Amsterdamned

Amsterdamned_720p(480P)

source: Amsterdamned

Initially I thought I would like this. In the credit sequence that opens this, a curious camera emerges from underwater to steal illicit glimpses of the neon Amsterdam night. The colors are bright and soft, and they bleed into a night of unspoken promise. Combined with this, the grisly murder (of a prostitute in skintight leotard, this fundamentally 80's of slasher movie beings) that follows made me anticipate an Argento or DePalma. Alas, it is not. We don't get the adventurous camera that embarks upon discoveries of psychosexual violence, or even a second rate giallo, instead we get a hackneyed police proceedural. We get a car chase and a boat chase through the canals, in the hope that they will inject excitement. Instead, they bore me with their 'action flick' tedium. We also see a boat singlehandedly towed away by one man in scuba gear, then sunk (with a knife?). The resolution of this stuns with its badness, with its cheesy, cheap ideas of twists and revenge. Cop things on 80's TV were more intelligent than this.

This movie combines most of the not-so-good parts of Dutch movies in general: poor camera, awful sound, and *poor* dialogues. In addition to those, this film also has a storyline which is easily forgotten and a strange, out-of-the-blue-ending. Note: most of the shots in the canals ("grachten") was done in Utrecht, not Amsterdam.

This movie opens with what probably is the best and most atmospheric thriller-sequence ever filmed in the Netherlands! While the credits are shown, a serial killers swims through the canals of Amsterdam, viciously lurking at potential victims that moor by the quayside. This scene is simply terrific and it somewhat feels like how Dario Argento would direct "Jaws"! Yes, it really is THAT intense and THAT disturbing. When the professional diver/maniac then comes out of the water, he brutally kills a prostitute and this means the first murder in a long series that'll terrorize the entire city of Amsterdam. Police inspector Eric Visser (Huub Stapel, with whom director Dick Maas already made the commercial successes "De Lift" and "Flodder") and his team try very hard to catch the killer but he always escapes thanks to his vast knowledge of the canal-network. With "De Lift" in 1983, Maas already proved that he was the only Dutch director of his generation capable of bringing unsettling and tense horror stories, but "Amsterdamned" is an even better movie because the atmosphere feels more realistic and the story is a lot more involving. With all the abrupt plot-twists and the extremely violent death-sequences, you could almost describe "Amsterdamned" as the only Dutch GIALLO ever made and it's perfectly able to compete with some of the better Italian efforts in this lovely sub genre of horror. Even the chilling musical score (composed by Dick Maas himself, as well) feels very giallo-like. Of course, the film isn't entirely flawless. Some action scenes (like the grotesque speed-boat chase) are just a tad bit exaggerated and the one many red herrings eventually ruin the credibility. Still, "Amsterdamned" unquestionably is one the best Dutch-spoken thriller ever and even horror fanatics across the ocean should consider importing it, if it were only for the nasty and downright shocking scene in which a severely mutilated corpse is dragged over a glass-topped tour boat filled with boy scouts. Great stuff!!

I am actually on one of the takes of this movie, the bit where the speedboat launches off the half-submerged house boat. If that take had ended up in the finished product, I might have given this film two stars. So, what's wrong with it? Well, the film might have many redeeming features (any film featuring Turkish Delight's Monique vd Ven can't be all bad), and to be sure, some of the camera-work hovering over the Amsterdam canals (although some of these were shot in Utrecht) is very atmospheric, but all is undone by the deus ex vacuum ending. The story, or maybe I should say premise, is that there is a killer lurking in the Amsterdam (see caveat above) canals. Eric Visser (whose name is a pun: it means fisherman) is the police detective charged with finding him, or her, or it (we can't tell, since the killer wears full scuba gear). The film goes through all the usual twists and turns, in order to make you first think and then doubt that X, Y or Z is the killer. But, huge spoiler and even bigger undoing, guess what? The killer, when he is finally unmasked, is someone who wasn't ever in the movie. Haha, had you fooled! It's like a Scooby Doo episode where they tear off the face mask, to find it out it was you. And you had no recollection of featuring in a Scooby Doo episode. I had seen the film in the original Dutch version, anxiously looking if I was in it, and when I lived in the States I convinced some of my friend to rent this movie. I kept a straight face when I told them just how good it was. I guess it was my way of vindicating myself for having had to sit through this movie in the first place. What made the film even worse, was that they used the original cast, some of whom had obviously never spoken a word of English before, and were obviously reading off phonetic cue cards, for the dub, except, wait for it, a young boy, whose English must've been really bad considering the other performances that were left in. HE was dubbed by an English actor with a very deep gravelly voice. Oh, and the title must be the worst pun in the name of a movie ever. To paraphrase the title track - I'll be damned damned damned before I ever again watch Amsterdamned.

