4. NEKromantik (1987)
Ah, it's Jorg Buttgereit! Maker of films that melt the mind. A lot of you were disappointed that NEKromantik wasn't placed in the original 10 depraved movies list so I have yielded to your desire and given this serious instance of necro-nookie an entry for itself. Buttgereit is not a schlocky exploitation director. His films are highly stylised and I would go as far to call them high art. He deals with extreme themes but he does not exploit them. You may think it is impossible, but Nekromantik is a deeply romantic film. Yes it involves dead bodies - sex acts with dead bodies - but not in a "Look at me while I have sex dead bodies" kind of way. The protagonists, Rob and Betty, genuinely love and care for the corpses. The way that the sex scenes are filmed are soft and highly artistic. Buttgereit is trying to show us the love behind a fetish that we find absolutely abhorrent. I don't think NEKromantik is going to inspire people to dig up bodies and do the nasty with them. It has a poetic, symbolic mood even though it looks like it has been filmed on cheap stock. The piano music is haunting. Of course there are plenty of depraved moments: a threesome with the corpse, animal mutilation, decapitation etc.. If you are looking to be offended you will be, but if you approach the film with an open mind, you might find yourself admiring Buttgereit's chutzpah. He has balls the size of church bells.