Dungeon Girl

Dungeon Girl (2008)

** (out of 4)

My never ending parade of German director Ulli Lommel's "real life" movies continues with this one, which steps away from the horror genre and enters the drama category. This one tells a story that happened in Austria as a young girl was kidnapped and held hostage by a man for nearly six years. The entire running time centers on voiceovers as the girl tells her feelings for her parents, her life before the abduction and for her kidnapper known only as The Stranger. Again, I've seen all of Lommel's "real life" movies that have been released so far and this one here took me by a pleasant surprise. Not that I'd ever sit through the thing again but at least Lommel tried something different and didn't just deliver the same old garbage. I think what really helps this film is Wendi Jean Linn as the girl and Gunther Ziegler as The Stranger. We really don't get to see them "act" since most of the film is structured around voiceovers but this is beneficial since the majority of Lommel's recent films have been even worse due to the bad acting. Here, they at least look the parts well and the narration by Gwen Trevathan is really good. The film is way too slow and too much stuff is repeated for it to be considered a marginally good film. I'm really not sure what Lommel's obsession is with having a character look into the camera, ask questions and then constantly reuse this footage. Also, the running time of 81 minutes is the norm for his recent films but he might want to consider cutting them down to a hour or less. This is how "B" and "Z" movies were back in the day so he might want to revisit that. With that said, this is still a weak film but it's a lot better than anything the director's have given us over the past decade but then again, that's not saying too much.

As it already has been said - I have watched hundreds of movies in my life, and a lot of them have been really bad. This one, however, is by far the worst. I was sickened - and not by the plot - but simply by the lack of quality in both the story and execution. I could have made this when I was 10.

I was so frustrated with the way the story was told - in thoughts by the young girl, who tried to sound as deep as possible. It was just too simple. This story had the potential to be a descent movie - and what is the outcome? A movie which leaves me thinking I've wasted one hour and twenty minutes of my life. And don't get me started on the execution of it - bad quality, bad angles, bad effects, bad actors. Everything was just awful. If you like watching a movie - and then getting frustrated by how terrible it was, then watch it. If not, stay as far away from this movie as possible.

It all seemed to be rushed - And if that was the case: You will not make much money by getting a film inspired by the Kampusch-case out first, if it's THIS bad.

I've seen my share of crummy movies, but this is by far the worst ever! From the horrible acting, to the crummy plot, to the strange soundtrack... The entire film makes YOU want to go hide in a dungeon, it would be more entertaining than watching this movie. If you watch a movie about someone being kidnapped for six years, you expect something more than the guy feeding her chocolate and looking at her through a hole in the wall. Although it sounds morbid, where was the molestation or the mind games? I could not tell if this was a story about Stockholm syndrome or what. All in all, I'm still upset I wasted money buying such a horrible movie.

I loved Ulli Lommel's early eighties horror films The Boogeyman and The Devonsville Terror. They were great and Tenderness Of The Wolves was at least a real movie with a plot.

This new spate of work is the absolute pits. Remembering the good times, I keep coming back for more punishment, lured by the lurid box art and the promise of explicit content. I keep thinking that maybe the next movie will be better but they only get worse.

Dungeon Girl is the worst one yet. Absolute in its despicable worthlessness, it wallows in its own boredom. Nearly the whole film takes place in a small house where the two characters look at each other and do almost nothing.

I know that there are lovers of bad movies out there that read the horrible reviews and want to see something based on what they read. I must warn you that this isn't one of those movies that are so bad they're good, unless you want very badly to see a middle aged man masturbate. This really is so bad it's awful! I don't say the word unwatchable very often.

You'll probably not listen.

I've seen many movies in my day, and many bad ones. "Dungeon Girl" must be the worst, easily.

There is simply nothing good to say about this production. The acting is appalling, the plot non-existent, and the music is beyond description.

Supposedly, the movie is about the abduction and captivity of Natascha Kampusch in Austria a few years ago.

The film starts with a strange mix of references to witches, and the repetition of the phrase "are you a witch"? I never realized exactly why this line keeps recurring throughout the film, which it does. In fact there are so many things in this movie which are left unexplained it's remarkable.

The "story" centers around the girl being held in a basement, or so the title suggests, although the basement seems to be in the attic. The kidnapper is very fond of masturbating with a doll, playing the guitar and singing in really bad German. Apart from this, he cooks soup and gives the girl chocolate. Mixed with this are some odd scenes of flashbacks from the girls' early life which only confuse the viewer.

Summary: A real stinker. Beware, though, the DVD has a rather deceptive cover which can trick you into renting it. Stay away from this one.