Matthias Fuchs Movies

Writer-director Romuald Karmaker made a stunning impact with this riveting and gruesome historical drama based on the case of a 1920s German serial killer. Fritz Haarmann (Gotz George) has finally been caught after years of preying on boys and young men. His methods included sodomizing his victims, biting their necks like a vampire, then killing them and cutting their bodies into little pieces. Before Haarmann can stand trial, it must be determined whether or not he is sane. A psychiatrist is assigned to the case. He interviews the killer in a small room at an insane asylum where Haarmann has been temporarily placed. The film's dialogue is taken directly from the original transcripts of the actual interview. During the course of the interview, Haarmann details his murderous methods and gradually reveals his motivation. The title is translated as The Deathmaker. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

This horror spoof boasts pun-filled dialogue by the always off-center Forrest J. Ackerman, who gained genre fame in the 1960s as the editor of "Famous Monsters Of Filmland" and "Spacemen" publications. Ackerman also has a cameo appearance in the film. Knowledgeable fans of early movies and silents from the horror genre will notice numerous visual tributes to such classics as London After Midnight. In the story, a piece of film from that era is burning, and a vampire from one of those films emerges from it. An additional touch is that the vampire can only communicate by miming, as he is from silent films. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Concocted with a flair for the kind of mystery once captured in the best silent films, this engaging suspense story concerns a German samurai who mastered his art while growing up in Japan. The flaxen-haired samurai is Wilcke (Hans Peter Hallwachs), who has his dander up because an ancient and highly valuable sword has been stolen from its rightful owners. Wojciech Pzoniak plays Gerhard Krall, a cringing, super-rich thief who defends himself with huge castle walls, a moat, a surveillance system, and one talented ninja bodyguard. To complicate matters between these enemies, a female journalist is on the trail of the samurai and the story behind his actions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In 1983 when this film was shot, the imaginary, far-distant future was set in 1997, when the evil manipulation of a laboratory in space was planned with the idea of controlling the climate of the area around Saudi Arabia. With this new twist on climate-control, Western forces could invade that country literally under cover. But if the climate alteration were to happen, it would cause flooding to rival the biblical deluge, and so the plan must be stopped at all costs. The commander in charge of the space lab refuses to follow through with the project, causing Houston ground control to send up another two astronauts to take over the military objective. The space lab then becomes the scene of a battle between the forces of good and evil that will determine if a second Noah is going to be needed on earth. Neophyte director Roland Emmerich in this diploma film for the Munich film and Television School might have spent more time on the storyline, tying up several loose ends and filling in where needed to add a bit more suspense and excitement to the telling. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Part of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Entire History of the German Federal Republic trilogy, Lola stars Barbara Sukowa in the title role, a seductive cabaret singer and dancer in the 1950s who is romantically involved with Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a straight-as-an-arrow building inspector. Recently appointed Building Commissioner, Von Bohm is committed to eradicating corruption. Consequently, he's given quite a shock when he is called into inspect the brothel where Lola works and discovers her dancing there. With that, Von Bohm is left to question whether he is more loyal to the woman he loves so passionately or the career he believes in so strongly. The other entries in the trilogy are Veronika Voss and The Marriage of Maria Braun. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Mother Kusters (Brigette Kira) is the wife of a factory worker who goes beserk one day, killing himself and the boss' son. Mother finds herself a media celebrity, which only serves to make herself and her late husband look like idiots. Later, Mother is "adopted" by a Communist couple who wish to exploit her husband's "act of defiance" for their own purposes. Finally left alone, Mother Kusters decides to stop living off her husband's notoriety and turn into a human being again. Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder used the 1929 film Mother Krausen's Journey to Happiness as a springboard for his own mysoginistic slant on opportunism. The film hit a bit too close to home in his own country, where it was banned from entering the Berlin Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This WW II drama chronicles the adventures of a German U-boat commander who launches a successful attack on a battleship in a Scottish bay and becomes a hero. Unfortunately, the British fight back and sink his submarine. The hero is then captured by the English. Their ship is then sunk by a different German U-boat which is in turn sunk by a British bomber. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide