Reinert Kiil's first feature film, made when he was just 11 years old. It's fascinating because it's a rare and unique piece of cinema, particularly in the context of how young Kiil was when he made it.
Ruben is a slasher film that was shot on HI8 video, that deals with heavy themes like bullying and revenge. The plot centers around a young boy named Ruben who is severely bullied by his classmates, and eventually, the film shifts into a revenge-driven narrative where Ruben turns the tables and kills his entire class. The story seems to be quite intense, especially given the age of the filmmaker.
The fact that much of the film is lost adds an element of mystery to it, with only a 13-minute edit of the opening being released in 2025 as part of the Ondskapens Land Blu-ray. This makes the movie even more intriguing to fans of obscure cinema and filmmakers' early works. The possibility of a full version existing somewhere, possibly on VHS or S-VHS, adds to the allure of uncovering this lost film.
The film's controversial nature-such as the use of blackface, harsh language, and brutal violence-reflects the raw and unfiltered approach of a child experimenting with filmmaking, making it a very unusual artifact in film history. It's certainly a movie that would prompt discussion about the ethics of creating such a work at such a young age, as well as the kind of creative freedom and expression that can exist even in a child's mind.
It'll be interesting to see if the full version ever turns up.
