It's gotta be well over 10-years at this point since the first time I laid eyes on the two Nekromantik films. I recall making a blind, dual purchase from Film Threat Video for both the first and second Nekromantik films on VHS, and having never really been quite the same ever since. Sure these films can be passed off as pure trash, or exploitation simply for the sake of exploitation, but they're really not. They're actually so much more, and as I think about it more (since I am a bit older and wiser - well, older anyway) the two films really do compliment one another quite well, even today. It's amazing to think about it, they're both really quite different in many respects, yet eerily similar at the same time. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that director Jorg Buttgereit had premeditated the whole thing right from the start. I guess it's just a testament to the man's filmmaking ability and true talents behind the camera, even under the most restricted of situations. Barrel Entertainment had previously released the original Nekromantik in a gloriously remastered special edition DVD, could it be possible that they've outdone themselves with this recent release of Part 2? You'll have to read on to find out!

Possible spoiler warning here folks, read this before you proceed. Although I'm going to do my best to not give too much away about the series, this is very difficult to do while talking about these films in general. Please don't send me any angry emails!

Nekromantik 2 begins with an opening credit sequence that runs over some familiar footage from the final act of the first film (just to remind us, in case we had forgotten). We're then introduced to Monika, as she's desperately digging away at a fresh grave, that happens to belong to our hero from the first film, Robert. A death fetishist at heart, Monika must've fallen in love with Robert as evidenced by the newspaper clippings around her apartment. Monika manages to drag Robert's deteriorating corpse home from the cemetary and have her way with him. She's tender and loving, but finding it quite difficult to maneuver herself around the rotting stinking corpse (it even makes her sick at one point) and she soon works very hard on a fix for her dilemma.

Through a chance encounter, Monika meets a young misfit named Mark at a screening of a pretentious art house flick in a local theatre. The two hit it off and begin to develop a relationship with one another. They find it a bit difficult at first, Mark with his day job looping grunts, groans and slapping noises over porno flicks and Monika with her hidden death obsession (and that saran wrapped penis in her fridge). Mark begins to realize that, despite his attraction and curiosity, this unhealthy relationship may indeed not really be his cup of tea. Unfortunately for Mark, Monika has already devised a plan in which she can have both Mark and Robert at the same time, indeed a way to have her cake and eat it too.

As indicated by the liner notes and extras found within the DVD, Nekromantik 2 is in many ways, a very different film than the first. Jorg Buttgereit had absolutely no intentions of doing a sequel to the first film, but with fans clamoring for it to be done, he did one of the smartest things a filmmaker could have done. He made, the complete opposite film than the fans would have expected. While the first film is a no holds barred gross out corpse fucking fest, the second is a much slower, more graceful film that is told primarily from a young woman's perspective. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of girl on corpse action and we always have that severed penis in the fridge, but when compared to the first film, the second is indeed slightly tamer - right up until the knockout ending of course, where all rules are indeed broken. I guess I should also mention in the gross out dept. the footage of a seal being gutted that only seems to serve as stiff competition for the rabbits being skinned in the first film.

Like many of Jorg Buttgereit's films, the second Nekromantik is NOT dialogue driven, heck it's a good 20-minutes into the film before there's even any dialogue at all, and the film remains more a subtler slice of life than your typical linear cinematic story. Monika M. who plays the character Monika (duh) drives every scene she's in with a kind of innocent beauty and natural naivety, which in the end seems to have been more of a front than anything else. She'll have you believe that she's a simple little gal who happens to have a bizarre yet innocent death fetish, but in the long run it's evident that she knew exactly what she was doing, just about every step of the way. She's a real peach folks, and a pleasure to watch from grisly start to gruesome finish.

The only other real star here is the corpse fucking - yeah, that's right corpse fucking - I mean this is NEKROMANTIK after all, right? The unbelievably nasty, deteriorating corpse that is Robert, is quite a sight to behold. Even more so of a sight is the lovely Monika stroking every last inch of her man before she rides him as if he were Tommy Lee on a tugboat. If Monika didn't generally care for, or even "love" this corpse, she sure had me fooled. Bottom-line here folks is that despite the fact that the film isn't quite as gruesome as the first film, it's still pretty fucking gruesome here. I refuse to give anything away about the ending for those of you who have yet to experience it, but if you think that Buttgereit couldn't outdo himself from the first film, you'd be dead wrong sucka. Ahhh, what the hell, here's a screenshot, but be warned. If you wanna go in fresh, don't click on this image. Otherwise, enjoy!

The quality of this DVD release from Barrel Entertainment is superb to say the least. Especially conisdering the films age, origins and extreme budgetary restrictions. You'd never guess that this was an early 90's, 16 mm, cheapo horror flick. There are only minimal amounts of print damage and some slight grain in a few scenes. Overall this is a really sharp looking presentation, with bold and solid colors that practically leap off of the screen. Barrel is to be commended for the amount of effort that went into this one, it REALLY payed off. Audio is presented in German in either the films original mono or a newly created stereo track. Both tracks feature solid sound with really no evidence of background noise, with the stereo track providing just a bit more oomph, if you will. You certainly can't go wrong either way, the disc also features easy to read and removable English subs.

Extras include behind the scenes footage (about 25-minutes) with optional commentary by author David Kerekes, Jorg Buttgereit, co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen and actress Monika M or German radio interviews with optional English subs. There is also a full-lenghth audio commentary option with Buttgereit, Rodenkirchen and actors Monika M and Mark Reeder. Next up is a reel of outtakes (raw, unused footage), a Buttgereit directed music video and a super 8 short film w/ optional English subs. Things are rounded off with an extremely extensive still gallery set to music from the film, trailers for Nekromantik 1 & 2, Schramm and Der Todesking and informative liner notes from Buttgereit and author Kerekes. Whew! If you think that's all, you're way off! The final extra is a bonus CD with full soundtracks to both Nekromantik films! The CD features a whopping 31 tracks including a few bonus/remixes. I've always loved the subdued soundtracks to the Nekromantik films and now I can enjoy them in my car or at my next pictionary and cheese party!

This really is a no brainer here folks. Every fan of shocking horror should have a copy of these flicks in their collection. Nekromantik 2 from Barrel is an essential purchase, I urge you to go out and buy this disc immediately. The extensive (and entertaining) special features and soundtrack CD only add to this fact. Easily one of the best genre releases of the year and limited to only 20,000 units, you really need to go buy it now.

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