"Tartarus" is an Austrian German-language movie from 2010 written and directed by Stefan Müller. With the script he got help from Martin Kroissenbrunner, who is also one of the two lead actors in this 105-minute movie. It is a mix of mystery and horror, which are probably not my two favorite genres, but there are films from both genres that I enjoy a lot. In reference to my title I need to say that I usually enjoy those horror films the most that are not about excessive splatter, but more about an unseen danger that is omnipresent though. And this is certainly the case here as we never really know what is lurking in the dark and when it is. And I also like films that don't have too many characters and protagonists, but keep it simple quantity-wise instead. Another check for this one here. And yet it wasn't really working out for me here. What may be the reasons? One could be that with the latter that I described, it is also necessary that these few core character need to be written extremely well and the performances must also be spot-on. I don't think either of these two demands was fulfilled properly unfortunately. Maybe lack of experience is the key here that swings it comfortably to the negative because for example one lead actor (Moritz Thate) has no acting experience at all in film (according to IMDb). Anyway, it's probably a combination of several factors. All in all, I must say the film dragged a lot eventually, could(/should) have been at least 20 minutes shorter and I feel as if I am still on the generous side with my four stars out of ten. I think it's really only worth seeing for the very biggest German(-language)/horror film buffs who have seen pretty much everything else. This is no hidden gem at all and the IMDb rating is pretty accurate. I myself give it a thumbs-down and don't recommend checking it out.
Review of Tartarus
