Absolute Evil

After being caged in a Lionsgate Serial Killer Contract for more than two Years exiled German Indie Cult Director Ulli Lommel is back at his best. At the Berlin film festival he premiered and succeeded with the audience, but , as I experienced at a press screening, led also into a real controversy..Love is not colder than death,, because Death is not cool anymore. Sure Lommels new Flic is a hell of a genre mix of film noir, road movie and western with a lot of violence and torture, sure it's still a Lommel with its unique style somewhere between indie and big screen movie, but he's changing the subject. of a modern thriller. Before there were innocents who became bad, or villains, who couldn't cope with their past. But for the very first time, without playing on one's heart strings. Love and Forgiveness are presented as a solution in this deeply violent story . Maybe this alienates, because viewing habits are going to be mixed up, but you can't cheer Obama and enjoy ego shooters at the same time. Lommels Absolute Evil is more a vision for the next 40 years than a reminiscence to Love is colder than death from 1969. And to all you critics who won't understand now: You buried Fassbinder in a Museum , but you're afraid of Lommel, because he is alive!

"I only want you to love me" is the title of a Fassbinder movie. Ulli Lommel, who once was Fassbinder's partner in many movies, seems to have adapted this slogan for his main characters.

Whether it's his cult hit "Tenderness of the Wolves" (1973) or his bizarre serial killer series with Lionsgate in the U.S., all his main characters seem to scream the same desire.

In "Absolute Evil" David Carradine, who plays the angry leader of the 17th Street gang, yearns for love, but doesn't know how to give it. The film is an homage to all film noires, all suspense thrillers, especially from the 1940s. The story moves along like a cool spider web, slowly but steadily grabbing you by the tail and sucking you up in its horrific universe of revenge, torture, redemption and murder.

It's one of the best indie low-budget films I have seen in years. How the hell can I get my hands on a DVD? Who's releasing this gem?

Absolute Evil is Carradine's best film since Kill Bill. And that is strange, because Absolute Evil is very much along the lines of Tarentino's narrative. The good becomes the bad and the bad turns good. Evil is a complex force in this fascinating twist of film noir and horror film and suspense thriller. The film itself is a love declaration to the horror genre, and pumps new life in it. And Ulli Lommel, who also wrote and directed, is terrific as the Private Eye that tortures a killer. The film is short and sweet. 80 minutes of inspired suspense, and a total departure from Lommel's previous low-budget true-crime horror flicks.

I saw "Absolute Evil' at Berlin International Film Festival in Zoo Palast theater. The premiere and the next screening of the movie were sold out and it's one of the biggest theaters - if not the biggest - in Berlin. It had a great review on a German magazine so I wanted to see it and I was lucky enough to get the ticket.

"Absolute Evil' is simply the best film Ulli Lommel has made since 1980s. And the important thing is that it proofs that the director still has his talent after all these serial killer movies and everything.

The movie tells a story about Savannah (Carolyn Neff) who's boyfriend Cooper (Rusty Joiner) gets killed after she finds out who Cooper really is. She wants to find out the killer of Cooper, and things leads to the old leader of 17th street gang, Raf (David Carradine). I don't want to tell too much about the movie, so that's all I say about the story.

There is some great performances by the actors. Neff is beautiful, believable and good in her first big film role, Joiner gives a touching performance and the "old stars" Christopher Kriesa, Ulli Lommel and David Carradine are as good as always. It's nice to see that Carradine has made at least one good movie after "Kill Bill" films.

It's a must see and it was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l on the big screen in a theater with 1,000 people.

It was a great surprise to see ABSOLUTE EVIL at the Berlin Film Festival. At first I had reservations, because I did not like Lommel's recent horror flicks. But with this thrilling and inspiring film noir he returns to the formidable strength of his earlier works like BOOGEYMAN and TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES. I overheard people at the festival in Berlin comparing it to Quentin Tarentino's work, some even suggested it was a rip-off, but I totally disagree. ABSOLUTE EVIL is one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a long time, but you need to have brains and be able to speak English fluently in order to enjoy this film. It is not a dumb horror flick. The story is about love, forgiveness, redemption and revenge. And David Carradine as aging gang leader is a special treat. When the film is released, try to watch the original version. Highly recommendable!