"Das deutsche Kettensägen Massaker" or "The German Chainsaw Massacre" or "Blackest Heart" is a German 1-hour movie from 1990 (over 25 years old already) that came out shortly after Germany became one country again. It is writer and director Christoph Schlingensief's take on the German Reunification. And as you already see from the title, it is a very bloody take as, at the very same time, he pays homage to the American Chainsaw Massacre movies, only that he puts in in a historical context of West Germans and East Germans clashing with chain saws. Oh well, typical Schlingensief I guess. I am a great fan of the man and I think he was a very creative mind, but I still feel that this one here was too absurd even for my taste. There are entertaining moments, no doubt about it, but the whole thing is just so stylized and over the top that it was too much for my personal kind of taste. The cast includes a couple known names, some people who worked regularly with Fassbinder for example, Spengler, Kier, Edel and Hermann to mention only some names that also show how, even with how underground and low-budget this looks, Schlingensief was a well-respected artist and filmmaker, already at the age of under 30, and still is today, almost 6 years after his death. I really wish I would have liked this film more than I actually did, but, on the contrary, I was glad it was so short. I give it a thumbs-down and recommend you to watch something else from his body of work.
Review of Blackest Heart
