A woman spends 10 years in a mental institute after witnessing her parents' when she was a child being viciously murdered by a crazed man with a sickle and who's wearing a dress. After a whole lot of therapy her psychiatrist releases her and he gets her a job as a French tutor for some teenagers who are living in a lonely house in the Alps. Though, things aren't that peaceful as she finds out the past might be coming back to haunt her?
Germany's crack at the slasher market after the all-popular "Scream" (which started up the trend) isn't anything special, but it was fairly well made and enjoyable viewing. The look of it is rather glossy and the atmosphere is very imposing. The story doesn't really make that much sense, but it gives you what you expect from a slasher film. By sticking to the usual slasher formula, with clichés aplenty, high body count, sex crazed teenagers and a very routine story. You can see the influences and homage's towards other slashers such as "Halloween", "Scream", "Dress to kill", "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Black Christmas" throughout the film. It's filled with rather explicit violence and a special warning to pet lovers, as there are couple of graphic scenes towards dogs and a cat. Even the film gives us the usual opening death sequence to wet our appetite. You could say the two horny teenagers who got slashed to death on the train was rather pointless, but what do you expect in a film like this.
What made this film standout from the normal slashers was the morbid and incredibly gloomy atmosphere that was created. Very atmospheric during the night sequences with swirling mist and open grass fields. There was such an alienating feel because of the isolation of the surroundings. Eerie sound effects and visuals added to the uneasy element too. The elegantly lush scenery that surrounded the countryside estate was simply breathtaking and a tremendous sight to see. The setting is the real high point and you can add Elke Sommer's cameo too. The other performances were fair if over-the-top, but Elke Sommer's as a uptight housekeeper and Valerie Niehaus as the girl coming to grips with her past Jeanette Fielmann excel in their roles.
The cinematography is crisp and rather slickly done. With inventive and well established camera-work. There's the usual killers POV and don't forget the heavy breathing to go along with it. There are some well-staged death scenes with a lot of blood and spitefulness and some fairly creepy moments like figures lurking in the shadows. It totally goes for shocks and scenes that try to make you jump. The soundtrack was a real mixed bag, from Goth to rock to real cheesy romantic music. The direction is rather standard and keeps a solid pace throughout.
The tone and elements of the plot reminded me of "Scream" and a little of "Halloween" and "Dress to kill". The plot is filled with the usual hidden secrets, rowdy teens and a party, some added black humour, a cheesy romance, investigating strange occurrences, some deaths lacking meaning, moments of is she imagining or is it for real and a stunning revelation. There are some inconsistencies in the plot that are evident, so don't look too hard into it. Though, the peculiar twist that you get will totally throw you off. That's when it gets rather interesting indeed. The ending scene is a pretty good way to cap it off.
It's nothing great, but otherwise it's a not-so-bad slasher with excellent production valves and exquisite setting.