Now I can't believe that this little gem has passed me by for so long, especially being a big fan of slashers and giallo movies, well this was a nice treat and it's appealing enough and just when you thought you've seen everything that this genre has to offer, "Amsterdamned" puts a unique spin on things by featuring a killer dressed in scuba diving gear swimming around the canals of Amsterdam looking for his next victim. It's all well paced, being mainstream enough for thriller fans and yet gruesome e and sleazy enough for horror fans. That is also dozens of red herrings that keeps the viewer interested enough to keep watching up until the final reveal which okay can be a bit of a cop out, but the dozens of stunts that were handled very well, and when the killer pops out of the water to claim its next victim, it is genially scary and given the fact that he can do this and escape easily into the canals does add a sense of danger to the proceedings and makes everything a lot more tense and frightening. The main central character Vissor played brilliantly by Huub Stabel who's trying to solve this case before the killer strikes again and also has the best scene in the movie with the speed boat chase, which was exciting and thrilling at the same time, and will always be an iconic memorable scene. This movie also uses the beautiful city of Amsterdam to its full effect showing all the beautiful sights and scenery. Another standout performance was Serge-Henri Valcke who clearly steals the show with his funny comedic elements, which adds a touch of greatness to this movie. All in all "Amsterdamned" is a great watch and is a definite highlight in the giallo genre and has a great mix of everything and plus a really cool killer.

I saw this for the first time recently due to the director (I have enjoyed Dick Maas' The Lift and Prooi) and also got enticed into checking this movie due to some good reviews. It is indeed a solid action thriller but the ending is kinda rushed n there is no mystery/suspense element to it. It has a good car sequence doing a full 180, an amazing boat chase sequence reminding us of Bond's Live and Let Die. While viewing this, Shape of Water came to my mind, especially during the tunnel scenes. Veerman and Eric rush to Dr Martin's house when the nurse informs Eric about Laura's missed call. How they deduced that Laura will be at Martin's house is beyond me. Martin's doors were all open. Now who keeps their doors open man. At least not here in my beloved country India. Our lead guy (Eric) gets his face spit upon by a suspect and without washing his face he consumes coffee n then later has sex with Laura (a lousy one though). Hope he washed his face before kissing her.

One of the most popular movies from the Nederlands made by one of the most popular directors from the Low Lands. A thriller about a serial killer who finds his victims in the canals of Amsterdam City and the cop who's trying to catch him. Original, ain't it? OK, it's not Truffaut, it's not Hawks or Von Trier, the dialogs are such a mess, and the situations are hackneyed to the nausea but, what can I say? I like this movie! I watched it first when I was 9 or 10 and it has kind of a nostalgical meaning from me. Anyway, you may have a nice pop-corn bag and a bottle of Coke, embrace your girl and turn the lights off. The best of it all: the very spectacular boat-chasing all around the canals of Amsterdam. *My rate: 5/10

If you've seen Dick Maas' previous horror outing - THE LIFT - then you pretty much know what to expect with this kooky crime thriller mixing police investigation with slasher overtones. There's a certain basic artistry in some of the more outlandish scenes - probably the most memorable scene comes when a tour boat, full of gossiping passengers and unruly children runs into a corpse swinging from the bridge; typically, this would be a brief shock scene quickly cutting away to an autopsy or something. But not here - instead, Maas follows the boat through the tunnel as the corpse slides along the glass roof, leaving a trail of blood and gristle behind it. It's an audacious, inventive and highly imaginative moment in what otherwise amounts to a fairly typical thriller. The ingredients here are ordinary and the film has something for everyone : sex and gore (tame), romance, action, stunts, and a lone hero, a rogue cop whose obscure methods find him at odds with his superiors. The cop in question is played by Maas' favourite leading man Huub Stapel, after he did so well in THE LIFT. Stapel fits into the role of "maverick cop" pretty well here and looks the part with his unshaven face and tired leather jacket. As for the supporting actors and actresses... well, nobody really shines in their role but nobody is wooden either. The dialogue is a little difficult to comprehend sometimes due to the culture gap and the heavy accents on display, but all round it's a good effort on everybody's behalf. Fans would be wise to check this film out as it's a unique contribution which really draws out the best scenery in Holland. Basically, it's just so different what with the setting and different lifestyles that watching becomes a way of learning about the Dutch. Personally, I myself find the long canals of Amsterdam very interesting to look out and the film really makes use of them in some tense chase moments. The best part of the film is a prolonged speedboat chase which packs in a ton of stunts and could easy fit into a James Bond film without looking out of place - it's that polished. You're kept guessing as to the identity of the killer throughout and there are plenty of clues and red herrings to chew on. The only thing I think let this film down was the ending, which makes you feel sorry for the killer and gives him a personality - realistic, yes, and a good twist, but not that exciting. Basically, if the idea of a killer stalking the canals of Amsterdam in the wetsuit being chased by policemen who follows his bubbles sounds like your sort of thing, then get this film as that's exactly what it's about and it doesn't disappoint - it may not be a brilliant film, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was kept interested all the way until the end anyway. Oh yes, and clever title, too.