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SOURCE-Shudder streaming service
I read about this film in Fangoria. It sounded pretty good so I hoped that it might play a theater near me. That didn't happen. A year later I see it is getting a VHS release. So went to the 8 video rental stores I had memberships at. None of them had it or could/would get it. Since 1990 have searched for it on cable...nope never caught it. Figured I just wouldn't see this film and kinda forgot about it.
Then earlier this year I got the Shudder streaming service. Was adding stuff to my list and started with the letter A. Saw they had Amsterdamned and was pretty happy. Added it to my list thinking I would watch it in a few days.
Well a few days became 5 months later. I needed something to watch today. Was going through my various lists on the streaming services I use. Saw Amsterdamned and started it up.
In the city of Amsterdam there is a serial killer on the loose. And he is wearing a full frogman suit and has a harpoon and a sharp as fuck knife to kill with. Using the canals to get around,this killer leads the lead detective on a wild chase.
This plays out like a mystery. With the audience and the detective trying to figure out who the killer is. Plus there is a beautiful woman that our lead ends up hooking up with. Yep this is pretty much a Dutch Giallo.
THe kills and their aftermaths are so well filmed and staged. With the very first one and it's aftermath being my favorite. The killer grabs a hooker on her way home from the brothel she works at. After killing her,she is hung from a bridge over one of the canals. Then the next morning as a boat,with a glass roof,full of tourists goes by the body slides down the glass roof leaving a bloody mess.
I looked and saw that Blue Underground has released a Blu Ray/DVD combo of the film. And I enjoy it enough I am going to buy it sometime soon.
Now like most giallos you have to deal with some things that might bother some viewers. Like bad dubbing. And there is some bad dubbing in this movie. Almost as bad as the little blonde boy in House by the Cementary. Thankfully the script is fairly coherent. And the FX work is really good.
Amsterdamned gets a B.
