Flesh City (2019) Poster

(2019)

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6/10
Weird and unusual but stimulating avant-garde effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder15 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Meeting together in the Berlin underground, a man and a woman try to find the cause of a mysterious transmission affecting the city and eventually discover the cause to be a mad doctor trying to corrupt and infect the residents forcing them into the bowels of the underground to stop him.

For the most part, this one wasn't all that bad. One of the more enjoyable and engaging aspects of this one is the fact that there's quite an impressive amount of technical flourishes throughout here. The abstract photography capturing the city in the early parts of the film gives off a wholly discordant and abstract viewpoint throughout these scenes combine together into a fine abstract tone. Coming alongside the rather experimental leanings of the storyline with it cutting between all nightclub-style cutscenes, the rapid-fire music video editing and the all-around industrial music atmosphere of the dark and grungy locations, there's certainly an imposing and dark setting that drips off the film as a whole. That darkness carries over into the horror-based scenes and creates a very avant-garde impression as a result. However conventional it may seem to have the attack in the shower or the early scenes hinting at the kind of insect invasion to come, there's a wholly discordant and jarring manner to the way their filmed that creates a rather different style of sequence than what might be generally accomplished. As well, later scenes featuring the various victims being absorbed into technological systems evokes plenty of techno-thriller and body-horror formats which become much more prominent in the bleak and unforgiving final half of the film. With this section bringing the storyline together and offering the kind of general bleakness of tone and imagery that had been prevalent before, there's plenty to enjoy with this part of the film. There are several problems with this one. The most obvious issue to be dealt with is the fact that there's no discernible storyline present throughout much of the film's running time, making this a wholly disjointed and jarring experience. Those looking to go into a film like this based on the intriguing premise unaware of its' avant-garde nature will be completely bored by the experimental imagery, numerous music video interludes of the various bands being played on the radio station and its general lack of purpose until the last possible moment who will look at this as incoherent nonsense. Play up your expectations accordingly and it'll be a fine trip.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Nudity.
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10/10
Monumental DIY Horror Trip
kzrzkz129 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Very hard to describe. The story is all over the place but that didn't bother me at all as it still felt coherent in the themes it touches and explores. A post/alt/MTV channel called Magical Nihilism constantly interrupts the main story in which the protagonist Vyren is infected by a strange mutation. His mutation spreads to the city which becomes a new kind of organism, consuming and kind of connecting the city folks. It all becomes one giant fleshy network visualized by an intense over-the-top psychedelic assault.

Despite the very unusual storytelling it is still an emotionally engaging film that takes surprising turns and is bleak, dark and gritty on the one side and colorful and explosively fireworkish on the other side.
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10/10
A wonderful headache that I will never forget...
sblapalma-424-99800320 December 2019
I have been a big fan of Throsten Fleisch work ever since I saw Energie! I started following his work and admiring his outstanding analogue techniques. His magic in creating effects, montage, in filming... would hypnotize me and take me to another planet. Kind of what a good painting, a good story, a good song, a good moment, a good drug can do. Help you lose notion of time.

If you study Fleisch´s work, you can see buildings, road trips, 8mm film footage, raw material, Germany, industrial scenarios, techno music, fixed shooter videogames, cyberpunk themes and many other sensations and feelings.

"Flesh City" plays with many of Fleisch previews work, his short films. Printed in a story that carries you in a unique world. Without giving away any spoilers, the film ends up being a masterpiece of a combination of all of his work in a mind blowing ending that only Fleisch himself could of mastered. In the beginning, the film has a warning for epileptics. I end up being amazed and with a big wonderful headache that I will never forget.

I good teacher of mine would tell me that she would consider Gods authors such as Shakespeare, Luis Borjes or Cortazar, because they would create universes. After watching "Flesh City", Throsten Fleisch shows himself in being one too.

Thanks for creating these wonderful worlds.
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