Cut Off review: Germany gets its answer to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Christian Alvart’s take on the crime thriller.
CUT OFF_© 2018 Warner Bros. Ent. Zieglerfilm Köln Foto Stefan Rabold
Based on the best-selling novel by Sebastian Fitzek and Michael Tsokos, Cut Off (Abgeschnitten in its original language) is a German language serial killer thriller. Paul (Run Lola Run‘s Moritz Bleibtreu) is a headstrong forensic scientist whose world comes crashing down around him when he discovers his teenage daughter Hannah’s phone number inside of one of his corpses. It transpires that Hannah has been kidnapped and this leads Paul down a dark path as he goes to extreme lengths to get her back, no matter the cost.
In many respects, Cut Off is Germany’s answer to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Instead of Lizbeth and Michael, Cut Off offers us Paul and Linda. They’re an interesting duo who spend most of the film in completely different locations, communicating via phones. Despite the distance and them being strangers, they compliment each other perfectly and help each other become better. It’s an interesting dynamic to watch unfold on screen, one that is buoyed by great central performances. Jasna Fritzi Bauer shows a quiet ferocity to Linda, a young woman in hiding from her dangerous ex. She’s a character that audiences instantly align with. In some ways she is the personification of us, the audience, as her responses to some events mirrors that of our own. Moritz Bleibtreu has the harder job of getting sympathy for Paul. Granted he’s going through a parent’s worst nightmare, but that’s where his redeeming features end…at least in the beginning. Bleibtreu has been dealing knock-out performance after knock-out performance for years, and frankly, it’s rather criminal that Hollywood hasn’t taken notice yet.
A good crime thriller is only as good as its villain, and Lars Eidinger is so believable I’m hoping to never cross paths with him. His character is truly terrifying and maniacal. There’s an eerie sense of calm to his character, and whilst we don’t see much of the torment, he lays on his victims an early line from one, ‘you can do what you want, but please can we use condoms?’ is stomach-churning and instantly turns the blood to stone. It so simply implies and conveys the horror that this young woman has had to endure and paints him as a villain for the ages.
Cut Off is a slickly made thriller that hits all the expected beats of a serial killer drama. Expect twists, turns, revelations, and red herrings as director Christian Alvart expertly guides you towards the finale. It might hit all the expected tropes, but Alvart does it with such finesse that all is easily forgiven.
Cut Off was reviewed at Arrow Video Frightfest 2019.
