Urban Explorer (2019)

Urban Explorer (2019)

The Basement of Horror !!!

Film released on 1 April. Too bad it’s not an April Fool’s joke!

Another film with Max Riemelt… except this time, it’s a very bad film!

Max was in Wir sind die Nacht / We Are the Night (2010), Free Fall (2013), Amnesia (2015), The Wave (2008), Berlin Syndrome (2017) and even Matrix Resurrections (2021)!

A film that promised great things, but which, from the very first trigger, becomes a big pile of crap. There are a few scary moments, but overall the film is well below average.

The first 45 minutes are scary, gripping, interesting… but after that, I knew I was watching a pretty bad horror film. I wanted to keep the surprise and watch the film without knowing anything about it. I should have done my research!

No, because even if it’s enjoyable to tear a film apart in a review, it’s still a waste of time.

So… I thought it would be a good thriller, but it’s a lamentable gore film. It has everything: sadism, torture porn, scalpels, skinning…

I could have done without all that carnage. I suppose all Andy Fetscher’s films are like that. In his next film, it’s elderly people who attack! Another idea that’s probably original, but I won’t jump into it without preparing the ground first. But the odds are leaning towards ‘Never watch another Fetscher film again!’
Don’t forget to remind me if I do!

‘Urban Explorer’ is appealing thanks to its seemingly interesting storyline. Exploring the basements of Berlin in search of the lost secrets of the Third Reich could have made for a really enjoyable horror film. Unfortunately, director Andy Fetscher, who was unknown at the time and isn’t necessarily any better known now, completely misses the mark. He confines his film to a banal slasher movie with young people running through concrete corridors pursued by a psychopathic killer. Admittedly, the killer is perfectly suited to the role, but that’s not enough to make up for the lack of action. Not much happens in the end, and the few gory scenes are far from innovative. Nazi secrets can rest assured: this film is not going to reveal them. Avoid, unless you’re suffering from severe insomnia! I understand why it went straight to DVD. It’s more like the basement of shame! If this film were American, it would have been panned, but here’s the thing: it’s not a Yankee movie !

A German B movie, with a script worthy of the name, full of clichés and completely ridiculous character reactions, with excessive sound amplification for every scream and noise. That said, there were no thrills. The only thrill I got was from a draught in my living room, but also probably from the super boyfriend who watches his girlfriend being cut up without flinching, without reacting, his courage having gone out the window. It makes you want to bang your head against the wall!

A totally predictable script, sometimes mediocre actors and a Palme d’Or for the world’s worst actress goes to Nathalie Kelley, who would be better off changing careers, as selling Barbapapas at the fair might suit her better!

That said, I probably won’t give it the lowest rating just for the intro, the first 20 minutes and Klaus Stiglmeier’s performance, which is excellent but doesn’t save the film, which is definitely not worth seeing. This big bad wolf isn’t bad at all in his role. Most of the jump scares boil down to hysterical screams from spoilt brats. And then there’s the camera, which moves around in all directions and adds nothing but annoyance because it’s so exaggerated. Add to that a tiny budget, fairly average actors and a director who’s lost the plot (seriously, why does the damn camera shake all the time and why are the effects so cheap?). I also regret that the ‘villain’ character isn’t developed any further than that; in the end, we don’t know much about his motivations.

I read a review that I hated: ‘Don’t look for gore, there isn’t any! To make a horror film, a slightly sticky photography to make it gloomy is not enough.’

Of course there’s gore! It’s just that the most mushy brains don’t even realise it anymore! There’s a guy who gets skinned and has salt thrown on him!!! I don’t know what these people want, except to experience the same thing in real life when faced with a psychopath who would also say, ‘Yeah! It’s not gory enough. It’s missing something…’

As for lighting and photography, yes, that’s true. In this case, it’s true that it’s not enough to just do something dirty to make it work, even in this kind of film.

A typical horror film with extremely stupid and incompetent characters. You might say, ‘Yes, but then there wouldn’t be a film!’ In that case, if you can’t come up with a script that’s even remotely coherent or sophisticated, don’t make a film. Don’t waste an hour and a half of your time.

At first, I thought it couldn’t be that bad. Then halfway through, it was a disaster. Nothing is believable, the dialogue and staging are completely ridiculous. The protagonists make truly absurd choices and we spend our time wondering, ‘Are they stupid or what?!’ In short, once seen, quickly forgotten! A DTV with little interest. The worst part is that it’s not even laughable enough to make it a good B movie, just another dud. Very disappointed.