Absolute Evil

I'm not certain how Ulli Lommel's empty thriller Absolute Evil got into the Berlin film festival, but after the woeful Daniel the Magician from a few years ago, I'm surprised, very surprised. Toplined David Carradine plays a jovial sort of gangster which is a small role in this home-made thriller film. The story has a woman chasing after her father's killers about 15 years too late. A torture/waterboarding scene is the primal image in Absolute Evil -- it is the scene that Lommel cuts back to frequently, and becomes the symbol of how this movie grates on the nerves.

Absolute Evil borrows from such films as Kill Bill and Planet of the Apes, but steals more heavily from Lommel's own C-grade horror efforts, such as The Boogeyman, BTK Killer, Green River Killer, Killer Pickton, and Mummy Maniac.

In other words, Absolute Evil borrows extensively from other filmmakers. There are a few fancy cinematic moments in Absolute Evil, and if one looked carefully one might find these, too, have been borrowed from other movies.

Absolute Evil is technically terrible -- the lighting and sound are in particular abysmal. The reviewer for Hollywood Reporter got it right when he said, the film "is quite simply excruciating to watch." Whoever wrote in the IMDb comments that this was a great movie must have mistaken Absolute Evil for some other flick.

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.

This is simply a beautiful film to watch. The characters are all believable and the story is true love equates redemption. David Carradine is spectacular and I left the film wanting more of him. The 2 leads, unknowns, will not remain unknown for long. The chemistry between the two was palpable. Caroyn Neff,lovely and petulant at times works her favor upon Rusty Joiner and I actually wondered if these two were an item. There is a "montgomery Cliff" type of sadness that Joiner brings to the genre and I actually felt as though I needed to embrace him...He is easy on the eyes in a Brad Pitt way, as well. Ulli Lommel's cameo sets the record straight that the man still has it. I'd love to see him star in a film. There is a screen presence that is stellar. He plays an aging hit-man with conviction and just a hint of tongue in cheek attitude. I will certainly buy this film when released, but I am hoping to see it again on the big screen here in the U.S. Anyone who his loved and lost cannot help but identify with this film.

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!

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!