"Der Todesking" is not exactly the type of film that makes you merry
Jörg Buttgereit's second cult monument in a row, which is actually a lot better than the infamous "Nekromantik", exists of seven short episodes one for each day of the week revolving on unrelated people's suicides. In between these already very disturbing episodes, Buttgereit inserts truly horrifying images of a severely decomposing male corpse. The episodes aren't all equally powerful but, as a wholesome, "Der Todesking" is ranked quite high on the list of all-time most depressing art-house films. Particularly the episodes on Wednesday, involving a man explaining his sexual frustrations to a total stranger in the park, and the one of Sunday, focusing on a younger man molesting himself to dead, are extremely intense and devastating to observe. The added value of this film, or any other shockumenary like it, is debatable and I'm not even sure whether or not Buttgereit had any type of message to communicate here. There's the vague mentioning of an eerie chain letter that encourages its readers to commit suicide but mostly we remain uninformed about these people's motivations to end their lives so dramatically. Entirely unlike I expected, "Der Todesking" isn't exploitative or repulsively graphic! On the contrary actually, I never could have hoped Buttgereit would be so subtle and thoughtful regarding the portrayal of pure human misery. The Thursday episode is a perfect example of this, as it stylishly shows different viewpoints of a famous German bridge while the names, ages and occupations of persons who jumped off appear on the screen. The production values are inescapably poor and the editing often lacks professionalism, but this isn't what really counts in this type of cinema. The subject matter is strong and forcing us to contemplate about the less cheerful but also indispensable aspects of life. GREAT use of tragic music, too!
34 Reviews
Typical for Jörg Buttgereit's work.
Boba_Fett11388 March 2009
Jörg Buttgereit goes a bit too far with his movies and themes at times, even for my taste but his movies are always something special and hard to classify. They are artistically made, with also often deeper meaning to its themes. This movie is a perfect example of his work.
It's also really hard to label this movie. It's not really a movie with a story to it, in a sense of having a beginning, middle and end in it. It also doesn't have a main character but instead focuses on 7 different suicides and killings, on 7 different days.
All different stories are being told with lots of class, though some of them are of course more 'interesting' and realistic than the others. They are not necessarily connected but yet together they still tell a story. The movie doesn't feel disjointed at all. All different stories have a different feel to it and Buttgereit tells the story without hardly using any words (also typical for his style) but instead lets the images and obvious sensible emotions of the characters tell the entire story. It helps to make this movie an effective one to watch.
Again, the production values all aren't too high and this might be something that might scare off some people. It however helps for this particular movie to set the right tone and atmosphere for the entire movie and its dark, disturbing and depressing themes.
A Buttgereit movie that I 'enjoyed' watching.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
It's also really hard to label this movie. It's not really a movie with a story to it, in a sense of having a beginning, middle and end in it. It also doesn't have a main character but instead focuses on 7 different suicides and killings, on 7 different days.
All different stories are being told with lots of class, though some of them are of course more 'interesting' and realistic than the others. They are not necessarily connected but yet together they still tell a story. The movie doesn't feel disjointed at all. All different stories have a different feel to it and Buttgereit tells the story without hardly using any words (also typical for his style) but instead lets the images and obvious sensible emotions of the characters tell the entire story. It helps to make this movie an effective one to watch.
Again, the production values all aren't too high and this might be something that might scare off some people. It however helps for this particular movie to set the right tone and atmosphere for the entire movie and its dark, disturbing and depressing themes.
A Buttgereit movie that I 'enjoyed' watching.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
powerfully oppressive
Jonny_Numb6 October 2005
Only a handful of horror directors are true craftsmen when it comes to constructing fear out of celluloid, and Jorg Buttgereit is one of them. "Der Todesking" is an early, virtually plot less effort from the German auteur that follows a week in the life of a deadly chain letter. The film possesses a stream-of-consciousness style which strings together a series of random, nightmarish images (the sped-up decomposition of a corpse; castration; suicide) that rely on a coldly realistic tone to deliver chills. Additionally, the musical score is as hauntingly effective as anything Goblin composed for Dario Argento. Be warned, however--depending on your mood, "Der Todesking" might plunge you into a deep depression.
Art/trash/exploitation with soul?
Infofreak30 October 2001
'Der Todesking' is my first experience with Jorg Buttgereit. I have no idea whether it is representative of his other work or not, but after watching this puzzling movie I intend finding out. A verbal description of this movie does it very little justice. Scenes of suicides by various individuals are interspersed with footage of a decomposing corpse. That really gives you NO idea how thought provoking, repellant AND beautiful this movie is in places.
I'm not sure if I fully understand Buttgereit's "message" or indeed, if there really IS one. But I did get something from watching this movie. It is much more than just a collection of disturbing images. Maybe it is like a painting or a poem, and everybody who experiences comes away with their own ideas or emotions about what it's "about".
Whatever your reaction to 'Der Todesking' I don't think you will regret having watched it. There are moments in this movie that will stay with you for a VERY long time... I was fascinated. A movie that blurs the distinctions between art and exploitation, and makes you question yourself. Yes, I was impressed.
