Color, 1982, 92m. / Directed by Eckhart Schmidt / Starring Désirée Nosbusch, Bodo Steiger / Oracle (UK R2 PAL), Marketing-Film (Germany R2 PAL) / WS (1.78:1) (16:9)
Pretty 17-year-old Simone (Nosbusch, who amazingly hosted the popular Eurovision contest two years later) lives in the throes of an intense crush on "R" (Steiger), a dark-haired pop singer. Her devotion is so great she nearly kills her father when he tries to change the channel during a song performance, and though he doesn't answer her fan letters, she believes they are meant to be together. Thanks to fate and a little cunning, she winds up close to "R" in a crowd and lands a gig sitting in for an upcoming TV number complete with funky '80s lighting and bald mannequins. Afterwards they hook up, and the lothario singer seduces her for a one night stand.
It's difficult to explain the shock value of Trance without giving away the last half hour, so anyone spoiler-sensitive might want to skip down to the next paragraph. So... As an early example of extreme sex-and-gore German cinema, this predates the similar Nekromantik 2 by several years (right down to the twist ending) as Simone kills and dismembers the object of her affection in a fetishistic sequence bound to linger in the memory long afterwards. The subsequent
A prized collector's item on VHS, Trance was out of circulation for years before its eventual resurgence on DVD under its original title. The German disc contains no English language options, but the British disc contains the English and German language versions. (No English subtitles, alas, but the dub track is actually pretty good.) The anamorphic transfer is much better than one might expect; all that hazy neon lighting looks vivid and well-defined. No extras, though the trailer can be found on several Marketing Film titles including All the Colors of the Dark.
In the wake of films like Christiane F., studies of displaced, dysfunctional German youth were a dime a dozen. However, the forerunner in the sweepstakes for the most memorable and disturbing entry would have to be Der Fan, released on video in English
as Trance. An unsettling blend of new wave pop culture, adolescent angst, and full-blooded horror, this nasty little art house shocker caught more than a few unsuspecting viewers off guard and earned a bit of a cult following in the process.
After they make love at his apartment, he reveals that he's heading out of town but, since she's a better than average groupie, he's willing to let her wait around for him. Needless to say, Simone does not take the news well.
cannibalism of the pop star's body is a pretty obvious metaphor, but the film's lingering detail and aesthetic beauty still pull it off; the two leads' uninhibited performances are also far more frank than your average thriller, as both remain completely nude through most of the nastiness on display. However, it's the subtle, nasty coda that really sends a shiver up the spine as Simone finds a way to keep her love for "R" alive for years to come. Viewers predisposed to art films will probably be more likely to find enjoyment here, as the slow pacing of the first hour serves as a slow burn to the gory mayhem to come. Think of Miike's Audition and you're on the right track.
