Carl Lynder I'm not certain how Ulli Lommel's empty thriller Absolute Evil got into the Berlin film festival, but after the woeful Daniel the Magician from a few years ago, I'm surprised, very surprised. Toplined David Carradine plays a jovial sort of gangster which is a small role in this home-made thriller film. The story has a woman chasing after her father's killers about 15 years too late. A torture/waterboarding scene is the primal image in Absolute Evil -- it is the scene that Lommel cuts back to frequently, and becomes the symbol of how this movie grates on the nerves.Absolute Evil borrows from such films as Kill Bill and Planet of the Apes, but steals more heavily from Lommel's own C-grade horror efforts, such as The Boogeyman, BTK Killer, Green River Killer, Killer Pickton, and Mummy Maniac. In other words, Absolute Evil borrows extensively from other filmmakers. There are a few fancy cinematic moments in Absolute Evil, and if one looked carefully one might find these, too, have been borrowed from other movies. Absolute Evil is technically terrible -- the lighting and sound are in particular abysmal. The reviewer for Hollywood Reporter got it right when he said, the film "is quite simply excruciating to watch." Whoever wrote in the IMDb comments that this was a great movie must have mistaken Absolute Evil for some other flick.

slardea-1 German film director Ulli Lommel dedicates this abortive flick to his mentor, the well-regarded Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Though Fassbinder is probably turning somersaults in his grave at the idea of being associated with this cinematic tripe, the dedication is instructive in knowing where Lommel's head is at. Lommel, who has operated out of the US for decades, continually tries to gain some recognition in his own country as a genuine auteur. But the Germans think he is a joke. ABSOLUTE EVIL absolutely will not help his reputation, either, which has bottomed out after he aggressively directed a rash of poor horror movies, such as KILLER NURSE, DUNGEON GIRL, THE TOMB, and GREEN RIVER KILLER.ABSOLUTE EVIL is the work of an artist who has no original ideas and so imitates what he believes will sell -- a bit of horror here, a bit of western "homage" there, and other bits and pieces of ideas from other movies. The film, which looks like every other Lommel movie and is shot on a camcorder -- is a junker of a movie that ka-clumps along in tiresome fashion, made with the conviction of people who possibly had a large mortgage to pay off. The movie may attract you because of David Carradine's presence in an undistinguished cameo role.In this revenge story, a young woman chases down the killers of her car mechanic father with the help of a boyfriend, who may have helped the killers.Lommel also wrote the banal dialog that is painfully under-rehearsed by the actors, and prior to its screening at the Berlin festival, he touted this production as more substantial than the progressively awful wave started in 2004 with ZODIAC KILLER. However, even with a little extra money in the budget, Lommel defaults to his trademark poor camera-work, one-take direction, terrible acting, slow pacing, and disjointed editing. In the style of all Lommel films, footage is repeated ad naseum and to the point of distraction. Worse of all, he gets a lousy performance out of Carradine! What a sad waste this is.

cliffwellman-1 I've watched "Absolute Evil" three times now. And each time it gets better and better. there are so many cool elements in the movie, and so many hidden messages. It's almost like you're on a treasure hunt. I dunno why anyone in their right mind doesn't get this, but I guess we live in a world of quick fixes and surfacy attitudes. I - like many other viewers - absolutely hated Lommel's serial killer films, I mean Lions Gate obviously did a great job with trailers and DVD cover and so on, but the minute you watched one of those films, you had to be disappointed.So when my buddy Charlie, a die-hard Ulli Lommel fan, dragged me into "Absolute Evil" I was ready for more of the same. But, hey! Was I wrong!!! This one really rocks, man! Eighty tight minutes of twists and turns and cool character developments and commentaries on our messed up society. Ulli Lommel haters, get ready: You cannot diss this one, you just can't!! And take this from a former hater. He made a great film, guys. Now what???

Steamroller_Blues Absolute Evil is Carradine's best film since Kill Bill. And that is strange, because Absolute Evil is very much along the lines of Tarentino's narrative. The good becomes the bad and the bad turns good. Evil is a complex force in this fascinating twist of film noir and horror film and suspense thriller. The film itself is a love declaration to the horror genre, and pumps new life in it. And Ulli Lommel, who also wrote and directed, is terrific as the Private Eye that tortures a killer. The film is short and sweet. 80 minutes of inspired suspense, and a total departure from Lommel's previous low-budget true-crime horror flicks.