I'm not sure if I fully understand Buttgereit's "message" or indeed, if there really IS one. But I did get something from watching this movie. It is much more than just a collection of disturbing images. Maybe it is like a painting or a poem, and everybody who experiences comes away with their own ideas or emotions about what it's "about".
Whatever your reaction to 'Der Todesking' I don't think you will regret having watched it. There are moments in this movie that will stay with you for a VERY long time... I was fascinated. A movie that blurs the distinctions between art and exploitation, and makes you question yourself. Yes, I was impressed.
Interesting "Art-House" Film From Jorg Buttgereit
EVOL66629 January 2006
DER TODESKING is not one of my favorite Jorg Buttgereit film - but still is an interesting film dealing with suicide and it's reasons and ramifications. Those looking for a gore-fest, or exploitation in the style of the NEKROMANTIK films or SCHRAMM will probably be disappointed. DER TODESKING is definitely an "art-house" style film, so those that need linear, explainable narratives need not apply...
The basic concept of DER TODESKING is that there is an "episode" for each day of the week that revolves around a strange chain letter that apparently causes people to commit suicide, interspersed with scenes of a slowly decomposing corpse...
There are some very well done and thought provoking scenes, including the man talking about the "problems" with his wife, and the concert massacre (which unfortunately lost some of it's "power" on me, because I was too busy laughing at the SCORPIONS look-alike band on stage...). But seriously - this is a sometimes beautiful (the scene that shows different angles of that huge bridge is particularly effective - especially if you understand the significance of the scene, and that the names shown are of people that actually committed suicide from jumping from the bridge...), sometimes confusing, sometimes silly (the SHE WOLF OF THE SS rip-off is pretty amusing), sometimes harrowing (I found the scene of the guy talking to the girl in the park about his wife particularly effective) film that is more of an "experience" then just entertainment, as many of these "art" films are meant to be. Still, I didn't find DER TODESKING to be as strong as NEKROMANTIK or SCHRAMM, and would probably put it on relatively even footing with NEKROMANTIK 2 in terms of my personally "enjoyment level". Definitely worth a look to any Buttgereit or "art" film fan. If you dig this type of film - check out SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY - in my opinion the BEST art-house/horror film that I've seen. 7/10 for DER TODESKING
The basic concept of DER TODESKING is that there is an "episode" for each day of the week that revolves around a strange chain letter that apparently causes people to commit suicide, interspersed with scenes of a slowly decomposing corpse...
There are some very well done and thought provoking scenes, including the man talking about the "problems" with his wife, and the concert massacre (which unfortunately lost some of it's "power" on me, because I was too busy laughing at the SCORPIONS look-alike band on stage...). But seriously - this is a sometimes beautiful (the scene that shows different angles of that huge bridge is particularly effective - especially if you understand the significance of the scene, and that the names shown are of people that actually committed suicide from jumping from the bridge...), sometimes confusing, sometimes silly (the SHE WOLF OF THE SS rip-off is pretty amusing), sometimes harrowing (I found the scene of the guy talking to the girl in the park about his wife particularly effective) film that is more of an "experience" then just entertainment, as many of these "art" films are meant to be. Still, I didn't find DER TODESKING to be as strong as NEKROMANTIK or SCHRAMM, and would probably put it on relatively even footing with NEKROMANTIK 2 in terms of my personally "enjoyment level". Definitely worth a look to any Buttgereit or "art" film fan. If you dig this type of film - check out SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY - in my opinion the BEST art-house/horror film that I've seen. 7/10 for DER TODESKING
A prism through which death splits inte many facets
andersngr17 November 2003
I read a small ad in some horror magazine in the early nineties about Liebe des Totes (the love of the dead) or something similar. This of course awoke my curiosity so I ordered Nekromantik 1 & 2 and Der Todesking (The Death King). The Nekromantik movies are Ok, even kind of interesting and unique in their approach to the subject Necrophilia (even if they obviously are horror-opera entries rather than intended to invoke fear in the viewers mind, they are actually quite funny.)
TODESKING, on the other hand is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made. It consist of a series of scenes depicting the many facets of death. Death as an enemy; Death as a reliever, Death as the very fysical decomposition of the body. The film is a metaphor over life. It shows how fragile life is and how short our lives are. It reduces its viewers to the childs they (we) actually are. The fact that we cannot really understand the nature of Death, and hence neither the process of dying, is the core message of the film. This is a most realistic film. Never does Buttgereit try to hide death behind white roses or whatever. No matter what moral standards you set up, death is unevitable, and will sooner or later be not a fiction but YOUR reality. This applies to YOU, Dear Reader, like it applies to the viewers of the film. Some juvenile reviewers seem not to grasp this, which is fully excused, since they of course will live forever...
This is no exploitation movie. Why? Because death does not exploit us humans. It harvests us. We grow for seven days, then we are brought back to the schopenhauerian state of pre-birth, that is Death. Buttgereit gives us his version of the oldest of tales. Whether you choose to regard it as "optimistic" or "pessimistic" is up to you. At first glance it may seem very dark. Consider though, that in order for something to live, something else must die. "Who wants to live forever?"
