Schramm

I have known and heard of this movie ages ago. I was expecting something along the lines of Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Hostel, but i got something new here.

Compared to the director's previous works of Nekromantik and it's sequel, this movie actually seems to be meaningful. The idea and the gore visuals are awesome. This is the first time that we are watching exactly through the killer's mind.

It is sort of similar to the movies like The Untold Story, Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Angst, as we just follow our main lead. Compared to the three films i just listed, this movie actually showcases how our main character is struggling, how he is truly lonely, and how he actually has schizophrenia, and you actually feel sorry for him. However, also compared to all the previous three films, all three of the films were made better, plot-wise and technically-wise.

Now it's time for the negatives: None of our characters really have any depth. Angst just is a pitch-black dark movie, and you care, here it's really a mixed bag. The movie repeats it's scenes that we have already seen and that's pretty annoying. At the start of the movie, we learned that our main character is dead, which sort of spoiled the ending.

I feel like i have to rewatch this a second time, but this movie is just a mixed bag.

I actually sought this movie based on the great reviews from the other members of IMDB only to be sorely disappointed. A little more than an hour long, this comes of nothing more than a cheaply shot art house thriller. How is the viewer supposed to assume the main character is a 'serial killer' (known as The Lipstick Killer) - when we only see him murder 2 people throughout the entire movie? Labeling a movie as a film about a serial killer should at least (not to sound morbid) have more than 2 murders throughout the movie. Necrophilia? Were these viewers confusing this yawn fest with Nekromantic? Shocking scenes of murder? Where? The only 2 murders were less shocking than anything a Friday the 13th movie has shown a thousand times. The violence/gore is (minus one scene)very minimal, if any at all. - The direction itself almost seems as if its out to confuse the viewer. Save your time and money - If you're seeking a violent movie about a serial killer that delivers, search for "The Untold Story" with Anthony Wong.

I think of Schramm like a train and you're tied to the tracks. Its a primitive film, full of aggression and violation. Buttgereit's film Nekromantik was snide and built up a cult, Schramm has more narrative than his film Der Todesking but its definitely not linear. Schramm retains the trademark cinematic dissociation Buttgereit does so well and which makes this film disturbing. Its the cheapness of the gore and the ordinariness of the surroundings which makes the dissociation possible. Odd to say, but there's a scary realism here in the blankness and bleakness. Its grosser than ever in Buttgereit land and this tale of a self-abusing, disturbed killer is compulsive viewing if you can

The first thing I would like to point out for all potential viewers is that this is not a gory film as much as it might be mildly disturbing. There are scenes of blood, but this doesn't necessarily constitute 'gore'. This is just my opinion, though.

Schramm is, as most already know, based on a lonely psycho with issues, many of which revolve around women and 'unrequited love' as someone else put it. While I understood the base and idea behind the film, I was left wanting.

Schramm managed to pique my interest but did little more. There is nothing here to flesh out the serial killer; just hints of his self-loathing and dementia. I would have liked some kind of inner monologue at points in the movie, to hear what the killer was thinking during and after his murders. Did he hate his body or did he just enjoy pain? Was he afraid of women or really just somewhat of a necrophiliac? Did he hate was he was doing, though he could not stop, or was he laughing maniacally on the inside? What exactly drives him? Many questions, few answers. Perhaps that was the point though, to leave one thinking and drawing their own conclusions. Maybe not.

In the end, I found this film did not live up to the hype. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it most certainly could have been better.

For those interested in 'gore', find something else. Schramm will not entertain you.

Well, this one's pretty hard to describe. Some people might say, this is one of those movies you either love or hate. Some might ask, if it's art or trash. First of all it's a movie about a serial killer. But in my opinion it can't be compared with other serial killer movies, because it's too different. And it's supposed to be. If you like to watch a story like the ones about Ted Bundy or Jeff Dahmer you better let this one pass by. In the mood for some funny, gory horror-stuff to watch with your friends having some beer and some laughs? Wrong choice! "Schramm" is weird, disturbing, almost bizarr. Or do you think, every man should for once in his life pin down his penis on a table using 2-inch-nails? Schramm does. If you like stuff like David Lynch's "Eraserhead" or the Japanese "Tetsuo" you might probably love "Schramm". And even if it serves some gore it might be stuff to think about for some among you. Try to get its message...- it's worth a watch!