Although I found Candy House (German title: Schlaraffenhaus) somewhat slow and uneventful at times (the first half-an-hour/forty-five minutes, in particular, is surprisingly devoid of action), it wouldn't be fair of me to rate the film until I learn to speak a tad more German (my current vocabulary consisting of 'ja', 'nein', 'bitter', 'guten tag' and a few assorted phrases gleaned from war films). Since I have the feeling that one's full appreciation relies on an understanding of the dialogue, I'll focus this comment on the element which I was able to enjoy regardless of my limited linguistic capabilities: the brutality...
For the most part, the violence in Schlaraffenhaus (2011) is very mean-spirited and competently handled given the film's low-budget nature, and once it kicks in, remains fairly consistent throughout. The nastiness comprises of a series of tortures perpetrated on the several captives of crazy blonde bitch Simona (Selin Deveci) and her PVC-raincoat-wearing goon: an impressively realistic scene sees lead girl Maria (lovely brunette Annika Strauß) having her hands sewn to those of her friend Kira (Alex Anasuya), the camera capturing every insertion of needle and pull of thread in sickening detail; a rather less convincing moment involves Maria being forced to eat a nail-filled muffin resulting in a less than attractive tongue-piercing; and there's also a nasty eye puncture, some finger-nail removal, an arrow shoved up a guy's nose into his brain (which is wiggled around a bit for good measure), and a messy disembowelment, Simona having a good fondle of the victim's entrails. The violence also includes the vicious rape of Maria by Simona's accomplice (who cuts her back with a knife as he has his wicked way), and a shotgun blast to the head (although a frustrating cut-way shot means a missed opportunity to get extremely splattery!).
Just for the record, as far as I could fathom, the film's plot revolves around a will and the inheritance of 18m , which is reason enough for some people to go kill crazy, but until I can find a sub-titled copy of the film, the details will remain a mystery to me.
For the most part, the violence in Schlaraffenhaus (2011) is very mean-spirited and competently handled given the film's low-budget nature, and once it kicks in, remains fairly consistent throughout. The nastiness comprises of a series of tortures perpetrated on the several captives of crazy blonde bitch Simona (Selin Deveci) and her PVC-raincoat-wearing goon: an impressively realistic scene sees lead girl Maria (lovely brunette Annika Strauß) having her hands sewn to those of her friend Kira (Alex Anasuya), the camera capturing every insertion of needle and pull of thread in sickening detail; a rather less convincing moment involves Maria being forced to eat a nail-filled muffin resulting in a less than attractive tongue-piercing; and there's also a nasty eye puncture, some finger-nail removal, an arrow shoved up a guy's nose into his brain (which is wiggled around a bit for good measure), and a messy disembowelment, Simona having a good fondle of the victim's entrails. The violence also includes the vicious rape of Maria by Simona's accomplice (who cuts her back with a knife as he has his wicked way), and a shotgun blast to the head (although a frustrating cut-way shot means a missed opportunity to get extremely splattery!).
Just for the record, as far as I could fathom, the film's plot revolves around a will and the inheritance of 18m , which is reason enough for some people to go kill crazy, but until I can find a sub-titled copy of the film, the details will remain a mystery to me.