I believe that when Buttgereit shows a body, that are being consumed by maggots, he shows not only decomposition, but GENERATION of new life. Is it not better to die and give life to maggots and then birds and eventually become soil, than to remain the living dead zombie that is one of the the favorite pets of the genre?
When you realize this, you see Der Todesking it its right context.
Sieben Tage hat die Woche, siebenmal letzte Stunden. Seven are the days of week (weak, mortal !), seven times the last hour.
Dont fear the Reaper, Buttgereit tells us, because the Reaper takes only what is ripe. And apples that are not plucked for food will rot!
Have a good life, fellow IMDB'ers !
(And watch this film, that compares only to Ingemar Bergmans "The Seventh Seal" in terms of depth and universality)
TODESKING, on the other hand is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made. It consist of a series of scenes depicting the many facets of death. Death as an enemy; Death as a reliever, Death as the very fysical decomposition of the body. The film is a metaphor over life. It shows how fragile life is and how short our lives are. It reduces its viewers to the childs they (we) actually are. The fact that we cannot really understand the nature of Death, and hence neither the process of dying, is the core message of the film. This is a most realistic film. Never does Buttgereit try to hide death behind white roses or whatever. No matter what moral standards you set up, death is unevitable, and will sooner or later be not a fiction but YOUR reality. This applies to YOU, Dear Reader, like it applies to the viewers of the film. Some juvenile reviewers seem not to grasp this, which is fully excused, since they of course will live forever...
This is no exploitation movie. Why? Because death does not exploit us humans. It harvests us. We grow for seven days, then we are brought back to the schopenhauerian state of pre-birth, that is Death. Buttgereit gives us his version of the oldest of tales. Whether you choose to regard it as "optimistic" or "pessimistic" is up to you. At first glance it may seem very dark. Consider though, that in order for something to live, something else must die. "Who wants to live forever?"
I believe that when Buttgereit shows a body, that are being consumed by maggots, he shows not only decomposition, but GENERATION of new life. Is it not better to die and give life to maggots and then birds and eventually become soil, than to remain the living dead zombie that is one of the the favorite pets of the genre?
When you realize this, you see Der Todesking it its right context.
Sieben Tage hat die Woche, siebenmal letzte Stunden. Seven are the days of week (weak, mortal !), seven times the last hour.
Dont fear the Reaper, Buttgereit tells us, because the Reaper takes only what is ripe. And apples that are not plucked for food will rot!
Have a good life, fellow IMDB'ers !
(And watch this film, that compares only to Ingemar Bergmans "The Seventh Seal" in terms of depth and universality)
Suicide sucks
petermckn29 October 2017
I am initially underwhelmed by Der Todesking (The Death King). So we are presented with 7 stories, one for each day of the week. Every story is depicting suicide, with cuts of a slowly decaying corpse(made from pigs guts and strawberry pudding) in between. So what we basically get is an anti-suicide movie made on a shoe- string budget it does work quite well for what its trying to achieve with the budget they had. However, Its a bit of a hit and miss with some of the stories some of the scenes tend to drag on and one day which was Thursday was just shots of the bridge in Germany called the suicide bridge. The director himself said that its very hard to capture what he had in his head due to the budget restraints. We also have a sneaky homage to the Ilsa films which are banned in Germany and a nice shootout at a cinema. The decomposition of the corpse looks great and its nice to watch you'd almost think it was real. The same skeleton was used from necromantic and the scene was shot at 1 frame per hour. As for sound, they repeat a rather depressing song over and over but it doesn't really get annoying. check it out if you're a film student or interested in the themes presented here but i can't recommend it personally.
The King of Death
dagonseve18 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This film is brought to you by the controversial German director, Jörg Buttgereit. I had a difficult time understanding the premise to its maximum potential – but from what I've gathered, for each day of the week, a short tale is told with the theme of death or suicide present in each one. It makes reference to a religious chain letter in circulation from a group calling themselves "The Brotherhood of the 7th Day." Also, the reoccurring scene of a decomposing corpse against a black back drop is shown with the use of classical music in the background.
"Life is an illusion and becomes ridiculous and meaningless once we face it. The one security life has to offer is DEATH."
This piece was constructed with an obvious existential nihilistic approach. Life is treated meaninglessly and the idea of suicide is likened to vengeance. Each person has control over their destiny and this enables them to become "The King of Death." This concept is not without interest, but Buttgereit's delivery was lackluster.
Unlike his previous film, Nekromantik, the abstract elements present in this film are deep – I'm not sure I've fully grasped what the director was trying to convey. Certain scenes are splashed together and inconsistent. I partially blame the uncut copy I viewed for its poor use of subtitles – if I had a more coherent version, it surely would have been easier for me to piece together the meaning of certain segments.
If I was to accurately judge this movie I would say that it's mostly boring and unprovocative. Buttgereit doesn't spell the message of his film out to the audience, and whatever feeling you're left with after watching Der Todesking is the right one. There are no definitive answers.
"Life is an illusion and becomes ridiculous and meaningless once we face it. The one security life has to offer is DEATH."
