The Devil of Kreuzberg, Love Cursed

Ah, Linda!  Sweet. Devoted. Loyal. But wait! Her last name is Karnstein!  You fans of Hammer horror films know what that means.  Linda is exotic, beautiful, and of course....cursed.  Today we look at 2015's "The Devil of Kreuzberg," a film from Germany and directed by Alexander Bakshaev. Atmospheric with a soundtrack from a Lucio Fulci horror film, after watching this film you will feel compelled to smear blood somewhere.

Absolutely devoted to Jakob (Ludwig Reuter), Linda (Sandra Bourdonnec) is 100 % in love. An author mired in a prolonged slump, Jakob appears to lead an imprisoned existence.  He isn't as into Linda as Linda is into him.  In Jakob, Linda has, what she believes, a key into the world of light.  In Linda, Jakob believes death awaits.  Enter Kurt (Suleyman Yuceer). Kurt and Jakob are best friends. These two perhaps should be more than friends, but the conventions of western civilization dictate that they should just be good friends.  Just as well. Kurt is problematic.  He pays off his debts to gangsters by performing hits on those who don't pay debts.

Now fate knocks on the door.  Linda fights her destiny (...remember, she is a Karnstein). Jakob, sensing Linda is not quite mortal (...how many of us are?) turns to his assassin friend.  Kurt, a very sensitive assassin, fights the path he is going down...but his best friend has asked a favor.  This will all play out in spooky cemetery scenes, a pursuit through a subway station with pseudo pagan designs, and dark and damp streets of Berlin.  No spoilers here.

Fans of horror know not to date someone named Karnstein.  No doubt Jakob wasn't a horror writer. No matter...these three were brought together, we sense, by much more than free will.  This relatively short film (49 minutes) goes at a brisk pace and is always on edge. Very well acted and masterfully directed, "The Devil of Kreuzberg" souldn't be missed.  The ending will chill you, and perhaps keep you up at night fighting those same nightmares Jakob battled.