DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Tears of Kali
By Andy McKeague Nov 10, 2005, 20:45 GMT
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Opening with a naked girl cutting off her own eyelids with a pair of scissors, you know that this is going to make you squirm, and that it does, bringing home the goods well and truly in that department and definitely not one for the squeamish. We are introduced to the Taylor and Erikkson group, a hippie commune seeking enlightenment in India, with gurus summoning more than just their inner spirits.
The first tale is 'Shakti' in which a young woman claiming to be called Shakti (Jandris Irena-Heliana), is in a mental institution. She has survived the brutal murder of her boyfriend, and pleaded guilty to the crime itself. When a reporter arrives who does not believe she is guilty, the past is re-opened and darkness soon begins to fill the screen. In the white clinical background of the institution, the red of the blood being spilled stares right out to the viewer.
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In 'Devi', we see Robin (Marcel Trunsch), a young, violent, drug addict being forced to get clinical help as part of his rehabilitation, the other choice for his violent tendencies being imprisonment. He thinks this is the easier option. Dr. Steiner (Michael Balaun) needs to be persuaded that he is worth the time and effort to be helped, and Robin eventually pleads to him when he realizes the seriousness of his situation, that he wants to get out of his skin. It makes him crawl, and he knows he does bad but can't help himself. This plea is perhaps taken a touch too literally and Robin does get much more than he expected. Waking up almost naked in a plastic covered room is enough to tame even the most jaded, and Robin starts to wonder just who exactly is this in front of him and what kind of help is he about to get.
The last tale is 'Kali' in which Edgar Cornelsen (Mathieu Carrière) is an alcoholic faith healer who has lost his self-belief, but when a mysterious woman comes to him for help, he unleashes a demon from beyond that puts all at risk.
Each of the tales briefly makes reference to the Taylor and Erikkson group that was shown in the intro, but that is where the limp connecting thread ends. The movie makes good use of its dark desires, mysterious cults, evils from beyond and wonderful straight faced shockingly good gore effects, but sadly it does not tie them all together in one neat pile. We feel we have been dealt an incomplete hand and are looking for more after the shocking and bloody thrill ride. It's not that is does not have a climax, it does to a degree, it just ends with far too many loose ends and unsolved mysteries, that ultimately makes this movie just a good one instead of a great one that it had all the possibilities of being.
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Andreas Marschall, the guy responsible for Buttgereit's 'Nekromantik' glorious artwork and music videos for German metal band Kreator, does many things right here in his movie debut, for one, the gore is taken seriously, and this makes it all the more hard hitting in the many scenes of jarring violence. One death in particular is so seat squirmingly shocking it will take you more than a few moments to recover and unclench parts of your anatomy. The music is great, the editing break neck, and more than a few groovy camera angels makes this a very slick and stylish affair indeed.
As with other releases from Revolver Entertainment this review disc comes without extras of any kind, and, as of yet, any extra content on the general release is still to be confirmed. That aside, the most annoying aspect encountered while reviewing was the huge timecode placed over a fifth of the screen. Please dear Revolver Ent. play nice next time and thanks for a most worthy addition to your Fright Fest label.
You can read more about the DVD in our database.
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