Not your average underground German horror.

F**ked-up lovers on the run, Marie and Leonard (Isabelle Fitzgerald and Tim Rabenstein), become the final victims of William (Johannes Kluger), a lonely weirdo obsessed with capturing the purity of death on video.

The team behind German indie flick The Last Tape pitched their movie to me as 'a psychedelic horrordrama with road-movie influences', which I interpreted as 'best experienced while under the influence of mind-altering substances'. Employing an excess of random imagery, erratic zooms, seemingly clumsy editing and crude visual effects to tell their bizarre, non-linear plot, these young film-makers certainly risk finding their film labelled as pretentious and amateurish pseudo-art-house nonsense; however, despite its 'challenging' aesthetic style and unique narrative, I actually found myself begrudgingly admiring this 72 minute exercise in experimental horror.

Rather than toe the line, The Last Tape takes chances: it doesn't wallow in gory excess like many a German underground movie, it doesn't exploit unnecessarily taboo subject matter to get attention, and brave choices have been made with both the visuals and music (not always wise choices, but definitely brave), making the 72 minutes pass fairly painlessly. A scene in which William eats, drinks and reads surrounded by neatly arranged stacks of video tapes (presumably the fruits of his earlier labours) proves subtly unsettling and almost poetic, while a simple overhead shot of a camera on a tripod, the inexplicable smashing of a giant Chupa Chups lolly(?), and a fortune teller-turned-zombie (post end-credits) make for memorably bizarre images.

German cinema is famous for its historical depth, expressionist aesthetics, and social-political engagement. It has moved from Expressionism to political reckoning, from New German Cinema's raw realism to contemporary genre experiments. Its legacy lies in both technical innovation and deep explorations of history, morality, and philosophy.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

The horror genre features stories that aim to elicit fear, suspense, and a sense of dread in its audience. Horror stories often explore themes related to the unknown, the supernatural, and the macabre, and they frequently evoke strong emotional reactions such as anxiety, terror, and unease.

The romance genre features the theme of romantic relationships and emotional connections between characters. These stories focus on the development of love, desire, and intimacy between protagonists, often exploring the challenges, conflicts, and triumphs that arise in their relationships.

Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)

"The Last Tape" combines two stories which don't seem to go well together: On the one hand, it narrates about William's passionate struggle to show the purity of death, on the other hand, about the debaucherous, excessively drug-fueled events in the life and love of Leonard and Marie.

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The Last Tape

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