205 - Zimmer der Angst

A German attempt at supernatural horror stories and not as bad as I actually thought it would be. Lead performance is more than solid (which was to be expected by the actress), but the story itself is, while predictable and by the numbers, also very intriguing to a point. You will get things you expect (fake scares, a scary sex scene with nudity and other stuff), but there is also a nice little twist.

Scares are good and entertaining enough, if you can and want to call them that. And the ending is really nicely done. There is no reasoning of course and you can find a lot of plot holes, by not even digging too far (no pun intended), but you'd rob yourself of a good time, with a really decent horror movie

I've read that this is a remake of a recent Danish film which itself has been criticized for borrowing too much from Japanese Ringu. I haven't watched the Danish version, but yes, this German remake also carries unmistakable nods to Ringu, not only regarding the ghost, but even more so in the setting of its climax. Actually, restless female ghost motif is not obviously unique to Ringu, but the setting of the climax is clearly derived from Ringu. Having acknowledged this, 205 - Zimmer der Angst is nevertheless a pretty well-made and effective horror outing which cannot be reduced to being a Ringu rip-off. The first two-thirds of the movie does not have much chills but is very engaging as we follow the trials and tribunals of the female lead (played very successfully by a young actress). The last third carries a few quite scary scenes. Overall, thumbs up for this rare German effort at horror. By the way, the movie actually carries some nods to Suspiria as well as Ringu.

I had the pleasure of seeing this film at German Films Go North in Stockholm 2011 in 35 mm.

Some of the scares in the film are pretty tame, some clishé, some effective. The effects are not much to hang in a Christmas tree and the ghost looks terrible. The two things that make this film worthwhile is 1; the screenplay and 2: Jennifer Ulrich. Jennifer Ulrich is freaking amazing in this film and after seeing this film, Die Welle and Wir Sind Die Nacht she is now my favorite actress. She give everything to her role and it pays of. She is the force that keeps the film going.

That said I must comment on the other actors. Tino Mewes was OK, not the greatest actor around and his part was not too interesting but he was not bad in any way. Daniel Roesner was pretty terrible, it does not help that he looks and behaves like a douche. Marleen Lohse was just annoying. I found Inez Bjørg David as being pretty good and André Hennicke extraordinary sympathetic as the cop Urban. Julia Dietze of Iron Sky plays the ghost but is only in the movie for a limited amount of time in the film when she is not a special effect but she is almost as good as Jennifer Ulrich in her few scenes.

The script is pretty clever and sets up twists and turns but makes sure to set them up and that they perfect sense when we come closer to the end of the film. The ending is amazing

I don't know if this film will ever come to Sweden again but I will sure watch it in cinema again and buy the DVD.