Written By: S.P.
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Jörg Buttgereit
Producer: Manfred O. Jelinski
Writers: Jörg Buttgereit, Franz Rodenkirchen
Date Released: June 1991
Cast:
Monika M. as Monika
Mark Reeder as Mark
Simone Spörl
Beatrice Manowski as Betty (as Beatrice M.)
Rating = 3/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Nekromantik 2 (1991) is a German film directed by Jörg Buttgereit and is the sequel to its predecessor, Nekromantik. Both films are about the taboo subject matter of necrophilia. The sequel was released in 1991 and received much controversy. It was seized by authorities twelve days after its release, an action that hadn’t been done since the Nazi Germany era.
The film begins where the first one left off with a flashback of Rob’s erotic suicide. Monika, the female protagonist of the film, exhumes Rob’s decrepit and decomposing corpse from its resting place in the local graveyard. After exhuming him, she brings him back to her apartment. Monika proceeds to have sex with the rotting corpse but finds the decomposition to be too advanced for her liking. She cannot finish and runs to the bathroom in disgust. Monika, instead of having sex with the corpse, cuddles with it and takes photographs of the two of them together in a loving embrace.
We are then introduced to Mark, Monika’s soon-to-be boyfriend, whom she meets by chance. Monika and Mark go out on a very successful date and the two of them seem to hit it off very well. Monika is now conflicted between her living boyfriend and Rob, her dead boyfriend. She decides to end her “relationship” with Rob, the corpse, by cutting him up into pieces and disposing of him, save for his head and genitals, the latter of which she places in her refrigerator. Monika’s suppression of her necrophiliac desires is played out through her “break-up” with Rob’s corpse as well as through the commencement of her “normal” relationship with Mark. Monika seems to want nothing more than to live a normal life and share normal desires.
Monika invites Mark over one evening to spend the night. Instead of a normal activity such as watching a movie, Monika shows Mark a photo album of several dead relatives in their coffins. Mark finds this behaviour to be slightly peculiar, but doesn’t think too much of it. Finally, the two end up having sex, yet Monika is left less than satisfied. This activity is followed by Monika wishing to photograph Mark in suggestive positions where he is imitating a corpse. She expresses satisfaction and joy at this moment, much more so than when the two were having sex. Mark undoubtedly finds this odd but goes along with it nonetheless.
Following this, Monika and her fellow necrophilia friends (all of whom are women) get together for a girls-night-in. The friends watch a film together. The film they are watching is a very graphic film depicting live seals being clubbed to death. To Monika’s dismay, Mark walks in on the scene. He is appalled at what Monika and her friends are watching and has had just about enough of her morbid fascination with death. In a fury, he scolds Monika and the two bicker.
Their argument eventually gets resolved and the two have make-up sex. During their intercourse, and while Mark’s eyes are closed, Monika swiftly grabs a large knife and saws Mark’s head off. She attaches a band around his penis to keep it erect and places Rob’s decomposed head where Mark’s head used to be. Monika continues to have sex with the lifeless body and is shown finally reaching an orgasm.
This final scene proves that Monika much preferred her boyfriend dead rather than alive. It also demonstrates that her attempt at suppressing her dark desires were done in vain and this can perhaps be interpreted as a metaphor for the suppression of our own desires.
Gore Factor
If you’re a gorehound and love good old fashioned grittiness, then you will love what this movie has to offer. Buttgereit did an amazing job of simulating a decomposition body. The effects are so realistic that, if you don’t have a strong stomach, it may be too much to handle. There is not an excessive amount of gore in this film seeing that the primary gore factor is based around Rob’s corpse, however, it is so well done and gruesomely disturbing that there isn’t any need for much more. The final head-cutting scene is also very well done and quite realistic for its time.
The Grave Review
An aspect that differentiates the sequel from the first film is its feminist twist. Buttgereit’s decision to have his necrophiliac protagonist be a female character instead of a male was quite a bold and unique move that is rarely ever seen. There are several films and fictional literature revolving around necrophilia, yet they are almost always centered around men. Fun fact: did you know that one of the most famous real-life cases of necrophilia was actually done by a woman named Karen Greenlee?
All in all, Nekromantik 2 (1991) is quite a unique viewing experience. It is a film that mixes eroticism and death while adding a feminine flair to it all. The fact that the protagonist is a female adds originality to the subject matter while expanding the relatability to a female audience as well as a male audience. I personally enjoyed this movie very much. However, I still prefer the first film over it. This is primarily due to the fact that the plot is based more on the acts of two necrophiles, whereas the second film’s plot is focused mainly on the romance of Monika and Mark. The first film is also shorter and straight to the point. The second film, albeit very well done, could have been cut a little shorter in my opinion.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Nekromantik 2 (1991) three graves out of five graves.
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