Image the tale of two lonely and misunderstood individuals, each of them harboring a bizarre but deeply intimate secret fantasy. They can't openly come out because people won't understand, let alone accept. Their desires to fulfill the fantasies doesn't go away, in fact, they grow stronger and impossible to ignore. The two eventually find each other, via clandestine media, and not only they can finally share their fantasies, but they also discover the fantasies are compatible. When they meet face-to-face, they indulge...
Now, wouldn't this story make a great romantic movie? Well, yes, until you learn the two individuals are Bernd Brandes and Arwin Meiwes, and the "fantasies" in question are unimaginably perverse, sickening, and shocking. Brandes had a fetish for being physically hurt badly and his ultimate fantasy was being eaten alive. Meiwes dreamt of - you guessed it - eating another human being. Their posts went even too far for other users on the Darkweb, but they met in 2001. Brandes looked at how Meiwes amputated his penis, and they consumed it together. When Brandes died from bloodless and lack of medical care, Meiwes meticulously hacked up his body in portions and stored them in the freezer. It took another year, and many cannibalistic meals, before Meiwes got arrested. The court case shocked Germany, and the entire world, but Meiwes always claimed he merely just respected the wish of Bernd Brandes.
I have seen many documentaries, true-crime TV specials, and even film adaptions of this morbidly fascinating case. "The Cannibal Next Door" is not necessarily better than the others, but it does put more emphasis on the troublesome backgrounds and mental struggles of both men. They may be seen as monsters by everyone, especially Meiwes, they are not depicted as such in "The Cannibal Next Door". What Meiwes did is incomprehensibly cruel, and he's undoubtedly psychotic, but all the evidence does show that Brandes subjected himself voluntarily.
PS - One of the top 3 sickest and most disgusting horror movies ever made is also based on this case, namely "Cannibal" by Marian Dora (2006). I have seen a lot vile & extremely gore horror movies in my life, so believe me, ... this one is sick!