This piece was constructed with an obvious existential nihilistic approach. Life is treated meaninglessly and the idea of suicide is likened to vengeance. Each person has control over their destiny and this enables them to become "The King of Death." This concept is not without interest, but Buttgereit's delivery was lackluster.
Unlike his previous film, Nekromantik, the abstract elements present in this film are deep – I'm not sure I've fully grasped what the director was trying to convey. Certain scenes are splashed together and inconsistent. I partially blame the uncut copy I viewed for its poor use of subtitles – if I had a more coherent version, it surely would have been easier for me to piece together the meaning of certain segments.
If I was to accurately judge this movie I would say that it's mostly boring and unprovocative. Buttgereit doesn't spell the message of his film out to the audience, and whatever feeling you're left with after watching Der Todesking is the right one. There are no definitive answers.
I thought it was just going to be another sleazy low budget horror film... I was terribly wrong.
raulz9813 December 2011
I've watched Schramm, Nekromantik 1 and 2. Der Todesking is really at the top of them. I spent like 40 EU on the movie. I didn't buyed it because I was a 100% sure it was good, I bought it because it was a rare film to find. When I finally saw it, I knew that the value of the film was above money.
The film is an essay on death and more than that is an analysis on audiovisual violence.
Der Todesking is an Art film with the soul of a Horror film.
If I would have to make a list of the films that I've saw in my life this film would definitely be on the top 10.
This is not a splatter film. Blood is shown only in a couple of scenes, nevertheless the film leaves you powerful visual impression.
The film is an essay on death and more than that is an analysis on audiovisual violence.
Der Todesking is an Art film with the soul of a Horror film.
If I would have to make a list of the films that I've saw in my life this film would definitely be on the top 10.
This is not a splatter film. Blood is shown only in a couple of scenes, nevertheless the film leaves you powerful visual impression.
Some heavy subject matter with an ambiguous message.
recoldblood23 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
So Der Todesking is not the most feel good film of all time, as it's subject matter is suicide, loneliness, depression, and also redemption in the absolute worst ways. It is a film about people who get the short end of the stick in life and how people at their worst can take control of their miserable lives through suicide, thus becoming Der TodesKing (or King of Death). The King of Death supposedly exists within all minds and can manifest when we are at our worst, driving suicidal thoughts into our minds. The film is broken up into 7 days following different people who are struggling to cope with existence in a world they view as empty. Thursday in particular was a strange sequence of just a German bridge and the camera floating all the way over it. While the camera is floating over the bridge we see names flashing on the screen, ages, and occupations, implying they are people who jumped from this bridge today. Between scenes a body is shown being devoured by bugs until over the span of the film it is eaten to almost it's entirety, and all while the film's score plays (nice score but wish it had more music). The film attempts to explain the concept of suicide as a radical escape from harsh reality, and a way of taking revenge against society for it's progressiveness that tends to leave so many behind. When left behind those who tend to take their own life know for but a moment that they will not be ignored if only for the moment, and in spite remind everybody of the emptiness in their existence that others may have contributed to.
Overall being a Jorg Buttgereit (Nekromantik 1 & 2, and Schramm) film, I couldn't help but be surprised the film wasn't more exploitive like his past works. He says the film is supposed to be anti-suicide, but nobody in the film really has anything good happening in life. With that being said those who submit to their urges always appear in absolute agony, and therefore I can't claim it glorifies it in any way either. So I guess it's an ambiguous somewhat avante garde take on some very heavy subject matter. I don't hate it, but I wasn't overly entertained either, which I'm sure was the point. Maybe in some ways it shows the agonies in our life as impermanent, where as the ending of that life as an excruciating and sad task which in the end still brings no happiness. I guess I'd probably give it a 6/10 for it's attempt and sometimes successes at handling the controversial subject matter. Sometimes it was a beautiful film, but equally it was a drag at points.
Overall being a Jorg Buttgereit (Nekromantik 1 & 2, and Schramm) film, I couldn't help but be surprised the film wasn't more exploitive like his past works. He says the film is supposed to be anti-suicide, but nobody in the film really has anything good happening in life. With that being said those who submit to their urges always appear in absolute agony, and therefore I can't claim it glorifies it in any way either. So I guess it's an ambiguous somewhat avante garde take on some very heavy subject matter. I don't hate it, but I wasn't overly entertained either, which I'm sure was the point. Maybe in some ways it shows the agonies in our life as impermanent, where as the ending of that life as an excruciating and sad task which in the end still brings no happiness. I guess I'd probably give it a 6/10 for it's attempt and sometimes successes at handling the controversial subject matter. Sometimes it was a beautiful film, but equally it was a drag at points.
A european masterpiece of the decade
Noisy M2 March 1999
My god ! Buttgereit's masterpiece is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Closer to Peter Greenaway and Jean-Luc Godard's movies, this one is really disturbing but not gruesome as the Nekromantiks. All the little stories have a deep philosophic interest and the directing is totally inventive, in spite of the lack of money (see the "bridge" sketch). Highly highly recommended !
