Nicholas C
Although there has never been a shortage of uneven films, I can only recall one other movie that is this lopsided (Mute Witness). I would have enjoyed this movie so much more if it just picked a mood and stayed with it. Due to the total implausibility of the story and the way it develops, this would have worked so much better as pulp. But instead, this director seems to have been really hellbent on juggling themes, moods, motives… it’s just a tonal disaster. I mean seriously, how can you go from a truly brutal portrayal of sexual assault, obviously aiming to capture the realism of such heinous acts, to literally one scene later, in a matter of seconds, jokes that are plainly winking at the audience? Just odd. Really baffling. This is where the “Mute Witness” comparison is most apt. Both films really want to be these brutal, unflinching looks at the most hideous of human behaviors, but for some reason (just beyond me) also want to have this goofy comedic timing, with punchlines and all. It’s truly a 50/50 film. But all slapped together. One second we’re being presented with the ugliest territories of realism, then, in the matter of 1-2 cuts, characters playing jokes on one another. I mean, the acting is fine, and the film looks good. But I just can’t wrap my head around how a film like this passes through so many hands and turns out like this. I’m all for cinema being free to examine all aspects of the human experience, but this movie should be a case study in why it’s important to handle heavy material delicately, as to not consistently undermine any emotional investment the viewer is meant to hold. If you can get over the fact that the story is completely ludicrous, and handles really heavy, dark subject matters like a teenage boy, then the pulpy narrative is actually kinda fun… in a puzzle sort of way. I was truly ready to forgive it for the implausibility and enjoy the ride, much like I would a good trashy novel… but the tonal shifts are just amateurish and should never have passed as a final cut
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
04/16/25
Full Review
Wolfgang G
Abgeschnitten ist ein deutscher Thriller von Christian Alvart. Der Film basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Roman, den Sebastian Fitzek mit dem Rechtsmediziner Michael Tsokos verfasste. Ein dichgedränkte Geschichte, um einen Serientäter, die undurchdringlich erscheinen mag. Aber nach der Art von Sebastian Fitzek lösen sich die Knoten im letzten Drittel wie von selbst. Die Handlung läuft wie eine "Schnitzeljagd" ab, in der das Publikum immer einige Schritte voraus ist. Ein hervorragender Film mit dem Hauptmotiv "Rache" und wie wir damit umgehen.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
10/13/22
Full Review
Audience Member
ATTENTION: ONLY WATCH THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS FILM IF IT HAS THE ORIGINAL GERMAN AUDIO. DO NOT – I REPEAT DO NOT – SEEK OUT OR WAIT FOR AN "ENGLISH DUBBED" VERSION IS AVAILABLE JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO READ ENGLISH SUBTITLES. NO MOVIE IN CINEMATIC HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN "IMPROVED" BY RELEASING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE'S AUDIO OVER-DUBBED ON TOP OF THE ORIGINAL ACTOR'S PERFORMANCE. IF YOU CANNOT READ SUBTITLES AND WATCH A MOVIE AT THE SAME TIME, YOU CLEARLY AREN'T MENTALLY FIT ENOUGH TO WATCH ANY MOVIE AT ALL – MUCH LESS ONE THAT IS IN A LANGUAGE YOU DO NOT SPEAK BUT CONTAINS SUBTITLES IN THE LANGUAGE YOU DO SPEAK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN. (OBVIOUSLY I'M MOSTLY ADDRESSING MY FELLOW AMERICANS OR PERHAPS JUST PEOPLE WHO ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH AND NO OTHER LANGUAGE. WHILE I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, I STRONGLY IMPLORE THAT YOU START SEEKING OUT AS MANY FOREIGN FILMS AS YOU CAN WITHIN THE FILM GENRES YOU ENJOY MOST; THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF INCREDIBLE FILMS YOU'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF, THAT ARE JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO DISCOVER THEM. THE ONLY THING PREVENTING YOU FROM DOING SO IS YOUR EMBARRASSING FEAR OVER THE PROSPECT OF HAVING TO READ ENGLISH SUBTITLES – AS IF IT IS SOMEHOW "TOO DIFFICULT" FOR YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO POSSIBLE ACCOMPLISH AT THE SAME TIME AS FOLLOWING THE ACTION OR EVENTS TAKING PLACE ON THE VERY SAME SCREEN JUST INCHES ABOVE THOSE ENGLISH SUBTITLES.) [end rant.]
BEGIN REVIEW:
One of the best [International] Horror-Crime-Thriller films of the 2010's, "Cut Off" stays true to its source material, (based on a best-selling novel of the same name), and remains just as gripping, exciting, and terrifying during second & third viewings as was the first. Of course the only thing lost upon re-watching films like these are what most people enjoy so much about this kind of film to begin with: the Mystery. The meticulously curated "reveals" & plot developments that not only fill in various gaps in the wide cast of characters the film is always intercutting to and from. What sets, "Cut Off," apart from the rest of the boilerplate vaguely-Nordic-murder-and-or-kidnapping-mystery films doesn't require a degree in Film Studies to recognize right away: the script is airtight. It has that, "Gone Girl," top-shelf flavour and quality to it – one that comes from a true appreciation of True Crime itself as a genre and the attention to believable details to which authors like Gillian Flynn & Nic Pizzolatto, for example, are able to weave into their own fiction in a way that would be difficult for anyone to tell if they were reading one of their screenplays or the summary of an actual police report.
"Cut Off" has been very much available in the United States on a number of streaming platforms for about 3 years, yet to this day it remains as under-the-radar as ever – much to this reviewer's chagrin.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Offensively misogynistic, practically a snuff film. Also a stupid movie.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It started off well enough. Good production values. Nice cinematography. Good pace and editing.
But there is a fatal flaw in the story that totally ruins it.
Spoiler Alert!
The film opens by introducing us to a female character that is hiding from a stalker who has found her number. The stalker badgers her through SMS messaging.
She was so scared that when two guys followed her after leaving the restaurant/pub she fell down a cliff trying to evade them thinking that one of them could be him. She stumbles upon a dead body on the bottom of the cliff. She manages to escape.
Later on as she goes back to the bottom of the cliff to collect her things, a phone rings on the dead body and SHE ANSWERS IT!
If she was hiding from a stalker who was badgering her through text messages and phone calls, why in the world would she answer an unknown phone from a dead body? It doesn't make any sense. You would think she would avoid all uknowns to secure her safety.
Them it gets even more absurd from there.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I had to check into rehab💉 after I've watched it 💕
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
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