"Wir Monster" or "Kalte Tage" or "We Monsters" is a German(-language) movie from 2015 and it is the so far most known work by writer and director Sebastian Ko. I cannot say I am familiar with him or with any of the actors in here really, even if I may have heard the names Nebbou, Tscharre and Hammelstein already on one or two occasions. But the main character is played by Janina Fautz. She plays a teenager who struggles with her parents' divorce and commits a horrible crime as a consequence. This is really only the first few minutes though as everything afterward is about how the girl and the parents deal with what happens while we also get to see a touch of police work and find out about the parents of the deceased girl. So you can definitely call it a psychological crime thriller. The film runs for slightly over 90 minutes and there is a major plot twist briefly after the 50-minute mark or so I think.
I personally enjoyed the watch here. I was impressed with Fautz and I think she can have a solid career in the industry. It is obvious she is really experienced already despite her young age. Mehdi Nebbou was really good too and also gave a physically convincing performance that reminded me of Dominic West at times. Makes me curious about more stuff from him. The other actors were pretty convincing too and made the most of their material, the ensemble cast is easily the film's most positive aspect. As for the action and the plot, I have some criticisms. I liked it for sure for the most part, but the longer the film went, the more absurd it became I have to say. And the way the movie ends with yet another shocking plot development is really nothing to be proud of. Quite a shame. With a better second half and maybe more subtlety instead of showy dramatic sequences that did not really work for me, this could have been one of the best German movies from last year. It is still good to let me recommend it, but it is not as great as it could have been. In my opinion, there were a couple parallels to the more known film "Benny's Video", only that it is not as graphically violent as the Haneke film. But still, if you enjoyed that one, you will maybe have a good time watching this one here as well. Thumbs-up from me and I hope Ko can build on his success here in the future.
I personally enjoyed the watch here. I was impressed with Fautz and I think she can have a solid career in the industry. It is obvious she is really experienced already despite her young age. Mehdi Nebbou was really good too and also gave a physically convincing performance that reminded me of Dominic West at times. Makes me curious about more stuff from him. The other actors were pretty convincing too and made the most of their material, the ensemble cast is easily the film's most positive aspect. As for the action and the plot, I have some criticisms. I liked it for sure for the most part, but the longer the film went, the more absurd it became I have to say. And the way the movie ends with yet another shocking plot development is really nothing to be proud of. Quite a shame. With a better second half and maybe more subtlety instead of showy dramatic sequences that did not really work for me, this could have been one of the best German movies from last year. It is still good to let me recommend it, but it is not as great as it could have been. In my opinion, there were a couple parallels to the more known film "Benny's Video", only that it is not as graphically violent as the Haneke film. But still, if you enjoyed that one, you will maybe have a good time watching this one here as well. Thumbs-up from me and I hope Ko can build on his success here in the future.