Terror bajo la ciudad II

This movie is often discarded as a wannabe action/suspense movie and even though I'm not a big fan of Dutch cinema I have to give it credit for the daring stunts and the way they make fun of our capital city. There's nothing in the world like Dutch humour.I was afraid to walk next to the canals when I saw this movie (note I was 9 at the time)

Now I can't believe that this little gem has passed me by for so long, especially being a big fan of slashers and giallo movies, well this was a nice treat and it's appealing enough and just when you thought you've seen everything that this genre has to offer, "Amsterdamned" puts a unique spin on things by featuring a killer dressed in scuba diving gear swimming around the canals of Amsterdam looking for his next victim.

It's all well paced, being mainstream enough for thriller fans and yet gruesome e and sleazy enough for horror fans. That is also dozens of red herrings that keeps the viewer interested enough to keep watching up until the final reveal which okay can be a bit of a cop out, but the dozens of stunts that were handled very well, and when the killer pops out of the water to claim its next victim, it is genially scary and given the fact that he can do this and escape easily into the canals does add a sense of danger to the proceedings and makes everything a lot more tense and frightening.

The main central character Vissor played brilliantly by Huub Stabel who's trying to solve this case before the killer strikes again and also has the best scene in the movie with the speed boat chase, which was exciting and thrilling at the same time, and will always be an iconic memorable scene. This movie also uses the beautiful city of Amsterdam to its full effect showing all the beautiful sights and scenery. Another standout performance was Serge-Henri Valcke who clearly steals the show with his funny comedic elements, which adds a touch of greatness to this movie.

All in all "Amsterdamned" is a great watch and is a definite highlight in the giallo genre and has a great mix of everything and plus a really cool killer.

Like I say in my comments on "De Lift", this is particularly funny for Dutch-aholics. A lot of the scenes are references to Dutch famous people, or will later become references to those.

The Bond-like chase through the canals of "Amsterdam", is one of the most famous scenes, and is up to Hollywood standard. Huub Stapel is again the best choice for the leading character "Eric Visser", charming, tenacious, and this time single. The comic relieves are numerous in this movie, but the best to me are the scenes where Stapel's daughter Anneke and her friend Willy try to find the killer through telepathy. And luckily Dick Maas doesn't resort to an old Hollywood trick, and let them solve the whole thing.

Unfortunately, the whole industry in Europe is only interested in making "interesting, and challenging" movies. Movie making in Europe should be about the art, not about the money, according to the critics. The result, however, is that most movies from Europe are either depressing to the point of throwing yourself from a tall building, or completely incomprehensible, or just boring. There are a few great exceptions to the rule, and this is certainly one of them.

For those who saw it in 1988 in a theater, and happened to be in a theater that (as is usual in Holland) puts in a break half way through the movie, so they can scam you out of your money selling over priced drinks (okay different story), you might remember one of the best finishing touches to a movie ever seen: the hand that shoots out of the water, holding a strawberry ice cream cone! That actually had me about 5 inches of my seat.

A serial killer is stalking victims in the famous Amsterdam canals. Can a young detective save the city from being Amsterdamned?

The films opens with a very convincing stalking scene with an unknown assailant swimming around the canals. The monster claims their first victim, a prostitute who is walking the dark, desolate streets late one night. She is brutally stabbed and then strung up in the canals for a tour group to find the next morning while their boat rides through. We meet a police detective named Visser who is assigned to the case

Visser investigates a local scuba diving facility where he meets a beautiful woman named Laura. They spark a relationship immediately. Meanwhile, the serial killer claims a few more victims along the way. Most are stabbed and dragged into the canal to die. Visser begins to feel the pressure from the police commissioner and mayor as they are terrified what these murders will do for the public image and tourism in Amsterdam. Will Visser stop the psychopath?

I really like Amsterdamned a lot as a late 80's slasher for many reasons. One, the filming locations. I found the canals and dark alleys/streets surrounding it to be an eerily perfect place for the killer to stalk their victims. Another is that the POV stalking scenes of the killer are top notch. They are done in such a creepy way, Dick Maas deserves a lot of credit for the work on them. They create a lot of on the edge of your seat tension and terror. Also, this movie looks REALLY good for being done in 1988 in terms of picture quality. The one major negative for me was killer reveal and the ending. It all just felt a bit rushed.

