Overview: From director Jorg Buttgereit comes 'Schramm'. As serial killer Lothar Schramm lies dying in his own blood, horrific memories of his miserable life of paranoia, self-harm and rejection flash before his eyes. 'Schramm' is a tragic look into the mind of a Borderline Personality Disorder psychopath.

Blu-ray Verdict: OK, I think - having watched this movie and then done some research - that we should get this out of the way from the off. This movie, 'Schramm' tells the story of a man who has been known in the media as the "Lipstick Killer". In reality, there actually was a serial killer who was given that nickname and because of this, people often think that this very same film is based on the very same serial killer. However, this is untrue, not a fact, and there is absolutely no correlation between the two. [Official statement made].

Much like ALL of Jörg Buttgereit's movies (or at the very least, all those that I've seen; let alone these four in this incredible collection), 'Schramm' uses all the same themes as can be found lovingly within his other cinematic works. Chock full of nudity, sex, mutilation, violence, killings, death, and blood - oh my, so much blood - it may make you bring your hand to your face to peer through your slightly splayed fingers sometimes, but in general, 'Schramm' is more of an artistic experience than before. Just as powerful as anything that has gone before it, sure, but it uses all those aforementioned themes in one collective, and highly effective manner this time round. 'Schramm' delves into the mind of a serial killer/rapist/necrophiliac and once there we get to witness his weird fantasies of extreme sexual violence. But that's not all, for we also get to see his fantasies of how he truly wants to be.

Indeed, what 'Schramm' does, or moreover director Jorg Buttgereit, is not make the central character of Schramm himself out to be a 2D figure. Someone to hate from the off. Someone to loathe, to despise, to hope gets killed, etc. Nope. The character of Lothar Schramm (played admirably by Florian Koerner von Gustorf, not an actor, but a Producer with 19 credits to his name)' is not simply a deranged psycho, but more a man who can't help being the way he is. His character is made 3D by both Buttgereit and Gustorf. We see him struggling with himself, his viewpoints, his actions, his desires throughout, but, of course, at most all times come the end he just can't help being the man that he is.

Jörg Buttgereit often picks the artistic approach and uses much symbolism and metaphor for both his characters and scripts. For 'Schramm' he obviously got inspired by Luis Buñuel's work. Jörg Buttgereit is like the German Luis Buñuel and Takashi Miike, though not all of his movies work out as well as this one does! With self mutilation, Schramm tries to fight the feelings and punish himself for the deeds he has done, but it's all in vein (no pun intended; I think!). In closing, this tale of a self-abusing, disturbed killer is compulsive viewing. Just keep both hands free when watching! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

New Director's Approved HD Transfer (taken from the original 16mm negative)
Exclusive Introduction by Jorg Buttgereit
Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit and writer Franz Rodenkirchen
Audio Commentary 2 by Actors Florian Koemer von Gustorf and Monika M.
The Making of Schramm
Still Photo Gallery JB HD Trailers
Short film: Horror Heaven HD with optional Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit
Short film: Blutige Exzesse im Fuhrerbunker (Bloody Excess in the Leaders Bunker) HD
Short film: Mein Papi (My Father)
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
New DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround
Collectible new Blu-ray Artwork