More experiment then successful film its a look at seven deaths in seven days
dbborroughs19 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Jörg Buttgereit's second feature film has a simple plot, well not even a plot, its seven days and seven deaths. Seven seemingly unconnected people die over the course of the film. Thats it. Made between his two Nekromantic films this is a dark mediation on death and despair. With the exception of the fake decaying corpse that bridges the stories, this is probably his least graphic film. in its way its a jarring experience because it offers no answers only acts. The acts seem to be connected by letters and such but listening to the commentary track on the European DVD many of the connections were not intentional, though the filmmakers don't deny that they could be connected.
As a film its just okay. Its more an experiment then a complete film. Its episodic nature doesn't really ever allow it to come together as a whole. Give Jörg Buttgereit points for trying to go and do something different, and give him points for almost pulling it off (and breaking conventions) but in the end it's an interesting misfire nothing more. (even if some of the images and ideas are haunting me still.)
As a film its just okay. Its more an experiment then a complete film. Its episodic nature doesn't really ever allow it to come together as a whole. Give Jörg Buttgereit points for trying to go and do something different, and give him points for almost pulling it off (and breaking conventions) but in the end it's an interesting misfire nothing more. (even if some of the images and ideas are haunting me still.)
Der Bore King
horizon200828 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Lol. Here we go again, all the deep and meaningful movie explorers thinking they see things others don't. This appears to be a movie about suicide. And mostly boring at that. There are scenes set over a week with each one given a separate day.
Day one, someone takes some pills in a bath intercut with shots of a goldfish in a bowl and they kill themselves. Day two a guy hires a video tape about Nazis which he takes home and we see someone get their penis cut off with garden shears in it. The guys girlfriend then comes home nagging him about something so he shoots her in the head and puts a picture frame around the blood stain on the wall, he then hangs himself. Day three, a guy sits on a bench in the rain telling a girl about his relationship problems, she gives him a gun, he shoots himself. Then we see a decomposing body (looking like it's made from wax). Yawn.
Next there's some random scenes of a bridge for day four. Flashing up are names and occupations of those (I guess) that either jumped or fell from it, then it's back to Mr Waxy corpse again. Ooh, he's looking a bit smelly now with bubbly bits coming out. Still not very exciting though.
Day five (Friday) has an old woman snooping about an apartment block and finding a chain letter telling her she should kill herself, she's envious of a young couple she can see from her window. She goes to sleep and when she wakes up we see a shot of the couple dead and bloody in their bed. Then it's another clip of Mr rotty corpse.
Day six involves a girl reading some pseudo-philosophical rant about those killing with a gun, who then attaches a steadycam to herself and shoots a few folks at a rock gig, finally getting shot herself. Then back again to the corpse which has almost been reduced to a skeleton.
Day seven...a guy writhes about on a bed for no apparent reason and the film ends with a little girl drawing a skeleton labelled The Death King (the name of the film). But I can assure you my description of the film sounds much more interesting than it really is.
Day one, someone takes some pills in a bath intercut with shots of a goldfish in a bowl and they kill themselves. Day two a guy hires a video tape about Nazis which he takes home and we see someone get their penis cut off with garden shears in it. The guys girlfriend then comes home nagging him about something so he shoots her in the head and puts a picture frame around the blood stain on the wall, he then hangs himself. Day three, a guy sits on a bench in the rain telling a girl about his relationship problems, she gives him a gun, he shoots himself. Then we see a decomposing body (looking like it's made from wax). Yawn.
Next there's some random scenes of a bridge for day four. Flashing up are names and occupations of those (I guess) that either jumped or fell from it, then it's back to Mr Waxy corpse again. Ooh, he's looking a bit smelly now with bubbly bits coming out. Still not very exciting though.
Day five (Friday) has an old woman snooping about an apartment block and finding a chain letter telling her she should kill herself, she's envious of a young couple she can see from her window. She goes to sleep and when she wakes up we see a shot of the couple dead and bloody in their bed. Then it's another clip of Mr rotty corpse.
Day six involves a girl reading some pseudo-philosophical rant about those killing with a gun, who then attaches a steadycam to herself and shoots a few folks at a rock gig, finally getting shot herself. Then back again to the corpse which has almost been reduced to a skeleton.
Day seven...a guy writhes about on a bed for no apparent reason and the film ends with a little girl drawing a skeleton labelled The Death King (the name of the film). But I can assure you my description of the film sounds much more interesting than it really is.
Buttgereit is indeed the death king of moviemaking.
grob24828 July 2000
Jorg "Nekromantik" Buttgereit continued his serious obsession with death on this harrowing suicide-fest. One suicide per week day. Der Todesking, however, is far from being any sort of video nasty. Rather, it is a brooding, raw, brutally frank art-house hysteria punctuated by avantgarde delivery, particularly the recurring interludes of a decomposing corpse. There is also a spoof on "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS," which is weird and totally unexpected if you consider Buttgereit's nationality. In any case, utterly depressing, plodding atmosphere and unnerving lack of dialogue bring this work even further into the category of obscure cult classics, not for the weak of heart or mind. But would you expect anything less from the man who gave us "Nekromantik," "Schramm," "Hot Love?" Indeed. "This is the Death King. He makes it so that people don't want to live anymore." Can YOU look him in the eyes?
