The German Chainsaw Massacre

The German Chainsaw Massacre
The German Chainsaw Massacre
	DVD cover
Directed by	Christoph Schlingensief
Written by	Christoph Schlingensief
Produced by	Gerd Hecker; Horst Riesenfeld;
Starring	Karina Fallenstein; Alfred Edel; Udo Kier; Volker Spengler; Irm Hermann; Susanne Bredehöft; Dietrich Kuhlbrodt; Brigitte Kausch; Artur Albrecht; Rainald Schnell; Helmut Kohl;
Cinematography	Christoph Schlingensief; Voxi Bärenklau;
Edited by	Ariane Traub
Music by	Jacques Arr
Release date	1990;
Running time	60 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German

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).

Plot

Set 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.

Cast

Alfred Edel [de] as Alfred
Karina Fallenstein [de] 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

Schlingensief 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.

Reception

Time Out lauded the film as "abrasive, relentless, cruelly funny and enjoyably deranged." 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.

References

↑ "Christoph Schlingensief: German Chainsaw Massacre". Tate Modern. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
↑ 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. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
↑ Leonard, Sean (October 26, 2013). "Film Review: The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

External links

The German Chainsaw Massacre at IMDb

[1] "Christoph Schlingensief: German Chainsaw Massacre". Tate Modern. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[Twark-2] Twark, Jill E.; Hildebrandt, Axel (2015). Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture. Boydell & Brewer. p. 211. ISBN 9781571135698.

[3] Forrest, Tara (2011). Christoph Schlingensief: Art Without Borders. Intellect Books. p. 44. ISBN 9781841503912.

[4] "The German Chainsaw Massacre 1990, directed by Christoph Schlingensief". Time Out. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[leonard13-5] Leonard, Sean (October 26, 2013). "Film Review: The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved December 22, 2020.