Horst_In_Translation Review of The Venus Trap

The Venus Trap (1988)

I wonder about the status of this film, don't really understand it

[4/10 · 3 August 2017]

"Die Venusfalle" is an award-winning West German movie from 1988, so this one will have its 30th anniversary next year already. It runs for 100 minutes and is perhaps the most known filmmaking effort by writer and director Robert van Ackeren. And although he was only around the age of 40 when he shot it, this is one of his final works. It is also still somewhat known today, at least here in Germany, and it may still be the career-defining work for actress Sonja Kirchberger, but I am not really sure why people have not forgotten about it. Yes it is an award-winning movie, but really not on a level where the reception was anything special really. Zischler and Zacher are also known today here in Germany, but the rest of the cast are fairly unknown and there are no huge names involved here. I assume the reason why the film is still known to many may be a mix of the controversy and sexuality, even if the latter is not really on a level where it shocked me or aroused me just one bit. Sure the women in here are kinda hot, but so are the women in a thousand other movies. Maybe the suggestive title "The Venus Trap" helped the film's popularity. Unfortunately, I must say the acting and even more so the script weren't remotely memorable at any point of these over 1.5 hours. In addition, the film had more (many more) than just one moment when it dragged considerably and had just too many lengths. The film is not a failure, but there also isn't a single reason why it would stand out compared to other German films from the 1980s. Thumbs-down. Don't watch.