No Reason

“Here’s neither a beginning nor an end. You’re here. Nothing else exists”: so, this is hell according to Olaf Ittenbach, a non-place of unprecedented torments laid out in a series of monochrome realms – red, green, blue, yellow – in which the damned feebly fumble their way from one bodily mutilation to the next.

And yet, tortured flesh isn’t the sole focus of this horrific film born of the Teutonic underground – it atypically devotes attention to the psychological dimension as well. Nothing extraordinarily profound, to be honest, given the hodgepodge of two-bit psychoanalysis and obscure maxims that form a bedrock of logical and narrative confusion.

Hearing the director tell it, his primary intention was to “paint the portrait of a woman’s impotence” – a goal that was basically achieved insofar as the plot resembles a series of Russian nesting dolls, and the decision to blur the lines between reality and nightmare enables a claustrophobic atmosphere in which the unfortunate protagonist seems to be caught in a spiderweb of nearly uncontrollable events and situations. On the other hand, the short running time and the independent, semi-amateur feel of the overall product sadly undercut any possibility that the dramatic-existential side of the plot could be duly developed.

Olaf Ittenbach – who, as usual, wrote, produced, and directed – demonstrates a greater mastery of the medium compared to his early works such as “Black Past” (1989). The practical special effects are well done, all along the lines of “1,001 ways to abuse the human body” (genitals mutilated, skulls split open, eyeballs ripped out, bodies riddled with holes, random dismemberments, etc.). As for the cast, Irene Holzfurtner’s stoic performance deserves a mention. Basically naked (and covered in blood) for 3/4 of the film, she screams, flails, thrashes, and struggles in a universe of gore and abominations.

Overall, considering the high level of artistic and expressive incompetence that has traditionally dimmed the underground cinema scene, “No Reason” manages to avoid the bottomless pit of rotten apples, instead positioning itself just below the cornerstones of “maestro” Jörg Buttgereit.