Staplerfahrer Klaus - Der erste Arbeitstag

If you have ever wondered if a forklift could be used as a deadly weapon, look no further than the German short film Staplerfahrer Klaus: Der Erste Arbeitstag.

It starts out like any one of those cheesy workplace safety videos, with the narrator and animations explaining the do's and don't's of forklift operation, as our main character Klaus blunders his way through the first day of work. However, it's not long before his mistakes result in his coworkers dying in hilariously over-the-top gory fashions. Even as if the body count grows higher and higher, the film never really stops trying to be a serious workplace safety video, which is why the whole thing had me in stitches.

Staplerfahrer Klaus is in German, but you certainly don't need to understand the language to enjoy this short.

A couple of weeks ago I saw this film as part of my forklift truck training. I thought it was going to suck when it first started up and the cheesy music came on but before I knew it, there were limbs and blood flying everywhere!

It's really really gory. But sort of 'Troma' gory, if you've seen Toxic Avenger or Terror Firmer, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The whole film is just a non-stop killing-fest. People being skewered on the forks, hands being severed, a knife jamming into someone's head and some guy getting cut in half by a sheet of metal. All makes for a VERY entertaining film.

But this is DEFINITELY NOT for people with weak stomachs!

But if you love your gore, I say what are you waiting for? SEE IT! Even if it is only 10 minutes long...!

This short movie is great! I've seen it at the Fantasy Filmfest. The whole audience laughed nearly till death. It is made like one of those clips about safety in factories, but there is a significant difference: The makers show what happens if the safety rules are not obeyed instead of just talking about it! So there are knifes sticking in heads or people cut in two halves by sharp metal plates.... and a lot of blood...... and the factory alarm rings on and on.... and the ambulance is very busy.....

This is one of those shorts that really surprises and delights. The fact that it is presented as your typical, cheesy safety-at-work type of video adds to the humour tremendously.

Our man- Klaus- is beginning a new job as a forklift driver in a warehouse. He does all the things he shouldn't where safety is concerned and is suitably admonished by the patronising safety expert who provides the voice over. The accidents start out as the fairly typical toe-curling scenes one usually sees in such instructional films, but soon they multiply into totally over-the-top affairs.

This may make it sound like a film only horror or gore fans would enjoy, but it really isn't. The effects are so daft that they would only put off the most extreme anti-blood viewers and I promise you that you will laugh yourself silly and be recommending it to your pals wholeheartedly. I certainly did, and everyone who's seen it has loved it.

If anyone ever criticises the German sense of humour, you have all the ammo you could ever need to shoot them down with this little number.

Can't recommend it enough.

I was definitely close to soiling myself last night when I saw this at the Florida Film Festival. Klaus was the highlight of the shorts program I attended. It is shot like the video you might be forced to watch when you are first hired at a company (complete with cheesy music) and shows everything that can go wrong as a forklift driver. You honestly won't think it can possibly get any better, but each situation manages to top the previous one. I don't want to spoil any of the surprises, but it was bloody as hell and extremely violent, but funny enough so you know not to be offended. If there is any way to get this on video or DVD, please let me know.