The Deathmaker

Customer Reviews:

cuts to the bone...without a drop of blood or a blade in sight.......2007-06-21

Gotz George's portrayal as serial slicer Fritz Haarmann just might give you nightmares. Horror fans like to complain about all the re-treads coming out of Hollywood, as well as anything with any originality... Well, here's one that's not a re-tread and is pretty damn original--and all of it done without any gore and/or "visible" mayhem.

The only "drawback," as someone else mentioned, is the fact the entire tale unfolds inside the interrogation room of a bug bin. Yep.

Would have gladly given it five stars--if only, IF ONLY the filmmaker of this otherwise well-made film, had taken his story out of the room for a bit, and I mean anywhere: down to the serial killer's cell, etc., anywhere would have been fine and allowed for a bit of respite--and then returned to the aforementioned room for more grilling.

Alas, that does not happen... (I do understand: the intent was to stay faithful to the actual transcripts and keep the tale within the confines of this one room.)

All in all, quite an accomplishment. As indicated, based on actual interviews with said slice-and-dice gent.

Not kidding about the nightmares, either. View at your own risk.

Fritz Haarmann's story of evil doings.......2007-01-13

After seeing Götz George years ago in a German detective series, the role he plays in this movie shows his talent from a totally different side.
Although I was quite impressed by his portraying of a deranged serial killer, the movie left me yearning for more. I was constantly waiting for the camera to veer off to show some of the gruesome things that Fritz Haarmann had done. Instead, the whole movie plays inside the interview room of the hospital and to be honest, I grew tired of the same setting. Nevertheless, the bottomline is that the two main characters in this movie are portrayed beautifully by the actors.

The DVD also has two short films on it which I found an absolute waste of thirty-odd minutes. They are strange, to say the least.

Fascinating and thrilling.......2003-07-25

The Deathmaker (Der Totmacher) is one of those Films where you can't keep your eyes off the actors. Goetz George's acting is amazing. Especially if you understand German (I am German), this will amaze you.
There is an aspect to this film I can only describe with "stunning". Not many movies capture interrogations this way. It shows you what great an actor George is, and it's a pity that he hasn't made that many fine movies since then, but I'd still count them to the best german actors living today.

The Deathmaker is a film you should definitely see. The DVD allows you to switch on the english subtitles, so if you don't understand German you'll at least understand it, but I am sure some of the acting gets lost of course. A good dubbing would've been nice, but still.

Highest recommendation

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