Disturbing
mynameisspeedcore31 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
From the bringer of all things that shouldn't be committed to film, director Jörg Buttgereit really went out of his way to make a film that makes you question your sanity. This is not a film for the faint of heart or for those who have unhealthy thoughts about death and suicide. These extremely touchy subjects are shown here in all their unpleasant glory. The drawn out opening scene of a man preparing for and eventually overdosing in the bathtub was something that took me completely unaware and sets the morbid tone throughout. This film (as with the rest of Jörgs films) continues to push the envelope thoughout with the upsetting and intense scenes only escalating in severity until its brutal conclusion. There are a couple pauses for respite here brought to you by intermittent timelapse shots of a real human corpse in various stages of decay and one particularly difficult part where you're forced to stare down a huge drop from a bridge for a significant length of time while it ominously lists names. Those observant enough will realise pretty quickly they're reading the names of real people who have jumped from this location, making this vertigo inducing scene all the more uncomfortable. There isn't much positive to say about this movie as it's fully intended to be deeply unsettling and disturbing, a common theme in Jörgs films that have cemented his place in horror infamy. I would encourage anyone to watch his films but would strongly caution anyone willing to give this one a try.
A stark reminder that, for some, death comes by invitation.
BA_Harrison7 August 2020
Between the graphic, transgressive shock horror of Nekromantiks 1 and 2, director Jörg Buttgereit gave fans of extreme underground cinema this experimental arthouse/exploitation study of the act of suicide, depicting seven examples of self-destruction over the course of one week. As a bonus, in between the suicides we get to see the body of a dead man decompose via time lapse photography. Cheery stuff then.
First to take his own life is a man (Hermann Kopp) obsessed with fish. He studies fish, has a fish poster on his wall, eats fish, keeps a pet goldfish, and has a little picture of a fish on his mailbox. Rather fittingly, he dies in a full bath-tub after taking an overdose washed down with wine. The standout scene is a prolonged rotating shot of his apartment, showing the passage of time, just the start of Jörg getting creative with his visuals.
Day two sees a guy (Heinrich Ebber) renting a Nazisploitation film (called Vera, Gestapo's Angel of Death) from his local video shop. He sits down and watches the movie, which contains the sickening sight of a man having his penis cut off with a pair of garden shears. His girlfriend arrives and interrupts his viewing, so he shoots her in the head and frames the resulting splatter on the wall. All of this turns out to be a film within Buttgereit's film, which makes the Nazisploitation movie a film within a film within a film.
On day three, a rainy Wednesday, a man on a park bench (Michael Krause) recounts to a pretty woman (Susanne Betz) how his relationship with his wife became strained when she got ill, after which he puts a gun in his mouth and decorates a park statue with his brain.
Thursday is simple in concept, yet extremely moving: artful shots of a bridge, with captions naming all of the people who have thrown themselves off the edge. Buttgereit's impressive photography of the bridge combined with the long list of names make this compelling yet depressing stuff.
Friday follows a lonely spinster who enviously spies on two seemingly happy lovers in a neighbouring apartment. The woman receives a suicide chain letter that says she must make copies of the letter and then take her own life, but she decides to eat chocolates instead. The camera then shifts to the other apartment where the lovers are in bed together, covered in blood, having killed themselves.
The next segment concerns a young woman (Angelika Hoch) who commits 'amok suicide' by embarking a rampage shooting spree. Using a harness to mount a camera to her torso, the woman films the killings, which allows Buttgereit to show the action in first person shooter style, anticipating films like Doom and Hardcore Henry.
Last up is an extremely harrowing story of a tormented individual whose extreme anguish drives him to death. Buttgereit doesn't let on precisely what his character's personal demons are, but watching the poor fellow writhe and scream in agony (mental or physical?) is uncomfortable viewing, particularly when he begins to bash his head against a wall out of sheer desperation.
A bold experiment in film-making, exploring an uncomfortable subject in a visually and aurally interesting manner, Der Todesking is not for everyone, but then what art is?
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb. For those looking for more low-budget, German, suicide-themed cinema, try Suicide (2001), which was surely inspired by Buttgereit's film.
First to take his own life is a man (Hermann Kopp) obsessed with fish. He studies fish, has a fish poster on his wall, eats fish, keeps a pet goldfish, and has a little picture of a fish on his mailbox. Rather fittingly, he dies in a full bath-tub after taking an overdose washed down with wine. The standout scene is a prolonged rotating shot of his apartment, showing the passage of time, just the start of Jörg getting creative with his visuals.
Day two sees a guy (Heinrich Ebber) renting a Nazisploitation film (called Vera, Gestapo's Angel of Death) from his local video shop. He sits down and watches the movie, which contains the sickening sight of a man having his penis cut off with a pair of garden shears. His girlfriend arrives and interrupts his viewing, so he shoots her in the head and frames the resulting splatter on the wall. All of this turns out to be a film within Buttgereit's film, which makes the Nazisploitation movie a film within a film within a film.
