SoC Archive: Nekromantik: 20th Anniversary Limited Edition

Once again, I decided to review a DVD from my personal collection. I chose one of the rarest I have; my Nekromantik: 20th Anniversary Limited Edition! Directed by the always great Jörg Buttgereit.

FILM- Rob is the unfortunate protagonist of Nekromantik. He spends his days at "Joe’s Streetcleaning Agency"; a corpse removal up service if you will. This gives him the perfect chance to expand his hobby of collecting body parts for his girlfriend, Betty. They display their disgusting collection on the walls of their apartment (along with pictures of serial killers). The Streetcleaners are called in to remove a body from pond (which was the result of an accidental homicide while picking apples) . Rob immediately seizes the opportunity to steal the corpse; he brings it to Betty, in all it's slimy, rotting glory. They both engage in necrophiliac threesome with the corpse, then sit down to a nice dinner; all while their new trophy hangs on the wall and oozes. All good things must come to an end, and soon Rob is fired. An irate Betty leaves Rob, and takes "their friend" with her. Rob is devastated, and begins a downward spiral; resulting in death and more necrophilia. Finally, Rob finds something that makes him happy; a very sharp knife.

Jörg Buttgereit's infamous debut film. Nekromantik is usually always described as "the sickest/ most disgusting film ever made". I HATE this term; just because the subject matter isn't palatable doesn't mean this film is disgusting in any way. This film is so much more than a horror film. It is incredibly artistic (as all Buttgereit films are), and full of social commentary. While this is not my favorite Buttgereit film, it is still an amazing, artistic shocker that every horror collector should add to their collection (IF you can find a copy*). 9/10.

PICTURE/ AUDIO- The picture quality, like Der Todesking, is grainy and soft. This really adds to the grungy, nasty feel of the more disgusting parts. Strangely, this also takes away from some of the more artistic parts of the movie. While better than the American Barrel DVD, the transfer is still not up to par. 8/10.

The audio is nice for this one, and sounds clear. Again, there is no English track (on any release of any Buttgereit film for the matter), but the subs are dead right. 9/10.

EXTRAS- This edition has to have the best extras of any DVD. Ever. For on disk extras, we get: an audio commentary by Jorg Buttgereit, a Buttgereit Super 8 short, a making of, a featurette, outtakes, interviews, trailers, a still gallery with over 100 pictures, and footage from the premiere of the film. This edition is limited to 500 normal editions, and 55 "extra limited editions". All editions come in a large vhs clamshell case. In the case is: the CD soundtrack, a postcard signed by Jörg Buttgereit and Manfred Jelinski (these cards are hand numbered), Nekromantik- The Book, an 8 page booklet, a magnet, fan artwork, and a chapter/ track listing sheet. The "extra limited edition" comes with a roll of the original Super 8 film! Easily an 10/10!

*- All legitimate DVD editions of this film are OOP! That includer the German limited edition, the German "extra limted edition", the German standard release, and the Barrel US release. Beware bootlegs!

Photos galore!

Size comparisons