In 2004, writer/director Andreas Marschall released the film, Tears of Kali, a three-part story intertwined into one film that has it's basis in a mysterious cult. The film is somewhat of a throwback to those great Amicus anthologies of the past, but this film has more of an emphasis on gore and sadomasochism. An interesting note about writer/director Marschall, he's made a name for himself in the art area of the genre world and did the poster art for Nekromantik and Nekromantik 2.
The film opens in Poona India 1983, where a cult lies in various states of a trance or near death. One of the cult members, Kim, talks to the leader, Lars Eriksson (Martell), where he asks her what she sees and she tells him, 'darkness', he leads her to a window and pulls the curtains back to expose bright sunshine. He coaches her to look into the daylight and the world outside...the life outside. He then leaves the young woman and she
The first story in the film is entitled; Shakti and has Tansul Yilmaz (Celik Nuran) wanting to interview a young woman, Shatki/Elizabeth (Jandris Irena-Heliana), who admitted to the brutal murder of her lover and is now in an asylum. Yilmaz presses Shatki/Elizabeth, certain that she isn't the true killer. Once Yilmaz hounds Shakti/Elizabeth into telling more of the story, the true horror of what took place and what may take place next is even more terrifying than the Yilmaz could have imagined.
The second story in the film is entitled; Devi and deals with a young man, Robin Borg (Marcel Trunsch), who has been court-ordered to attend fifteen hours of psychotherapy at the office of Dr Steiner (Michael Balaun), after he has beaten a tourist into a coma. Borg tells Steiner that he really wants to change, that he sometimes wants to jump out of his skin and change his life, completely. Steiner baits Borg into a confession that he is still using drugs and then baits Borg further into showing his violent side. Steiner takes hold of Borg and using what appears to be pressure points on Borg's muscles, soon has him unconscious. When Borg awakens, he finds Steiner no longer in the room and the entire area covered in plastic. Borg is attempting to leave, when Steiner once again confronts him and subdues him, again, this time leaving Borg totally conscious and with no will of his own. He is at the mercy of Steiner and soon Steiner plays back the recording of Borg stating that at times, he would like to jump out of his skin. Steiner then produces a razor and Borg suddenly realizes what he has to look forward to....at his own hands.
The final story in this film is entitled; Kali and this entry tells the story of, Edgar Cornelsen (Mathieu Carriere), a faith healer who is losing faith in everything around him. During one 'healing' session, he manages to rid Mira (Cora Chilcott) of an evil spirit. Unfortunately, for Cornelsen, the evil spirit takes up residence in his basement. Cornelsen's wife is killed by the spirit and Mira and Cornelsen find themselves trapped in the basement with the spirit. Mira soon admits to Cornelsen that she was a host to this spirit, but the spirit is hungry and Cornelsen is next on the menu of hosts.....
The DVD for, Tears of Kali is the Unrated Director's Cut and is offered in anamorphic widescreen. You have two audio choices for the film, German 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 5.1 Audio Digital, unfortunately, the dubbed English is quite distracting at times and I'd have preferred to see the film in it's original German with English subs, but sadly, no subtitles are included. Overall, the video quality is good and if you can get past the poor dubbing, the audio quality isn't bad. The disc itself offers only four theatrical trailers in the bonus features department and those four trailers are for the films; Dark Hunters, The Wickeds, Demons at the Door and Side FX.
I had no idea what to expect in going into this film, but it really wasn't time wasted. I'd say of the three stories in the film, the second is probably my personal favorite. The stories are part of a bigger overall picture, but we really don't get a solid conclusion as was always the ending to say an Amicus film, but I suppose in the end, most people will remember this film for some of the gore and not so much the stories. Blood does flow freely at times and there are more than a couple of wince-inducing moments for me, so that's a positive point. You have eyelids being cut off, pencils to the throat, razor-blade slicing and chunks of wood to the eye, just to name a few. I will point out that the gore, while there, isn't used in excess and doesn't wander from the story being told, it all is incorporated into the story at hand and works rather well. I found this to be an enjoyable effort and while this was a rental, I'd definitely consider adding the film to my collection, I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of what Andreas Marschall has to offer.
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