'Nekromantik 2' (Blu-ray)
(Monika M., Mark Reeder, Daktari Lorenz, et al / Blu ray / R / 2015 / Cult Epics)
Overview: From director Jorg Buttgereit comes 'Nekromantik 2,' the gore horror sequel to his 1987 classic 'Nekromantik.' Monika (Monika M.) is a beautiful necrophiliac who lives alone in Berlin. By day she works as a nurse. By night she prowls through cemeteries while searching for fresh corpses.
Blu ray Verdict: My goodness! Just one look at the front cover was nearly enough for me to have to turn it over on my desk - but the backside cover at doesn't help escape the torment of the films premise either! Which, to be fair, is a huge credit to the filmmaker and producer of this brand new sequel from director Jorg Buttgereit, because you should - as an every day human on this planet - be worried by the cover art. But, again, you wouldn't have the Blu ray in your hands if you weren't curious; or worse, now would you?!
OK, all that inner turmoil, inner confusion, inner passion for whatever gets you through the night aside, 'Nekromantik 2' follows on from the events of the original 'Nekromantik,' although this film quickly takes different path and introduces some new characters. Although, and without creating a massive spoiler alert issue here, the main corpse belongs to someone familiar to fans of the first film!
The story this time around is all about a nurse (Monika M.) who digs up a corpse and proceeds to get all freaky naughty with it. But when she meets a nice young man (Mark Reeder) she has to hide her perverse sexual taste and keep things slightly more conventional. The young man soon realizes that something is a bit off, but he's not sure what it is. Meanwhile, the nurse is finding it more and more difficult to restrain her more extreme urges.
Director Jorg Buttgereit, who once again co-wrote the thing with Franz Rodenkirchen, retreads familiar territory but with a bit more money to throw around. This isn't always a bad thing, but Buttgereit fails to make the most of his opportunity and dilutes the movie's many better moments with far too many extraneous scenes and self-indulgent moments. The prime example that springs to mind is the excerpt we are shown of a black and white "arthouse" movie that our lead characters view in a cinema. Was there such a need to include such a lengthy 'distraction" within the confines of the movie? No, to my mind, but with more money a bigger budget, well, maybe an artsy approach was what Buttgereit indeed thought was called for at that particular moment.
Anyway, the central subject matter is, of course, still shocking, the acting is better and the effects are an improvement. There's also some more animal cruelty to offend people so this will keep fans happy. Not me, it has to be said, being an animal lover, but each to his own. Sadly, all of that good work is undone by a lack of discipline in the editing department and the fact that there's not enough new material here to warrant the entire movie. Which may well explain the black and white arthouse movie segment, in reflection. 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)
New Introduction by Jorg Buttgereit (2014)
Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit, co-author Franz Rodenkirchen, and actors Monika M. and Mark Reeder
The Making of Nekromantik 2
Still Photo Gallery
JB Trailers (2)
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2011) Live
20th Anniversary Live Concert performed by Monika M. and Friends - Video (2011)
A Moment of Silence At the Grave of Ed Gein, Short film by Jorg Buttgereit (2012)
Half Girl - 'Lemmy, I'm A Feminist' Music video by Jorg Buttgereit (2014)
LIMITED EDITION 5000 (BD) Copies
Includes Nekromantik 2 Collectible Artwork by Johnny Ryan & Nekrophilia photo of Monika M.
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