★ 7 / 10
Revenge on society. Innocent people had to be
John Chard
Revenge on society. Innocent people had to be slaughtered. Amsterdamned is written and directed by Dick Maas (also providing the musical score). It stars Huub…
Revenge on society. Innocent people had to be slaughtered.
Amsterdamned is written and directed by Dick Maas (also providing the musical score). It stars Huub Stapel, Monique van de Ven, Serge-Henri Valcke,
Hidde Maas, Wim Zomer and Tanneke Hartzuiker. Cinematography is by Marc Felperlaan.
Hard-boiled police detective Eric Visser (Stapel) sets out to capture a gruesome serial killer who is terrorizing the canals of Amsterdam - apparently from the water itself...
If you was to list the genres this film homages you could be here for some time, while any attempt to pigeon hole it as one specific genre piece is pure folly. The strength in Mass' movie is that it successfully blends a number of filmic strands to great effect, even serving up some deliciously humorous dialogue in amongst the suspense and murderous shenanigans.
Working off from a unique standpoint of having a serial killer operating from beneath the waters of Amsterdam's canal system, this gives the pic its own identity. Sure some of the sequences have been tried and tested elsewhere - notably a superb homage to "A Nightmare On Elm Street" - but Maas stitches it together with a thrilling panache that's aided by Felperlaan's atmospherically piercing colour lenses.
The characters are neatly etched in a matter of fact way, giving them an earthy and vulnerable realism that's refreshing. While some scenes are suspenseful/frightening because it's left purely to suggestion over blood inducing show and tell. It's a bold choice from Mass not to go overtly Giallo Slasher on his audience, but by choosing to tantalise in the name of keeping the mystery aspect alive proves to be a good decision.
There's some truly great scenes to hold attention here. A bloody victim's body literally paraded aboard a sightseeing tourist boat, an extended speedboat pursuit that's fit for a Bond film, and Visser's trawling through Amsterdam's murky underground waterway tunnels is quality horror staging. There's proof positive here that the director knows his genre tropes.
Acting is a mixed bag, but there's no faulting Stapel as our main man. He instils Detective Visser with a steely film noir resolve that's most engaging, even, as it happens, looking into the bargain like a future Vincent Cassell. As the main female draw card, Monique van de Ven is sensual without being overt, and she makes a smart accompaniment to Stapel's more rugged edges.
Sadly the finale is something of a let down, not so much in the reveal, but in the quickness of it all, it feels rushed and ill thought out, especially given the pic runs at just shy of 2 hours in length. There's also the issue of the heavy synth score, which while a staple of many an 80s production, was even by 1988 feeling very old hat. Personally I kept drifting off into Harold Faltermeyer 's score for "The Running Man", only this was the one note version.
Small complaints, though, for this is a very smart and well thought out Dutch thriller. 7.5/10
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★ 8 / 10
Amsterdamned
HorrorFan1984
A serial killer is stalking victims in the famous Amsterdam canals. Can a young detective save the city from being Amsterdamned? The films opens with a very…
A serial killer is stalking victims in the famous Amsterdam canals. Can a young detective save the city from being Amsterdamned?
The films opens with a very convincing stalking scene with an unknown assailant swimming around the canals. The monster claims their first victim, a prostitute who is walking the dark, desolate streets late one night. She is brutally stabbed and then strung up in the canals for a tour group to find the next morning while their boat rides through. We meet a police detective named Visser who is assigned to the case
Visser investigates a local scuba diving facility where he meets a beautiful woman named Laura. They spark a relationship immediately. Meanwhile, the serial killer claims a few more victims along the way. Most are stabbed and dragged into the canal to die. Visser begins to feel the pressure from the police commissioner and mayor as they are terrified what these murders will do for the public image and tourism in Amsterdam. Will Visser stop the psychopath?
I really like Amsterdamned a lot as a late 80's slasher for many reasons. One, the filming locations. I found the canals and dark alleys/streets surrounding it to be an eerily perfect place for the killer to stalk their victims. Another is that the POV stalking scenes of the killer are top notch. They are done in such a creepy way, Dick Maas deserves a lot of credit for the work on them. They create a lot of on the edge of your seat tension and terror. Also, this movie looks REALLY good for being done in 1988 in terms of picture quality. The one major negative for me was killer reveal and the ending. It all just felt a bit rushed.
I highly recommend Amsterdamned to any horror fan. It is a slick and high quality late 80's slasher flick with amazing stalking POV scenes and some gore as well. The ending is a bit of a mess for me, but the acting and scares makes this a must see.
8/10
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Contrary to what the tech specs say, this is, in fact, the original Dutch version. Thanks!