Could you kill a dream?
Synopsis:
Linda and Jakob are happily in love until one night, Jakob begins to have horrific nightmares in which Linda appears as a darkly seductive creature. Tormented by these visions, Jakob asks his best friend Kurt to murder Linda for him, thus beginning a slow descent into madness. Unbeknownst to the two men, Linda is acting under the control of an ancient family curse. Will her love for Jakob overcome the powers of death? Will Kurt give in to his violent urges and kill to protect his friendship? Is there a way to escape the Devil of Kreuzberg?
"The Devil of Kreuzberg" (2015) stars Sandra Bourdonnec, Ludwig Reuter and Suleyman Yuceer. The film was directed by Alexander Bakshaev (who also served as a producer), written by Pippo Schund and produced by Mathis Vogel. Running Time: 48:34
The film opens with Kurt (Suleyman Yuceer) standing on a street. He looks around at the marquees of a few adult shops before taking a large swig of what one would presume to be some type of alcohol, given his unsteady appearance. The scene fades and soon we find ourselves watching Linda (Sandra Bourdonnec), at first dancing alone, and then joined by Jakob (Ludwig Reuter). As the title and opening credits play, the couple dance as we are treated to an eerie song.
Linda and Jakob are happily in love until one night, Jakob begins to have horrific nightmares in which Linda appears as a darkly seductive creature. Tormented by these visions, Jakob asks his best friend Kurt to murder Linda for him, thus beginning a slow descent into madness. Unbeknownst to the two men, Linda is acting under the control of an ancient family curse. Will her love for Jakob overcome the powers of death? Will Kurt give in to his violent urges and kill to protect his friendship? Is there a way to escape the Devil of Kreuzberg?
"The Devil of Kreuzberg" (2015) stars Sandra Bourdonnec, Ludwig Reuter and Suleyman Yuceer. The film was directed by Alexander Bakshaev (who also served as a producer), written by Pippo Schund and produced by Mathis Vogel. Running Time: 48:34
The film opens with Kurt (Suleyman Yuceer) standing on a street. He looks around at the marquees of a few adult shops before taking a large swig of what one would presume to be some type of alcohol, given his unsteady appearance. The scene fades and soon we find ourselves watching Linda (Sandra Bourdonnec), at first dancing alone, and then joined by Jakob (Ludwig Reuter). As the title and opening credits play, the couple dance as we are treated to an eerie song.
We once again follow Kurt, who is now on an elevator with another man. I liked the bit of camera trickery in this scene. One odd thing though is when the woman's boyfriend is shot and killed, she comes running up to Kurt and halfheartedly pounds on his chest not displaying as much agony as one might expect.
We soon learn that Kurt and Jakob know each other and are actually friends. Meanwhile, Linda visits a statue, to pray for Jakob and the nightmares that plague him. She is seemingly contacted by the statue via telepathy. It seems Linda is not of this world and must soon leave, despite the fact that she wants to remain here with Jakob. She is told that Jakob will die and she must kill him like her mother killed her husband, because they are the Karnsteins'. Jakob approaches Kurt and says that Linda needs to die in order for him to sleep peacefully. Kurt seems to scoff at the idea, or does he? We then watch Kurt as he is about to take another life but for some reason, hesitates, and lets his mark get away for a little while. Then it becomes a game of cat and mouse as Kurt stalks his prey in a parking garage.
Jakob and Kurt meet up once again and after a brief discussion, an odd impromptu dance scene occurs, complete with some slow motion sequences. Possibly the oddest dance scene I have seen since Crispin Glover in "Friday the 13th: Part IV." Next the pair get back to business with Jakob telling Kurt that Linda is the devil. Before you know it, Jakob is asleep, having a nightmare concerning Linda and two other women. Once he comes to, Jakob again approaches Kurt about killing Linda.
Eventually we see Kurt following Linda and he pulls out a gun. His hand shakes as he ponders the request his friend tasked him with. Since I don't want to spoil the story, I won't go any further.
I did enjoy the film but I was left with some questions. The Karnstein name is familiar to me, although the stories don't really seem to be linked. They could be, but then it would be lost on anyone unfamiliar with the name . I feel that the story would have benefited by some explanation about "the fog" and Linda's curse. Delving in to Kurt's profession a little bit could have helped flesh out his character. We see what he is doing. But we never really find out the motivation behind it. The same could be said for Linda. I would like to mention that the music used in the film is terrific. At times it reminded me of a 1970's giallo with its haunting melodies. It really did a great job at helping set the mood. The film also benefits from some of the great buildings used in the film. The graveyard scene also adds more imagery to an already cold and bleak setting. Overall, I felt that the actors did a nice job. The film had good pacing, except for the second dance scene with Jakob and Kurt. That did not seem to help move the story along in any way and the film would have flowed a little better without it. I think "The Devil of Kreuzberg" may require a second viewing to take in and digest everything that happens.
We soon learn that Kurt and Jakob know each other and are actually friends. Meanwhile, Linda visits a statue, to pray for Jakob and the nightmares that plague him. She is seemingly contacted by the statue via telepathy. It seems Linda is not of this world and must soon leave, despite the fact that she wants to remain here with Jakob. She is told that Jakob will die and she must kill him like her mother killed her husband, because they are the Karnsteins'. Jakob approaches Kurt and says that Linda needs to die in order for him to sleep peacefully. Kurt seems to scoff at the idea, or does he? We then watch Kurt as he is about to take another life but for some reason, hesitates, and lets his mark get away for a little while. Then it becomes a game of cat and mouse as Kurt stalks his prey in a parking garage.
Jakob and Kurt meet up once again and after a brief discussion, an odd impromptu dance scene occurs, complete with some slow motion sequences. Possibly the oddest dance scene I have seen since Crispin Glover in "Friday the 13th: Part IV." Next the pair get back to business with Jakob telling Kurt that Linda is the devil. Before you know it, Jakob is asleep, having a nightmare concerning Linda and two other women. Once he comes to, Jakob again approaches Kurt about killing Linda.
Eventually we see Kurt following Linda and he pulls out a gun. His hand shakes as he ponders the request his friend tasked him with. Since I don't want to spoil the story, I won't go any further.
I did enjoy the film but I was left with some questions. The Karnstein name is familiar to me, although the stories don't really seem to be linked. They could be, but then it would be lost on anyone unfamiliar with the name . I feel that the story would have benefited by some explanation about "the fog" and Linda's curse. Delving in to Kurt's profession a little bit could have helped flesh out his character. We see what he is doing. But we never really find out the motivation behind it. The same could be said for Linda. I would like to mention that the music used in the film is terrific. At times it reminded me of a 1970's giallo with its haunting melodies. It really did a great job at helping set the mood. The film also benefits from some of the great buildings used in the film. The graveyard scene also adds more imagery to an already cold and bleak setting. Overall, I felt that the actors did a nice job. The film had good pacing, except for the second dance scene with Jakob and Kurt. That did not seem to help move the story along in any way and the film would have flowed a little better without it. I think "The Devil of Kreuzberg" may require a second viewing to take in and digest everything that happens.