No Reason (2010)

One of the more more interesting discussions to be had regarding film violence is the individualistic way in which certain filmmakers approach bloodletting. For instance, the violent setpieces in the films of Dario Argento have long been recognized for their baroque, painterly quality, so immaculately composed that even the more horrific scenarios take on a air of beauty. Contrast that with Lucio Fulci, who once opined that “Violence is Italian art.” Fulci's violence could be brutally realistic in a film like The New York Ripper (1982) but the free-form narrative of a film like The Beyond (1981) took the gore into an otherworldly surreal realm. Paul Verhoeven has been known to use over-the-top violence in a satirical manner in films like RoboCop (1987) and Starship Troopers (1997) whereas Takashi Miike does the same in a film like Ichi the Killer (2001) but takes the violence into unnerving territory in Audition (1999) and Imprint (2006). As one of the forefathers of German splatter, extreme gore became Olaf Ittenbach's calling card from his very first film Black Past (1989). Ittenbach's approach to gore is often so gratuitous, not to mention innovative, that the violence in his films can often seem surrealistic in it's excess. Combining his trademark gore with an esoteric plot, 2010's No Reason stands as one of Ittenbach's most ambitious and potent films, and a work bound to alienate even seasoned splatter defenders.

In the process of moving out of their apartment building, the happily married Jennifer (Irene Holzfurtner) and Sebastian begin their day like any other. After Sebastian leaves for work, Jennifer drops her son Nico off at her elderly neighbors before doing some shopping, though when she returns her day takes a turn for the worse when the neighbor, along with her son, has inexplicably gone missing. Worse yet, Jennifer is sent photos of her husband and another woman in their building in bed. In an attempt to calm down and clear her mind, Jennifer slips into the bath and falls asleep, only to wake up covered in blood and surrounded by dismembered body parts, greeted by an imposing figure in a tentacled mask who proceeds to lead Jennifer through various levels of a hellish netherworld.

No Reason is and isn't a typical Ittenbach film. While the gore effects are, as always, up to Ittenbach's high standard and would be pretty difficult to mistake for the work of anyone else, it's the story that makes the film so peculiar. Ittenbach was no stranger to off-center storytelling, but even still No Reason is a markedly different, transcendental kind of story for Ittenbach. Over all, the biggest thing that separates No Reason from the Ittenbach films that came before it would be tone. Even Ittenbach's darkest minded films feature bits of his humor tossed about the film, but save for one very brief moment early on, No Reason is an exceptionally grim affair. Setting aside the violence for a moment, the film is smothered in a thick, morose atmosphere from the very beginning. Even the early scenes of Jennifer as a happily married family woman have a slight air of unease to them given the horror Jennifer is about to endure and the more Jennifer's ordeal goes on and the more Ittenbach reveals about her character, the film darkens in tone even more. Admittedly the true nature of what Jennifer is put through isn't entirely surprising, but it's the ordeal itself at the center of the film, Ittenabach's method of depicting it making the film all the more curious. Having each “level” of the hellish netherworld be based upon one color, Ittenbach baths the screen in red, green and blue, the “green level” being the films highlight, a Hellraiser-esque S&M nightclub.

As stylish and colorful as the film is and as much as Ittenbach astonishes in the gore department, presenting a range of atrocities and even some grotesque creatures, the weight of the film rests on the shoulders of Irene Holzfurtner who carries the heaviness of the material, going the extra mile emotionally and physically. Throughout the course of her torments, Holzfurtner displays more or less every emotion a performer can muster but for 99.9% of the film Holzfurtner is completely nude yet given the context of everything is never eroticized. It's also worth noting that both Takashi Ishii's A Night in Nude: Salvation (2010) and David Blyth's Wound (2010) were also released the same year as No Reason and both feature extremely harrowing performances, with their leading ladies, Hiroko Sato and Kate O'Rourke respectively, both spiraling into a psychological abyss. Holzfurtner's turn in No Reason is easily on par with both, though obviously the films are wildly different from each other save for their unflinching transgressions and all three having been made by filmmakers who have carved out a niche for themselves by dividing audiences. With No Reason, Ittenbach is at his most divisive. The gore will no-doubt please the extreme horror crowed who will possibly be bored with the narrative concepts which might get the film some appreciation from splatter detractors that will be put off by the violence. Quite the accomplishment.