Premutos - L'angelo caduto

While Premutos isn't the most comprehensible of films... and it drags more than a little towards the end [with some rather unnecessary scenes at a dinner party] - that's unimportant.

You watch it for the end. The words "violent orgasm" don't begin to describe the apocalyptic mayhem that consumes the end of this movie - a battle against the undead that includes pistols, shotguns, swords, grenades, pick axes, chainsaws, scythes, machineguns and main battle tanks. Absolutely incredible and worth every minute of what came before it - this fight is one of the best put to horror film.

I never understood a word in this flick. But that didn't stop me from watching it again and again. With a gory bloody mutilated body count of 117, every gore fan should be utterly enthralled! Unbelievable, puts Peter Jackson and even Andreas Schnass to shame for sure quantity and quality of gore. And even though I speak no German and there is a lot of flashbacks and a few talky parts, I think I followed the story pretty good. Makes a good gory watch!!!

Olaf Ittenbach's low budget splatter-fest Premutos often crops up in discussions about 'the goriest movie ever', but whilst it is certainly no slouch in the bloodletting department, with mucho heads-a-popping, limb tearing-a-plenty, and absolutely gallons of the red stuff, it definitely isn't the title holder (that honour goes to Peter Jackson's Braindead, in my humble opinion).

The film, which spans centuries, and includes biblical reconstructions, battle scenes (both medieval and WWII), and bucket-loads of gore, is certainly an impressive achievement on a tight budget, but unfortunately, for the most part, it is also pretty unwatchable—an impossible to decipher tale of ancient fallen angels and black magic that unwisely mixes awful comedy in with the violence (and, in the version I saw, is very badly dubbed). Only towards the end of the film, when a horde of zombies attack the guests at a birthday party, does the film really kick into gear delivering a barrage of bloody FX to satisfy even the most demanding gore-hound.

If, like me, you're a fan of ultra-gore and underground German splatter, then you will probably want to check out this film purely because of its reputation. If, however, you would rather sample a decent Ittenbach movie, try The Burning Moon or Beyond the Limits, both of which actually make sense.

I enjoyed the previous Ittenbach movie that I'd seen, "Burning Moon". But while that movie was rather grim and nasty, "Premutos" seems to mostly play it for laughs. While its admirable how Ittenbach made this movie with no money in his spare time (and the DVD documentary is worthwhile to see this), I found myself constantly battling not to fast-forward to the next gore scene. Sure, there's gore, and if that's all you want then go ahead and enjoy. But be warned: there's an inordinate amount of lame comedy and tedious story exposition. Many are comparing this to Peter Jackson's movies, especially "Braindead". But looking at what Jackson did on a similar budget in "Bad Taste", it's clear Ittenbach is lacking one thing that Jackson has - talent. 3/10 (for pretty good and plentiful gore effects, and for getting the most out of limited resources - but not worth the money I paid for it)

Ever Wonder what could have happened if Peter Jackson and the legendary, Andreas Schnaas had gotten together to co-direct an outgageously morbid splatter-piece (with humorous dubbing) that would impress, if not shock even the most hardened of gorehounds? Me either, but if such a thing had ever happened, such a love-child of exploitation would have no doubt, been named Premutos: Lord Of The Living Dead.

As it would turn out, Lucifer is not the only fallen Angel, in fact, he's not even the first. There have been two others. This apocalyptic tale revolves around the first to get a swelled head and turn on God. The Lord of the living-dead, Premutos has been summoned to wreak bloody havoc on humankind, off and on throughout history.

Then there's Matthias. This poor guy has been plagued with traumatizing visions all week. Every time Matthias gets banged up, he's temporarily transported to certain era's involving Premutos, including the middle ages, the crucifixion and World War II. And considering how much the hapless Matthias gets banged up, it's been quite a week.

These flashbacks also speak of atrocities of the future, and when Matthias's homeless-looking/military-enthusiast father throws some book into the equation, Premutos's, somehow, is able to return to Earth (I never said it was coherent), along with the living dead, leading to the ultimate apocalyptic bloodbath, or at least something similar.

Then there's the gore, let's talk about that for a second. I, for one, am extremely impressed. We're talking non-stop, jaw-dropping gore, not quite as gory as Dead Alive, but what is? Actually, Premutos ain't all that far off. Probably the 4th or 5th goriest movie I've seen. Cheap, and excessive to the point of cheesiness (not unlike the acting), and I wouldn't have it any other way. If you consider yourself a gorehound, your collection will never be complete without Premutos.

What a swell little movie. Really, just a pitch-black delight, no matter how you look at it. As a long-time collector of the gory and the obscure, finding something this hardcore makes all that searching well worth it. As far as 90's B-horror goes, Premutos is just about as good as you're going to find, not that that's saying much, considering the 90's was the worst period in B-history, (the dark ages) if you will. For more morbid apocalyptic Horror, Burial Ground or Leif Jonker's Darkness should do just fine, although, neither are near as much fun as Premutos. I can't recommend this inept gore-fest enough. 7/10