This last Tuesday night I was going through email and found one that was giving me a link to the movie Der Bunker (2015) for review purposes. It was almost my bedtime when I discovered this, but that was the last night I could watch it for free. I was already in my review for Snakes On A Plane, but I decided I would stay up long enough to watch this movie and get the review in once I got the other one done. Of course everything got put on hold when I got home the next day to find the neighborhood damaged by a tornado. Now many days later, I can get around to getting this review done. I'm still not real sure I stand on this film, but I will review it all the same.
A man who is looking for some quiet answers an ad for a place to rent. He meets with the father of the family he will be renting from and finds the place isn't really what was advertised, but will still do. He is working on a theory and wants as much quiet as he can get. Called Student (Pit Bukowski) by the family, he first meets the whole family over dinner. Student soon finds out that the family is a bit weird. There is Father (David Scheller), Mother (Oona von Maydell) and their son Klaus (Daniel Fripan). Father and Mother come up with the idea for Student to tutor Klaus for them in order for Student to pay for his debt. Student balks at the idea at first but eventually agrees. The thing is, Klaus is a grown man who says and acts like he is eight.
Der Bunker is a film from Germany by writer/director Nikias Chryssos. Der Bunker is a hard film to talk about because it is just a weird film from start to finish. Not really weird in a bad way, but I was never sure if it was weird in a good way either. If Der Bunker has anything going for it, it's that it is so weird that it keeps you glued to what is happening because you want to know what will happen next. While Mother and Father seem a little off, it is Klaus that makes you wonder what is going on. Klaus certainly looks older than he acts, but it wasn't until he said he was eight that things got really weird. I never figured out if he actually knew he wasn't that old, though I thought the film hints at the answer towards the end of the film. To my surprise, Student takes all this in stride. He does question it some at times, but for the most part just goes along with it all. As long as he is getting his work done, I guess that is all he really cares about. The relationship between Student and Klaus is what pushes the plot forward. There is supposed to b commentary about the education system in there as well, as least according to the IMDb synopsis. Maybe there is, but since I don't know how the German school system works, it was just all over my head. Besides, just how weird everything was in this film was the only thing that kept me interested in seeing what would happened next anyway. Speaking of weird, we also get a possible alien possession in case things just weren't weird enough. It appears this is actually the case, but it is also a bit hard to tell. Mother believes it, so I guess in the end it doesn't matter if it was really happening. Personally I didn't think it was real, as the alien seemed to coincide with whatever Mother seemed to be thinking anyway.
There isn't a lot of effects here. Just a wound, I guess that is the best way to describe it, that Mother has. Not to fault it, as it does look really good. The acting was very well done here. I didn't always like Pit Bukowski's acting, but I was never sure if it was his acting or just the way his character was supposed to be. No matter how weird things get for him, he never really reacts in the way I would think most would. I know everyone reacts to things differently, but I sure wasn't expecting a "meh, whatever" out of him every time. David Scheller and Oona von Maydell worked well together. I enjoyed both their acting, though I do wish that Scheller had gotten more screen time. Of course Daniel Fripan manages to steal the show here with his acting.
I was a little surprised by Der Bunker. I don't know what I was really expecting going into it. Before I started watching it, I seemed to recall either hearing about it or catching the trailer somewhere. I knew this was a weird film going into it, but it still managed to surprise with just how weird it actually was. I know I spoiled some of the weirdness of the film, but there are things I didn't touch on. Der Bunker is a hard film to figure out who actually will enjoy it. I didn't find it to be a bad film at all, but the story is so far out in left field. If you are into really weird stories, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this one. I can enjoy them, but Der Bunker almost manages to be too weird. If you aren't into weird stories, this one will probably be hit or miss for most. Either way, I think it is worth a watch all the same.
3 out of 5 I'm hungry too
A man who is looking for some quiet answers an ad for a place to rent. He meets with the father of the family he will be renting from and finds the place isn't really what was advertised, but will still do. He is working on a theory and wants as much quiet as he can get. Called Student (Pit Bukowski) by the family, he first meets the whole family over dinner. Student soon finds out that the family is a bit weird. There is Father (David Scheller), Mother (Oona von Maydell) and their son Klaus (Daniel Fripan). Father and Mother come up with the idea for Student to tutor Klaus for them in order for Student to pay for his debt. Student balks at the idea at first but eventually agrees. The thing is, Klaus is a grown man who says and acts like he is eight.
Der Bunker is a film from Germany by writer/director Nikias Chryssos. Der Bunker is a hard film to talk about because it is just a weird film from start to finish. Not really weird in a bad way, but I was never sure if it was weird in a good way either. If Der Bunker has anything going for it, it's that it is so weird that it keeps you glued to what is happening because you want to know what will happen next. While Mother and Father seem a little off, it is Klaus that makes you wonder what is going on. Klaus certainly looks older than he acts, but it wasn't until he said he was eight that things got really weird. I never figured out if he actually knew he wasn't that old, though I thought the film hints at the answer towards the end of the film. To my surprise, Student takes all this in stride. He does question it some at times, but for the most part just goes along with it all. As long as he is getting his work done, I guess that is all he really cares about. The relationship between Student and Klaus is what pushes the plot forward. There is supposed to b commentary about the education system in there as well, as least according to the IMDb synopsis. Maybe there is, but since I don't know how the German school system works, it was just all over my head. Besides, just how weird everything was in this film was the only thing that kept me interested in seeing what would happened next anyway. Speaking of weird, we also get a possible alien possession in case things just weren't weird enough. It appears this is actually the case, but it is also a bit hard to tell. Mother believes it, so I guess in the end it doesn't matter if it was really happening. Personally I didn't think it was real, as the alien seemed to coincide with whatever Mother seemed to be thinking anyway.
There isn't a lot of effects here. Just a wound, I guess that is the best way to describe it, that Mother has. Not to fault it, as it does look really good. The acting was very well done here. I didn't always like Pit Bukowski's acting, but I was never sure if it was his acting or just the way his character was supposed to be. No matter how weird things get for him, he never really reacts in the way I would think most would. I know everyone reacts to things differently, but I sure wasn't expecting a "meh, whatever" out of him every time. David Scheller and Oona von Maydell worked well together. I enjoyed both their acting, though I do wish that Scheller had gotten more screen time. Of course Daniel Fripan manages to steal the show here with his acting.
I was a little surprised by Der Bunker. I don't know what I was really expecting going into it. Before I started watching it, I seemed to recall either hearing about it or catching the trailer somewhere. I knew this was a weird film going into it, but it still managed to surprise with just how weird it actually was. I know I spoiled some of the weirdness of the film, but there are things I didn't touch on. Der Bunker is a hard film to figure out who actually will enjoy it. I didn't find it to be a bad film at all, but the story is so far out in left field. If you are into really weird stories, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this one. I can enjoy them, but Der Bunker almost manages to be too weird. If you aren't into weird stories, this one will probably be hit or miss for most. Either way, I think it is worth a watch all the same.
3 out of 5 I'm hungry too