On day three, a rainy Wednesday, a man on a park bench (Michael Krause) recounts to a pretty woman (Susanne Betz) how his relationship with his wife became strained when she got ill, after which he puts a gun in his mouth and decorates a park statue with his brain.
Thursday is simple in concept, yet extremely moving: artful shots of a bridge, with captions naming all of the people who have thrown themselves off the edge. Buttgereit's impressive photography of the bridge combined with the long list of names make this compelling yet depressing stuff.
Friday follows a lonely spinster who enviously spies on two seemingly happy lovers in a neighbouring apartment. The woman receives a suicide chain letter that says she must make copies of the letter and then take her own life, but she decides to eat chocolates instead. The camera then shifts to the other apartment where the lovers are in bed together, covered in blood, having killed themselves.
The next segment concerns a young woman (Angelika Hoch) who commits 'amok suicide' by embarking a rampage shooting spree. Using a harness to mount a camera to her torso, the woman films the killings, which allows Buttgereit to show the action in first person shooter style, anticipating films like Doom and Hardcore Henry.
Last up is an extremely harrowing story of a tormented individual whose extreme anguish drives him to death. Buttgereit doesn't let on precisely what his character's personal demons are, but watching the poor fellow writhe and scream in agony (mental or physical?) is uncomfortable viewing, particularly when he begins to bash his head against a wall out of sheer desperation.
A bold experiment in film-making, exploring an uncomfortable subject in a visually and aurally interesting manner, Der Todesking is not for everyone, but then what art is?
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb. For those looking for more low-budget, German, suicide-themed cinema, try Suicide (2001), which was surely inspired by Buttgereit's film.
Moody
kosmasp1 November 2022
No pun intended - the movie is somber as someone else already said/wrote and the pacing may not be everyones cup of tea. It also has some questionable acting choices (casting wise and choice wise in the movie that is). But if you suspend your disbelief and cherish the low budget aspect of the movie, you will be able to detect a filmmaker with a deep love for making movies.
Buttgereit is quite infamous for other movies - but even this has got a high rating. It is not so much for things depicted (sometimes we even cut away instead of getting gory details, which as the director has said is a creative choice and not for budgetary reasons), but for the theme of the movie(s).
The different stories have different vibes, but pacing wise they are all on the same level - you may have to suspend your disbelief and be willing to get on board with that ...
Buttgereit is quite infamous for other movies - but even this has got a high rating. It is not so much for things depicted (sometimes we even cut away instead of getting gory details, which as the director has said is a creative choice and not for budgetary reasons), but for the theme of the movie(s).
The different stories have different vibes, but pacing wise they are all on the same level - you may have to suspend your disbelief and be willing to get on board with that ...
Bad dog! Bad, bad!
galensaysyes26 November 2001
The subject notwithstanding, this is an amateur, exhibitionist movie--or an effort at one--which is about as interesting and daring as a moody high school student's composition book full of death "poetry". To be sure, it will disturb viewers who are hell-bent on being disturbed, but the success will be attributable to themselves, not to the director. To genuinely get under somebody's skin requires sensibility, discipline, technique, and talent, as well as an eye and an ear. The film does contain one evocative image, shown as a still (and also used on the video case), but with no development leading up to or away from it. If the director had had an eye, he would have seen it as a possible starting point for an interesting movie--that is, a movie.
Suicidal pleasure of thoughts.
HumanoidOfFlesh14 June 2002
"Der Todesking"-Jorg Buttgereit's second full-length feature film(the first one was notorious "Nekromantik")has no central character or characters,but instead thematic continuity in the act of suicide.Divided into days of the week,it comprises of a series of set-pieces,each of which featuring the self-destruction of a complete stranger.Yes,the production values are low and it's disturbing,but in many ways "Der Todesking" is extremely effective.It makes you think which is sometimes more important than pure entertainment.Unlike the other Buttgereit's works it isn't very gory,but there are some unpleasant images like castration scene in the Tuesday episode,a decomposing corpse and various acts of suicide.The last(Sunday)episode is so depressing and full of pain!-just amazing if you want my opinion.10 out of 10-check out this post-modernism shocker!Disturbing art in the purest form!
Avoid at all cost
dadeaux4 September 2015
This film wishes so hard to be art, but it just doesn't have what it takes to get there. It is gruesome in an unpleasant way, and the gruesomeness may be intense enough to steer the naive viewer into thinking that there is something deep beneath all the gore.
There is nothing. Nothing but the guarantee that it will irreversibly cut 80 minutes out of your precious life, should you endure all the way to the ending credits. Unfortunately, I did. I'm afraid there is no way that I can ever be reimbursed.
It's not horror. Horror should scare you. This amateurish piece of clap-trap will just nauseate you.
There is nothing. Nothing but the guarantee that it will irreversibly cut 80 minutes out of your precious life, should you endure all the way to the ending credits. Unfortunately, I did. I'm afraid there is no way that I can ever be reimbursed.
It's not horror. Horror should scare you. This amateurish piece of clap-trap will just nauseate you.
Buttgereit's version of a H.C. Andersen fairytale
GoddamUnvoicedAbbot21 December 2010
Jörg Buttgereit's films are not for everyone, but I have to say he has become my favorite horror director in the period 1985-1995. Buttgeriet has made his own art-house-horror genre and the more I watch, the more I like his style.
