Amsterdamned: Misterio en los canales

Dutch director Dick Maas clearly has a flair for entertainment. This serial killer film is lifted above the norm by a series of fantastic sequences; from creepy murder scenes to a hilariously over the top speed boat chase through the canals of Amsterdam, Amsterdamned is a delight to watch from start to finish. It goes without saying that this film takes place in Amsterdam, and it would appear that the film is something of a love letter to the great Dutch city. Amsterdam's streets make for an excellent horror location, while the canal shots are what really give the film its originality. Maas also gives us sequences in which the reputation of the city is discussed. Personally, I love the location shots of this film; having visited Amsterdam a couple of times myself, it's nice to recognise where the film is taking place. The plot is basically your run of the mill serial killer yarn, but it's lifted above the norm because of the fact that the murderer himself is water-based. Amsterdam's canals make for his home, as the murderous diver drags anyone who comes too close to the river to their doom. We follow the trail of murders and the police investigation into the crimes.

The film runs at around 105 minutes; a running time that would usually lead to me saying is too long for this sort of film. However, despite the fact that the film plays from what is a very basic plot, it never becomes boring. Dick Maas bombards the audience with stunning location shots, deliriously entertaining sequences and some very sinister moments of horror to ensure that Amsterdamned never becomes trite or dull - and besides, every time there's a danger of the film going downhill, our competent director is on hand with another grisly murder sequence! For a film that runs so freely, it's surprising that it's actually not all that messy. Maas blends several different styles together, but the plot always stays on course. The atmosphere is always foreboding as it is made clear that the murderer could strike at any time. I've got to say that I was a little disappointed by the end, however. After a brilliant 100 minutes, Maas sees fit to tack on an ending that feels very trite and overly used. However, the build up to this let down is fantastic and by the time it comes to the ending, it doesn't really matter how it ends because you've just witnessed what is one of the finest films ever to come out of the Netherlands. Personally, I loved every minute of this great film and really can't recommend it highly enough!

A serial killer is stalking victims in the famous Amsterdam canals. Can a young detective save the city from being Amsterdamned?

The films opens with a very convincing stalking scene with an unknown assailant swimming around the canals. The monster claims their first victim, a prostitute who is walking the dark, desolate streets late one night. She is brutally stabbed and then strung up in the canals for a tour group to find the next morning while their boat rides through. We meet a police detective named Visser who is assigned to the case

Visser investigates a local scuba diving facility where he meets a beautiful woman named Laura. They spark a relationship immediately. Meanwhile, the serial killer claims a few more victims along the way. Most are stabbed and dragged into the canal to die. Visser begins to feel the pressure from the police commissioner and mayor as they are terrified what these murders will do for the public image and tourism in Amsterdam. Will Visser stop the psychopath?

I really like Amsterdamned a lot as a late 80's slasher for many reasons. One, the filming locations. I found the canals and dark alleys/streets surrounding it to be an eerily perfect place for the killer to stalk their victims. Another is that the POV stalking scenes of the killer are top notch. They are done in such a creepy way, Dick Maas deserves a lot of credit for the work on them. They create a lot of on the edge of your seat tension and terror. Also, this movie looks REALLY good for being done in 1988 in terms of picture quality. The one major negative for me was killer reveal and the ending. It all just felt a bit rushed.

I highly recommend Amsterdamned to any horror fan. It is a slick and high quality late 80's slasher flick with amazing stalking POV scenes and some gore as well. The ending is a bit of a mess for me, but the acting and scares makes this a must see.

8/10

This movie is often discarded as a wannabe action/suspense movie and even though I'm not a big fan of Dutch cinema I have to give it credit for the daring stunts and the way they make fun of our capital city. There's nothing in the world like Dutch humour.I was afraid to walk next to the canals when I saw this movie (note I was 9 at the time)

The first time I saw this film was when I was 16, when they released the film in the U.S. At the time, I was a more or less a huge horror fan, so I decided to check it out. This film was awesome in terms of stunts and camerawork. The plot is somewhat typical of a serial killer/slasher film, but give Dick Maas credit. He did a splendid job with this film. I caught the film on TV last year and taped it. Every chance I get, I'll pop in it and watch the film. Kudos to Dick Maas and his team.

Like I say in my comments on "De Lift", this is particularly funny for Dutch-aholics. A lot of the scenes are references to Dutch famous people, or will later become references to those.

The Bond-like chase through the canals of "Amsterdam", is one of the most famous scenes, and is up to Hollywood standard. Huub Stapel is again the best choice for the leading character "Eric Visser", charming, tenacious, and this time single. The comic relieves are numerous in this movie, but the best to me are the scenes where Stapel's daughter Anneke and her friend Willy try to find the killer through telepathy. And luckily Dick Maas doesn't resort to an old Hollywood trick, and let them solve the whole thing.

Unfortunately, the whole industry in Europe is only interested in making "interesting, and challenging" movies. Movie making in Europe should be about the art, not about the money, according to the critics. The result, however, is that most movies from Europe are either depressing to the point of throwing yourself from a tall building, or completely incomprehensible, or just boring. There are a few great exceptions to the rule, and this is certainly one of them.

For those who saw it in 1988 in a theater, and happened to be in a theater that (as is usual in Holland) puts in a break half way through the movie, so they can scam you out of your money selling over priced drinks (okay different story), you might remember one of the best finishing touches to a movie ever seen: the hand that shoots out of the water, holding a strawberry ice cream cone! That actually had me about 5 inches of my seat.