One Scary Horror Movie
Michael (Michael Fuith) is just an ordinary looking guy; he goes to work, he has conversations with workers, sees his sister, goes shopping and goes home to where he cooks and does the cleaning. But Michael isn't ordinary as he keeps a young boy called Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger) locked in his basement. He lets him up of an evening to eat dinner, wipe up and sometimes watch TV but Wolfgang is kept prisoner and is abused by Michael.
Why? I really want to know why someone felt there was a need to make a matter of fact movie about the life of a paedophile and the boy he keeps prisoner. Now I am not saying that makes for a bad movie in fact director Markus Schleinzer has created something original and friggin' uncomfortable to watch but I just don't know why someone would want to make such a movie. Then again if it wasn't for the fact I was given this movie to watch and review by someone I doubt I would have chosen to watch it yet it a strange way I am glad I did.
As I said "Michael" isn't in fact a bad movie it is in fact a very effective horror movie which is totally different to mainstream horror. The matter of fact styling and lack of sensationalism makes it incredibly uncomfortable to watch and progressively more uncomfortable as we are made increasing more aware of Michael's world. Not that it is a graphic movie but one which for example shows Michael going into see Wolfgang and in the next scene we see Michael washing himself over the sink allowing us to make our own judgement on what just happened in the basement. The knock on effect is powerful because in a later scene where he puts his arm around Wolfgang you just keep on thinking what a sicko he is.
Now maybe the purpose of "Michael" and the matter of fact styling was to make us think and creep us out at the fact that Michael is so ordinary he could be the guy who lives up the road from us or the bloke we see each day driving to work. If that was the intention it works and the end result is a horror movie which is more unsettling to watch than anything Hollywood serves up.
Now I have not mentioned something and there is a twist which comes before the half way mark which turns things on its head for a while and leaves you all the more perplexed as thoughts fly through your head at the consequences of the twist as you almost laugh uncomfortably by the shock of it.
What this all boils down to is that "Michael" is an original and unique movie which if you watch will leave you feeling exhausted and uncomfortable but in an almost equally uncomfortable way impressed by. But maybe you will find yourself asking the same question of why? Like I did even though it did uncomfortably impress me.