I highly recommend Amsterdamned to any horror fan. It is a slick and high quality late 80's slasher flick with amazing stalking POV scenes and some gore as well. The ending is a bit of a mess for me, but the acting and scares makes this a must see.

8/10

Being that I was born in Sevilla of Spanish heritage, studied in Moscow, currently reside in England and speak Russian/Polish/Spanish and English fluently, you could say that I am somewhat culturally blessed. But when I'm not at home in Spain, you can usually find me enjoying the company and astonishing beauty of Polish women in Krakow or relaxing somewhere in the Netherlands. I love everything about Amsterdam. From its rich and tranquil canal based landscapes to its friendly and welcoming inhabitants, (that's not mentioning its wealth of world class soccer stars) you truly haven't lived until you've been there. That's why I was infinitely excited when I learnt that Holland had created its own addition to my favourite cinema sub-genre – a Dutch slasher movie! You read it right; Amsterdamned manages to mix the B-movie bliss of a masked psychopath with the cultural trademarks of my summer break paradise. And the best thing about it is that it's actually an amster-damned good movie (Apologies for the pun)…

It opens with a cool credit sequence that mixes some brilliant underwater photography with an eerie horror soundtrack that was provided by director Dick Maas. The shot pans along the riverbanks as a yet unidentified predator stalks its prey. It's almost like Jaws in a canal, as we watch the camera emerge from the murky depths, scan the area and then move on to another location. Next we cut to a prostitute flagging down a taxi later that same night. After an amusing bust up with the randy driver, the hooker is left walking the back streets to find her way home. Before she even has a chance to begin her journey, a dark figure raises out of the canal and repeatedly stabs her with a large blade. The killer, leaving a streaming trail of blood behind him, then drags her corpse into the river and disappears into a mass of bubbles. The following morning, the woman is discovered hanging upside down from a bridge and dripping with blood by a boat that's filled with tourists. That scene launches a terrific flair for subtle pitch black humour from the director, which continues throughout the movie.

Next up we meet Detective Eric Visser (Huub Stapel); a hard-boiled Dirty Harry-alike who is immediately put on the case of the bizarre killings. After a vital clue is found at the scene of the second slaughter, the Police seem convinced that the maniac is a diver and begin checking out all the local clubs and stores. Whilst following that lead, Eric meets Laura (Monique Van de Ven), a beautiful artist who is keen to help him crack the case. Meanwhile the body count is rising and the town mayor wants this killer caught. Can Visser track down this maniacal madman? Or will the killer find him first…?

Amsterdamned is probably one of the best slasher movies to be released towards the end of the eighties. Boasting a superb script ("What does she mean a big black monster with huge claws?" "I don't know but your mother-in-law better have a good alibi!"), some stunning photography, a great cast of characters and an extremely talented director; this is truly a great advertisement for Dutch cinema. It's not really a teen-slasher in the hackneyed Friday the 13th mould. Instead it's best described as a slasher/murder-mystery/thriller, which makes the most of being part of each category. The first thing I noticed was that Amsterdamned was extremely well financed even compared to its American brethrens. How many hack and slash flicks have you seen that have included a town-wide motorcycle chase AND a colossal boat pursuit in the same feature? Dick Maas did an extremely good job of making his movie stand out from the mediocrity that had engulfed the cycle this late into its rein.

Even though it is not famed for it's extreme gore, there's enough gooey corpses floating about (literally) to keep the bloodhounds interested. It's also competently written, which means that you won't have worked out the psychopath's identity when he is unmasked at the conclusion. The body count is fairly high and most of the murders are carried out creatively, whilst trying to pack in as much suspense and intrigue as possible. My favourite would have to be the underwater battle between the killer and an unsuspecting Police diver. The whole scene is filmed aboard a submerged boat and the claustrophobic tension is superbly executed. Unfortunately, Amsterdamned was yet another victim of poor dubbing for international broadcast, which means that the voice-overs sound like a consignment of English speaking foreigners from everywhere else BUT Holland! It's impossible for me to rate the cast's performances because I own the dubbed version, but I've heard that they're pretty poor from the supporting actors anyway.

This is wholly recommended to slasher fans across the globe. It's extremely well financed, boasts some snappy dialogue, superb direction, a cool killer costume and even a enjoyably cheesy theme tune; how can you argue with that. The boat chase alone is worth the budget purchase price. I'll be keeping a close eye on the Dutch movie-market to see if they bless the slasher genre once more with such credible output. Make sure you give this one a go