too read the storyline and thought there was a slight chance it might have potential.
Nope! Once again, a low-low-LOW-budget studenty film is decorated and packaged to look like a legitimate production. Cheesy acting (yet again, it's comical how they make no effort whatsoever to make the dialogue and body-language less like 2010. This is a PERIOD PIECE, you complete noob Stefan Müller).
To make it even worse, as if that wasn't enough, it's shot on pro-sumer camcorders, and BOY does it show. With so many affordable options in high-end digital and even film, why on earth would someone shoot something other then a family picnic on that type of camcorder? Well, mainly because they don't have the skills, you could argue.
But, as much as it sucks, I was mainly angered that I entered it expecting a "real" film, as opposed to this amateur project. And as an amateur project, you are forced to give it a much higher rating then you might have otherwise.
By comparison to ANY feature film from nearly any writer/director with a bit of experience, this gets ZERO stars (if I were able to give it that). But as a student film, I suppose it deserves a decent amount. I am not an instructor, so I have no idea. Umm…..4 stars? 5? Lets give it a letter grade. I recall from way back when, if you completed production and editing, and the sound is OK, you at least get a C, even if it's terrible, based on the difficulty for an amateur to actually complete a feature-length film. So there, I'll go with that. It gets a C.
But if this guy isn't actually a student, and this is the best he can do (hey, I didn't read up on him….it just looked, sounded, and felt like a student film), then he really needs to find another job.
This film tries way too hard, and fails, at emulating a typical American horror genre film. He would have been much smarter to attempt infusing his film with a bit more individuality and/or flavor it with something unique to his ethnicity, instead of trying to play "grown-up" and failing at copying bad American films.
Students, learn from this.
As I've written before, the old-arsed saying: "I'd rather fail at my own ideas, then succeed with someone else's" applies here. Except, it takes that horrible scenario one step further into a river of poop… when you FAIL at someone ELSE'S idea. That is about as low as it gets.
Directing is about taste. YOU decide how brilliant or ham-fisted every aspect of production and editing will be viewed. And as such, this guy needs to either take some more classes, or enter the world of (local) low-budget commercials and PSA's.
Jakob and Veith are two friends returning from the Napoleonic war. Vieth along with his Prussian friend (Jacob)heads for his native village, somewhere up in the Austrian mountains, to claim the cottage that belonged to his grandfather of which he is the sole inheritor. In the village and the woods surrounding it they encounter a terrible unknown force unheard of before.
Well the idea was not so lame as the movie making made it. Cheesy effects and low budget scenario is one thing but immature acting and waste of splendid scenery that could have been so vividly utilized had the director put a bit of more skill gets really painful when watching this movie. The acting isn't solid as is expected of most of the low budgets but there is a constant feeling throughout that a better everything could have been achieved.
The only thing engaging aside from the story thats terribly wasted to the point that it loses its efficacy is the scenic locations, the starting few minutes the area around the cottage the vibrant green over the hills is the only relief that one gets out of it.
My guess is if you have a heart for low budgets flimsy acting and have nothing else to watch then go for it, it might be successful in keeping you engaged for a while but don't expect any artistic brilliance or convincing effects coz the moment you shift to that mood you are gonna lose it.