The German Chainsaw Massacre - The First Hour of the Reunification (German: Das deutsche Kettensägenmassaker), also known as Blackest Heart in the United States, is a 1990 German horror film written and directed by Christoph Schlingensief and starring Karina Fallenstein, Alfred Edel, Udo Kier and Irm Hermann. It is the second film in Schlingensief's Deutschlandtrilogie (German Trilogy).
| The German Chainsaw Massacre | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Christoph Schlingensief |
| Written by | Christoph Schlingensief |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Ariane Traub |
| Music by | Jacques Arr |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes[1] |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
Plot
editSet against the background of German reunification in 1990, the plot centers on a group of East Germans who cross the border to visit West Germany and get slaughtered by a psychopathic West German cannibal family with chainsaws who want to turn them into sausages.[2]
Cast
edit- Alfred Edel as Alfred
- Karina Fallenstein as Clara
- Artur Albrecht as Ihr Liebhaber
- Susanne Bredehöft as Ihr Mann / Margit
- Brigitte Kausch as Brigitte
- Volker Spengler as Henk
- Dietrich Kuhlbrodt as Dietrich
- Reinald Schnell as Kurti
- Udo Kier as Jonny
- Eva-Maria Kurz as Zöllnerin
- Irm Hermann as DDR-Grenzerin
Production
editSchlingensief conceived the idea for the film after he had viewed bootleg copies of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (which were both banned in Germany) and found the second film to be "superb for its richness in imagery and double entendres". He wrote the script in a matter of days after the German reunification.[3]
Reception
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2020) |
Time Out lauded the film as "abrasive, relentless, cruelly funny and enjoyably deranged."[4] The film attracted legal complaints for its alleged "glorification of violence" upon its release and was subsequently banned in Germany.[2] Sean Leonard of HorrorNews.net calling it "an artsy, gory horror movie in the vein of Tobe Hooper’s classic", with the director's pointed social commentary.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Christoph Schlingensief: German Chainsaw Massacre". Tate Modern. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ a b Twark, Jill E.; Hildebrandt, Axel (2015). Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture. Boydell & Brewer. p. 211. ISBN 9781571135698.
- ^ Forrest, Tara (2011). Christoph Schlingensief: Art Without Borders. Intellect Books. p. 44. ISBN 9781841503912.
- ^ "The German Chainsaw Massacre 1990, directed by Christoph Schlingensief". Time Out. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ Leonard, Sean (October 26, 2013). "Film Review: The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved December 22, 2020.