Michael_Elliott
Violent $hit II (1992)** (out of 4)This sequel takes place twenty years after the original and this time it's Karl 'The Butcher' Jr. who is doing the killer, seeking revenge for the murder of his father (the killer from the original). This time out Karl Jr. is also getting instructions from his mother.I really wasn't a fan of Andreas Schnaas' VIOLENT $HIT but this sequel was much more entertaining even if it's basically the same type of stuff we saw in the first. I enjoyed this sequel a lot more because there was a better story here or at least a type of story that we could follow. Yes, the first film was all about the gore and this sequel is too but the deranged son being given orders from his weird mother leads to some interesting stuff.As I said, the main reason to check out this film is for the non-stop gore and some of it enters a very vile territory and especially some of the more sexually explicit scenes. This includes certain male parts being cut off as well as a woman who meets a very disgusting stapler. There's pretty much one outrageous and over-the-top gore scene after another and they're rather clever in their own way and they certainly add to what entertainment you're going to get from this.VIOLENT $HIT II isn't a masterpiece or even a good film but it delivers what you'd expect from it and it's certainly much better than the original.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Violent Sh!t II" (have to censor because of forbidden words) is contrary to what you may think from the title a German German-language movie from 1992, so this one has its 25th anniversary this year. The writer and director is Andreas Schnaas and maybe if that's the genre you care for and know about you have come across the name before as he is not an unknown at all when it comes to the German underground/gore/splatter genre. I myself am sadly not a fan of this at all and that's why I thought the film was a mess. Luckily, the movie runs only for slightly over 70 minutes, so it was over pretty quickly and this is also the best thing about this one. There are filmmakers who may have the writing talent, but their lack of technical equipment and money keeps them from making a quality movie. I don't believe this description applies to Schnaas at all. The moments when you could see something similar of a plot or story, and there sure weren't many, are just as forgettable as the rest of it. And apparently Schnaas realized it himself as the longer the film goes the more pointless and empty it also becomes. It is basically just a collection of random scenes at some point. We see a woman lying in the bathtub, for the horny guys out there, we see a guy who gets his dick smashes, we see people randomly shooting each other etc. There was absolutely no reason to make a sequel as the first "Violent Sh!t" (censored again) was already horrible, but the worst is actually that it did not even end with this second film and that the series even inspired other filmmakers to make films that are most likely the same kind of garbage. Oh yeah, Schnaas also plays the main character in here, which shows again what a low-budget production this whole thing was. I wish I could say that at least the effects were good if that's where they invested the money, but not at all. Besides, a good script, i.e. quality writing, does not need a big budget and same goes for strong direction. Of course it needs a better camera though than the one Schnaas had here. It's all gone wrong no doubt about it. Stay far far away.
Bloodwank
Moving on if not exactly moving up with Andreas Schnaas, Violent Sh!t 2 deals with the adventures of Karl Jr., son and heir of K. The Butcher Sh!tter from part 1. In the first few scenes there's the faintest sign that Schnaas has even made fairly radical advances, there's an ineptly choreographed but competently lensed fight scene following the breakdown of a drug deal, a couple of stylish dusky silhouette shots, even mild excitement. Even more far out though is the detour the film then takes into Hamburg, for a few moments it looks as if this one might actually have a plot, and more than one location! But no worries, its not too long before the film settles back into a comfortable rut of Karl Jr. in a forest, killing everyone he meets. Campers, joggers, fisherman, campers, construction workers, more campers, no one can escape Karl and his big cleaver or sometimes his gun or hook. His mom also gets a bit of screen time, weird old crone who considerably ups the discomfort and perversion factor (no prizes for guessing what sort of things go down). Basically the standard sequel template is followed, same plot, higher bodycount, more protracted scenes of slaughter, added perversion, nudity and even intentional humour. All this and the most egregious stylistic tics of the original are largely toned down, whilst there are still a fair few jumpy edits, daft freeze frames or fade outs and various other silliness on the whole things are much more controlled and in the end as with the beginning even stylish and a wee bit exciting. For all that things have come on though, I can't say as I found this one as charming an experience as the first. A large part of this was probably down to watching a subtitle free print, and since my knowledge of German is pretty limited the dialogue with all its potential smarts and subtleties passed me by. OK I wasn't expecting smarts or subtleties, that was a lie. But I'm sure it was funny, and extremely silly, and all the other good things. I didn't exactly have problems following the plot, but the repetitive, set-up kill, set-up kill structure becomes a lot less interesting when you don't know what anyone is saying, even a two minute appearance just to get slaughtered can be fun if the audience knows what you are saying, not so much here. More particular to the film, it was shorter and had more padding than the original, never a good sign. And on a basic level, this sort of thing works best as a one off. Its nice to see Karl becoming a truly epic villain, but it would even nicer to see more of the spectacle and variety that come little but in the finale here. Still, this is a watchable time waster with lots of cheap dismemberment, disembowelment and all the things you want to see, including some nasty genital abuse to make you squirm. Worth watching if you have too, but mainly for die hards only I'd say.
Angus24
the first time i watched it i loved it. sure its cheap,but it has great scenes,and what it lacks in budget it makes good in gore,sickness and humor.for example the scene where karl nails a girl to the ground,cuts half of her head off with a spade,puts her head and brains into a bowl and hands it to his mother like a present. thats what basically happens in the movie : head-ripping,slicing,genital piercing etc. there are a few minors though: on the audio-commentary on the German astro-release the director confesses that the original rough cut was only 60 minutes long and they shot many scenes just to fill up. and thats exactly the feeling you get when you watch them. karl dreams that some gross woman walks around naked for 10 minutes etc. if you're a gorehound,and if you don't care about dialogue and a good plot check this out.
