2. Der Todesking
Naughty Jorg Buttgereit, the man who gave the world 'Corpse F**king Art' via the two NEKRomantik movies - for which we will be eternally indebted to him - takes the theme of suicide in Der Todesking and bludgeons us over the head with morbidness. The film is divided into seven vignettes - seven days of the week - which are interspersed with footage of a corpse decomposing. On Monday, a man comes into his house, sits down and writes some letters, takes lots of pills, gets into the bath and dies. There is something so matter of fact and ordinary about this section of the film - there's no drama or histrionics, no blood and guts. Just a simple act of suicide stripped to the basics. The theme is elaborated on in further vignettes which are highly unsettling to watch. So Der Todesking is a very morbid film indeed and its relentless ghoulishess make it a harrowing but compulsive viewing experience. You cannot take your eyes of the screen despite all of the horror. There has never been anything like Der Todesking. It is experimental film making at its most inventive and effective.