Coventry Over here in the Dutch-speaking region (The Netherlands & Belgium), the popular belief is that we are completely incapable of making good or even half-decent horror movies. Okay, admittedly, there aren't a lot of genre movies coming out here and then still the majority of them indeed downright suck, but if you search devotedly, there honestly are a handful of competent and worthwhile titles to discover, only no one has ever heard of them. "Necrophobia" is the ideal example to state this theory. This utterly obscure and gory low-budget movie came out in 1995, but I only just found out about it now, by accident, because the directors-duo Frank Van Geloven and Edwin Visser recently released their first "big studio" production called "Sl8N8". "Necrophobia" is quite short (60min), rather bizarre, experimental and over-the-top gross, but it's an ideal feature for Dutch-speaking horror fanatics to be proud of what filmmakers in their country are capable of. The script contains some really terrific ideas, a uniquely macabre atmosphere and the make-up effects and sinister set pieces are admirably convincing. One glimpse at this film and you can immediately tell that Van Geloven & Visser are genuine horror FREAKS and they clearly watched a lifetime worth of horror movies to gather inspiration for their own debut. The plot centers on a young & happily married couple, Mark and Rebecca, living in a remote countryside farm. When Rebecca dies in a disastrous road accident, Mark loses all his will to live and spends the next following days chain-smoking and visiting his late wife's grave at the cemetery. There, a ravishing woman approaches him and even invites him to a romantic dinner at her place. Unfortunately for Mark, the woman – Colette – has serious mental issues and she's completely subjected to the will of her deranged psychiatrist. Dr. Bernhardt's "therapy" causes Colette to dig up fresh cadavers; only to mutilate them and even have carnal intercourse with them! As you can tell, the basic premise is pretty sick & demented, so if you happen to be a fan of necrophilia and explicit images of carnal molestation "Necrophobia" is the ideal film for you! The on screen murders are insanely repulsive as well, as Colette – under the influence of her therapy – uses chainsaws and all other sorts of toolbox equipment to get rid of her imaginary enemies. Mind you, the screenplay isn't just stupid and exclusively emphasizing the sickness, because there's also tension and most of the dialogs are fairly intellectual. Especially Colette's background (as in, the traumatic experience that drove her to madness) is powerful horror material and it instantly reminded me of a handful of groundbreaking and influential exploitation efforts of the early 1970's. The production values and acting performances are obviously below average, but personally this didn't bother me for one second, as the actual content is extremely fascinating. Too bad this modest gem of Nether-horror is only available in Dutch, as I'm pretty sure sick puppies all around the world would greatly enjoy "Necrophobia".

teljilad Those with a more than average knowledge of horror cinema, will undoubtedly recognize the fact that this genre is almost non-existent in the Netherlands. Only a few movies ever saw the light, let alone full-length movies. Perhaps one hour doesn't really count as full... but hey... give this small country a break.Necrophobia is a small gem of a Dutch psychological horror movie about a man whose wife passed away after an accident, and his confrontation with a beautiful but macabre woman after her burial.Both collaborating directors have made this movie into a visual treat in every shot, and the music sounds really dated but adds to the sinister atmosphere. All in all, this movie is worth watching for all lovers of the genre. It certainly leaves behind movies like "De Johnsons" and "Intensive care", and can easily rival "De lift" or "Amsterdamned", even though its budget was far less.