Burp!

This modest and completely unknown Dutch horror short is very interesting to check out, mainly because it totally (and unconsciously?) captures the exact right spirit and atmosphere of the 80's decade! Especially by now, more than 20 years later, it's a lot of fun to see the aspects that are irrefutably linked to the eighties. We're talking eccentric teenagers with weird outfits, glasses that take up half the size of people's heads, malfunctioning public phone boots, hideous big cars and irritating Techno music. In its short running time of nearly 12 minutes, "Burp!" reflects the life-styles and attitudes of the eighties much more than any long-feature film ever could. The story itself is pretty nifty and ingenious as well. A young prostitute misses her bus and she's left all alone in an eerie & isolated place. The only guy who could offer her a lift crashes his car and has to rely to a phone booth for help. While the girl fights off three teenage punks, the man faces a much more menacing type of evil in the form of a monstrous and extremely hungry phone horn. It's really nothing special, but the special effects are adorably cheesy and – it has to be said – the overall atmosphere of this little short is quite sinister. The whole plot takes place late at night, on fog-enshrouded streets and with uncanny background noises. Jan Doense wrote and produced this little 80's treat. The name might not ring a bell to non-Dutch horror fans, but here in Belgium and the Netherlands he's considered to be a genre guru, going by the nickname "Mr. Horror".

This short made by Will Wissink is available on the VHS THe Nether Horror Collection. The VHS itself is really sought by geeks because it contains a short by Dick Maas and this flick which was written by Jan Doense (and produced), Jan Doense is better known as Mr. Horror in Netherland and Belgium. Will Wissink or Willy as stated on the short is not that known. But he did well with this short on the way he used the camera but the story itself lacks a bit here and there. For example what the hooker is doing in the story is a riddle. It has nothing to do with the strange telephone box. The punks that are annoying her had nothing to do with the story too but as I said it's really the effects used with the telephone that are okay, sadly the only attack is off screen. A nice effort, they were all in their mid 20's when they made "Burp!". Jan became famous after wards with another short and his way of looking and writing at the horror scene.

Talking about Jan's efforts, he directed The Great Rock 'N Roll Massacre part 1&2 also available on Nether Horror VHS. And Will of Burp! did camera. It's just a compilations of effects, really bloody, and a quiz about which fragment of which flick you see, nice to see but nothing more than that and shot on 8mm.