Le tueur au calendrier

I love a psychological movie.

This is a good one.

However this is more about a victim of domestic abuse.

I'm trying not to give away spoilers, I hope I don't.

I wouldn't say it's a serial killer movie, it just states that there is one a few times but It doesn't mention other victim's.

It's mainly focused on one potential victim's story, she is running from a serial killer and her abusive husband.

The helpline worker gets her to speak her struggles and connects to her.

This is a great story, good acting, well shot.

It wasn't until most of the way through that i suspected what was happening.

Definitely a thumbs up.

It's not every day that you get to see a real psychological shocker from the German-speaking world. Only a global streaming service like AMAZON PRIME VIDEO can finance that. And Sebastian FITZEK is also a sure guarantee of success. The Berliner, born in 1971, has been writing successful novels in the thriller genre for years. THE WAY HOME was published in 2020 and has now been made into a film by the Caracas-born director Adolfo KOLMERER (who shot several episodes of the very exciting ARD series ODERBRUCH) as THE CALENDAR KILLER.

There is a serial killer on the loose in Berlin who threatens to murder couples on set days. Klara (Luise HEYER) has also received such a warning: she or her husband Martin (Friedrich MÜCKE) are to die. In her distress, Klara has often turned to the escort hotline, which promises to accompany women on their way home by telephone in dangerous situations. The sensitive Jules (Sabin TAMBREA) works there and accompanies the frightened Klara through an eventful night, at least on the phone.

Not a bad idea for a modern thriller! However, flashbacks and improbabilities mean that the tension is less than it could be. The actors are very convincing, and Rainer BOCK plays a very dubious supporting role. The film's production is excellent, but it is not a masterpiece of the genre. However, the film shows what would be possible in the German-speaking entertainment industry if more people in charge dared to try out unusual narrative styles. At least a start has been made. It's worth a look!

"The Calendar Killer" wants to be something different. From the title alone, it projects a sense of self-righteousness, an air of significance. I wanted to buy in - I really did. The dark, moody atmosphere, the German dialogue that demands full attention. It had promise. But as the mystery unfolds, so do its flaws, unraveling in ways that feel less like a carefully plotted puzzle and more like a slow descent into absurdity.

The protagonist is sympathetic enough, the kind of character you're supposed to root for. And at first, I did. But then she makes choices - bewildering, frustrating choices - that seem completely divorced from reality. The kind that pull you out of the story rather than deeper into it. The film wades into sensitive territory, clearly aiming for depth, but it never quite lands the punch. Instead, it fumbles its message, leaving the protagonist delivering a speech that should resonate, should mean something. Instead, it frustrates.

That's when it lost me. I can suspend disbelief when a story earns it, when the logic of its world holds together. But here? Here, the cracks are too big, the missteps too frequent. And for a film that wants you to think, to reflect, to feel something meaningful - it instead achieves something else entirely. An eye roll.

And there it is again, and it bothers me as a German viewer especially, the well-known problem of German film: this extreme artificiality. People act and talk according to a script, but not the way they would in real life. Actors act in front of the camera as if they were on a theater stage. The camera is 10 cm in front of their face, but they act as if this were an evening for the 10th row in the 2nd tier. And when you add to that such a thin plot that makes me wonder who didn't notice the huge gaps, the result just can't be good. And it isn't. The movie suffers from many things at once and suffocates from its clichés.

This is a German movie which I started watching in the dubbed English like many dubbed movies the accents and choice of words diminishes the whole character of the movie. The weird posh accents just seemed to robotic, so I watched in German with translation. It was much better

"The Calendar Killer" delivers a tense and chilling thriller that effectively explores the psychological impact of domestic abuse. The film masterfully builds suspense, leaving the audience constantly on edge as Klara's paranoia escalates. The performances are strong, particularly Luise Heyer as Klara, who portrays her character's fear and desperation with raw intensity.

However, the film's reliance on familiar thriller tropes and predictable twists can diminish its impact. The pacing occasionally falters, and some plot points feel contrived. While the exploration of domestic abuse adds a layer of depth, it sometimes overshadows the suspense elements.

Overall, "The Calendar Killer" is a gripping watch with a compelling premise, but it struggles to fully break free from genre conventions. It's a solid thriller that will keep viewers engaged, but may leave some wanting more originality and depth.