In Der Todesking Jörg Buttgereit was obviously inspired by Ole Luk-Oie (transl: "Ole Shut-Eye") - H.C. Anderssen's famous fairytale about the Sandman. As a kid the Sunday story always got me, the one where Ole Luk-Oie tells he has brother - also named Ole Luk-Oie - who only comes to you once and another name for him is...Death Jørg Buttgereit's fairytale is similar in structure: For every day in the week we are presented with a short story. But this is no fairytale for kids about sweet dreams. It's a diary of suicide and death. In the end you learn the truth about people going crazy and killing others and who the Death King really is...
As usual the film is accompanied by Buttgereit's trademark soundtracks: The lonely piano, the dissonant (bit amateurish) fiddle tunes etc. If Buttgereit is your cup of tea you can't go wrong...
In Der Todesking Jörg Buttgereit was obviously inspired by Ole Luk-Oie (transl: "Ole Shut-Eye") - H.C. Anderssen's famous fairytale about the Sandman. As a kid the Sunday story always got me, the one where Ole Luk-Oie tells he has brother - also named Ole Luk-Oie - who only comes to you once and another name for him is...Death Jørg Buttgereit's fairytale is similar in structure: For every day in the week we are presented with a short story. But this is no fairytale for kids about sweet dreams. It's a diary of suicide and death. In the end you learn the truth about people going crazy and killing others and who the Death King really is...
As usual the film is accompanied by Buttgereit's trademark soundtracks: The lonely piano, the dissonant (bit amateurish) fiddle tunes etc. If Buttgereit is your cup of tea you can't go wrong...
There's better out there
debauchery-18 September 2005
I wouldn't say I was exactly floored by this movie. The version I had was extremely over-played, and without subtitles. Not that it matters much, since it is an "art" film. As for this movie, I have seen better from the likes of Jorg. If you're looking for a movie like Necromantik, I wouldn't recommend this, nor would I recommend his other movie HOT LOVE. The reason why I've rated this movie a five is because I do like certain parts of the film. The decomposing corpse is particularly good and life-like, and the concept is okay (from what I understand), but it lacks importance, and it's definitely over-played. If you're looking for something that is a good "art" movie, I'd recommend Un Chein Andelou, or Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Both are remarkable pieces of film art.
Dark and Somber, but very moving
goblingoddess2 August 2001
Buttgereit does a beautiful film about suicide? Who would have thought that the same director of the filthy, Nekromantik, would be capable of bringing us such a moving portrait about suicide. Well, it is also a film about violent death, not just suicide. This is subject matter that most writers and directors would shy away from because it is too dark. It took someone like Buttgereit with enough audacity to give this disturbing topic its humanity. The film itself is actually seven short films each one dealing with violent death/suicide from different aspects. There are indeed some parts that will move you to tears such as a bridge (somewhere in Germany, we don't know where but that's not important) and on film captions of the occupations (no real names given) and ages of the people who have used the bridge to meet their end. At the very end of the film you are shown photos of smiling children obviously during more happier times. This scene got me emotionally more than any other. I have to spoil one thing but as a cautionary statement, there is one scene unfortunately that has become almost a trademark for Buttgereit: the obligatory castration scene. But get past that and this film is a wonderful, emotional experience. This one certainly has earned it's place on my all time top ten movie favorites. I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to see such a marvelous film. Now if only it would be made available on DVD?
totally disagree
andrewharper-127 July 2005
I just can't agree with the above comment - there's lots of interesting and indeed amazing filmic imagery in this one, it has an unusual structure and moves well toward a frightening climactic sequence that is notable for it's effective use of silence. What's more, it explores the odd impulse of suicide in a very frank way, not pulling any punches in what it shows, yet not dwelling and over-sensationalising the subject matter. it has hints of documentary about it as well as horror and art-house cinema, and deserves a place amongst the canon of 'different' horror films like The Blair Witch Project and the original Ring (both of which it predates and could well be an unacknowledged influence on). It's definitely worth seeing if you're interested in the edges of horror cinema.
Possibly Buttgereit's best, but still weak
Horst_In_Translation4 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Der Todesking" is a 72-minute German movie from the fairly famous Jörg Buttgereit. He made this one 25 years ago. At this point, he has already made films for 10 years, even if he was still in his 20s. This is basically a collection of 7 short films and we get a new tale for every day of the week. These tales, as usual with Buttgereit, include lots of violence, gore and blood. The aggression is sometimes suicidal and sometimes directed against other people. I must say this is really the first time I see something remotely close to creativity in the director's works. Still, it's only brief glimpses, but these were frequent enough to let me give this one a 4/10 and not a 2/10 like I gave to most of his other works. Some of these short segments, for example when a woman with a Hitler mustache cuts of a prisoner's genitals are still 2/10, but thankfully some were stronger too. German audiences may see familiar faces in Bela B. and Ades Zabel. All in all, I would not recommend it, but it may be a good way to start if you want to explore the world of Jörg Buttgereit.
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