What I find so amazing about German director Jorg Buttgereit is the way he can so aesthetically create a vivid and elaborate portrait of psychological sickness and formidable delirium. His movies not only show you a character's downward spiral into insanity and murderous lust, but profitably insert you directly into the person's mind - even if the the journey takes you into some dark and vastly bewildering abstractions... "Schramm" is not my favorite Buttgereit movie - the top-dog there is definitely "Nekromantik" - though it is certainly worthy for it's constant displays of "harsh" imagery, depressing demeanor and almost dream-like tone and malevolent nastiness. It's pretty much about a killer named Lothar Schramm who falls off the ladder while painting over blood stains in his apartment. While he lay dying, he sees flashbacks of his daunting and hugely alienated life leading up to his accident. Things like his bleeding penis troubles, his friendship with a high-class hooker, having sex with an inflatable set of boobs, dreaming of a dentist extracting his eyeball, and nailing his foreskin to a table (VERY squirm-inducing, realistic scene!)... The actor here is amazingly believable in the role as the humbly depraved sociopath. My one TINY complaint would have to do with the lack of explanation into the guy's disposition as a serial killer. He only commits one double-murder (a pair of religious solicitors - awesome scene) which I think warranted a little more exploration into his possible past of homicidal tendencies. Granted, the movie does a more than thorough job of delving into the guy's self-destructive antics, hallucinatory paranoia, and psychotic perversions which is MORE than suitable enough for an incredibly memorable and sick viewing experience, in it's own right. The score is typically great and haunting, as per Jorg Buttgereit's signature style and there is a good amount of interesting camera angles and just flat out weird surrealism... Plus, where else are you going to see a snarling vagina monster?! Fans of obscure and macabre films should find "Schramm" to be essential viewing...
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Rating: 8.0 out of 10.0 - 1 vote cast total
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