Abgeschnitten (2018) Reviews

• Finally a deserving Fitzek adaptation

  tanjareen-12018-10-12

  I just came back from the cinema and we saw "Abgeschnitten" as part of my Birthday gift. What can I say? It was finally the adaptation Fitzek deserves. As the best german thriller author there is, Fitzek already has a pretty cinematic way of writing. So I was stunned that movie adaptations of his material never quite seemed to work. "Abgeschnitten" breaks this cycle. We were at the edge of our seats because we couldn't remember how the story turned out since it's been a couple of years that we read the book. So we really really were eager to find out and every step of the way was tension filled and at times quite creepy. The story moves along at a nice pace and never gets boring. The gore is sometimes quite graphic but always serves the story and its origin (Fitzek wrote this one with pathologist Michael Tsokos). Bleibtreu is likeable as always but Jasna Fritzi Bauer holds her own. The whole movie is cast pretty well. Fahri Yardim even brings some needed comic relief at times. Because don't get me wrong: This is a good movie but not a lighthearted one. The look and feel of the movie are elevated and I was pleasantly surprised by the good script. Even though I am german myself the dialogue in german movies can often feel quite wooden and bothers me. "Abgeschnitten" avoids this and many other traps of german filmmaking. I definitely recommend this one if you are in the mood for a mysterious and creepy Thriller.

• Cut off? Cut lose

  kosmasp2019-05-03

  Once in a while a really good german thriller comes along. A thriller that is up there with other european movies that have done justice to the genre (no pun intended). Moritz Bleibtreu is one of the german actors (actually generally speaking) of his generation. He doesn't always have the script to prove that or show it, but here he has something to put his teeth into and really go to town with the movie. His costars are good too, which is imperative. Even if you may think it is not necessary for a thriller, you can feel the weight here and you can feel the tension. Since I haven't read the source material (novel), I do not know how close of an adaptation this is. I do know that this is really good though and it will have you guessing and at the edge of your seat!