Der Bunker

2015

1h 25m

Comedy

Drama

Horror

List

100%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

A student seeking solitude finds himself working as the teacher for an odd youngster home-schooled in an isolated bunker mansion.

Read More

Read Less

Katie Rife

AV Club

Der Bunker offers some actual laughs as well as quirk, and the guileless way it satirizes corporal punishment, home schooling, and child abuse invites further discussion.

Rated: B

Dec 5, 2020

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

An absurd, disturbing film that is simultaneously both funny and tragic, Der Bunker is that rarest of treasures: a one-of-a-kind.

Nov 12, 2019

Full Review

Boyd van Hoeij

Hollywood Reporter

Though the story's anything but realistic, this doesn't mean that it has nothing to say; Chryssos's well-paced screenplay suggests something, for example, about the dangers of burdening a child with unrealistic expectations...

Nov 12, 2019

Full Review

Talia Soghomonian

Collider

A unique piece of work, Der Bunker is twisted yet engaging, abstract and parabolic, funny yet flippant.

Dec 18, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Pit Bukowski, whom I want to meet solely on the basis of his name, is absolutely sublime as the student.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 6, 2020

Full Review

Dan Scully

Cinema76

[A] cinematic soulmate to Eraserhead.

Apr 1, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

g j

A bizarrely engaging piece of Absurdist cinema

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

bill p

In German with English subtitles. Deeply weird and rather entertaining.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i sought this one out because of the good ratings but didn't really know what i was getting into, which is maybe where a bit of my disappointment is coming from. in general i do like weird films, but this was that awkward kind of weird & things just seemed kind of random... idk. i feel like it could've been better than it was. i *did* like the ending - whatever it meant - made me wonder if the kid was really their kid or not. so i appreciated that, but not much more.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

For me, there's sick twisto and there's cool twisto, of a sort. This is definitely the latter kind. As tends to happen, people who isolate to this extreme are already a bit on the extra odd/eccentric or dark side of the mind. Here we have the bizarro family of young Klaus and his freak parents who, at first, are at least seemingly balanced people. But Klaus is something of a problem since he's not learned much of anything through the home-schooling he's had. Enter a young man working on his theoretical pursuits, looking for some peace and quiet in which to get somewhere in his studies. Klaus' parents (well, the mother, really) convince 'the student' to tutor Klaus. Enter then issues of corporal punishment, abuse, abnormal parent/child relationships, childhood education. Plus, an apparent alien presence in mother's leg that helps the student in his research and writing along with the mother's 'encouragement'. The four players in this mondo bizarro-ness are all great. Daniel Fripan is nearly dead-on a German twist on Michel McDonald's 'Stewart' from MadTV. David Scheller is a hoot as an eccentric, miserly, neurotic wanna-be intellectual. Oona Von Maydell is amazing as the mother who will make she does what it takes to help her little Klaus. Then there's Pit Bukowski as the student- a good young actor with a killer name. Funny, twisted, original, inventive, bit kinky- 3.3 stars

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A cynical parody of a family, mother, father, and son, who live in a bunker and appear to lead an isolated and self-sustaining life. They accept to host a student, who seeks quietude in order to write a thesis. The film then steadily increases its pace and turns into an almost psychedelic, i.e., supernatural thriller. I especially enjoyed the look of the film and the development of its characters throughout the narrative.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

nefasto r

I loved the weirdness, the mood and the style. What disappoints me is that the story could have been better, with more direction and meaning. It still is a funny and interesting watch, but what a missed opportunity.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Nikias Chryssos

Director

Pit Bukowski

Student

Daniel Fripan

Klaus

Oona Von Maydell

Mother

David Scheller

Father

Nikias Chryssos

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

13%

67%

Nanu Ki Jaanu

95%

61%

The Love Witch

TRAILER

for The Love Witch

33%

34%

The Rambler

60%

38%

High-Rise

TRAILER

for High-Rise

22%

%

Heckle

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A student seeking solitude finds himself working as the teacher for an odd youngster home-schooled in an isolated bunker mansion.

Director: Nikias Chryssos
Production Co: Kataskop Film, Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Original Language: German
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 25m