Fetisch: Das Porträt (1998)

Fetisch: Das Porträt (1998) - Germany

Directed by: Christian Meinert and Markus Helmecke

ABOUT THE FILM:

Fetisch was made during the summer of 1998 with a VHS camera, a videotape recorder and a budget of less than 50 Deutschmarks. Whereas it was originally made simply to test splatter effects and to entertain themselves and their friends, the creators Christian and Markus were surprised when their film garnered a lot of attention in the underground film scene and even got to be screened a few times. This inspired the creators to continue making films.

This 19-minute short plays out kind of like a documentary. It revolves around a camera crew who interviews a cold, ruthless serial killer as he describes all of the murders he has committed in grueling detail. At some points, the camera team even follows him around as he commits his ghastly crime. Absolutely none of the camera crew spares any effort to step in and help the victims, making the whole program feel much more shady..

REVIEW:

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this little short film.

As opposed to most of the other movies I've reviewed, this one had a plot and actually took time to flesh it out across the run time. Although slightly derivative of other works such as Man Bites Dog, the story is well-paced and will actually keep the viewer interested. Even though the story is used primarily to set up and connect the various splatter scenes, it still works much better than just juxtaposing each scene with no consistency.

On that note, the special effects feel perfect for such a low-budget film. The gore makeup is decent and had a fair amount of effort put into it, and the blood isn't crazy over-the-top. It actually felt a little realistic watching the murder scenes.

Despite the language barrier, the acting, while not great, feels believable enough for the given characters and scenarios. The main character seems to have absolutely no remorse or second thoughts for his actions, and the actor manages to sell this with his performance.

Minus a few shots here and there, the film has decent lighting and camera work, and the editing helps keep the film at a consistent pace.

It's obvious that the filmmakers really cared about making this film enjoyable, and they succeeded, especially when they were working with practically nothing. I can see why this one managed to expand beyond their home and gather some attention, because even 21 years later, it deserves to be seen. Overall, this one was actually very good! It's not perfect, but it's a breath of fresh air after wading through some of the garbage I've seen. This film is proof that even the most amateurish and underground movies can be better than the mainstream, because these projects are crafted out of passion, and very, very rarely are they made just to cash in.

If you can find Fetisch, I recommend it.

RELEASES:

-Fetisch was originally released on VHS in 1998 under the brand Badeleben TV, and sold off of the Gory News magazine and the filmmaker's old website.

    Extras:

    -Outtakes

-It was later re-released on a 2-DVD set in 2008, with its cleverly-titled sequel Fetisch 2 by Der Gute Blutfilm.

    Disc 1:

    -Fetisch 1 (with audio commentary)

    -Bonus Short: Magenta (with audio commentary)

    -Set Photos

    Disc 2:

    -Fetisch 2 (with audio commentary)

    -Bonus Short: Schwarz

    -Making of Fetisch 2 - Part 1

    -Making of Fetisch 2 - Part 2

    -Deleted Scenes