Violent Shit. The grandaddy franchise that kickstarted low budget German Extreme Cinema.

Violent Shit. Yes, that is what this franchise is called. Despite being an obscure little bunch of insane splatter films, the franchise actually carries with it some historical significance. Throughout the 1980s Germany had a serious problem with censorship in films. Meaning that any film with blood in it, even classics that we take for granted had to be cut to pieces before being shown. Out of sheer frustration and desire to fight back against this ridiculous situation. Many horror fans scraped together some cash, hired camera equipment and created their own blood splattered, ultra violent masterpieces. One of the most famous and pioneering of these was the Violent Shit franchise directed by the German Blood Demon himself Andreas Schnaas. These films were instrumental in kickstarting the German Micro-Budget Splatter Film sub-genre which still persists today.

As the picture at the very top of this document depicts, you can buy the Violent Shit Collection: Five Film Collectors Shitition on dvd. I bought mine off Amazon for a pretty decent price. As such, I will go through each of the four Violent Shit films one by one and state why I love this franchise far more than anyone should. I cannot tell you how many times I was watched this series through. Although the collection does contain another film by Andreas Schnaas called Zombie 90: Extreme Pestilence. I won`t be covering that one as it isn`t a Violent Shit movie fun as it is. So, lets get to it.

Violent Shit. Oh man... It`s very hard to find words for this one. It`s awesome, I love it to death but... It is so damn simple its hard to put words to it... Okay, Violent Shit 1 begins with a small child playing at the park. He then heads home and is beaten by his mother, who he kills with a knife. We then cut to a few years later where he is now a loony adult being driven to what I presume is an Asylum. But he manages to break free, murder the guards and spends the rest of the film going on a gloriously bloody and crazy spree through the woods. It really is as simple as that, and I love every blood soaked second of it. Despite its graphic violence and unsettling atmosphere, the film is undeniably charming in its own brutal, offensive, provocative kind of way.

The gore is very impressive for the teeny weeny budget this film had. The practical effects were done by the director himself Andreas Schnaas who also starts as the killer K. The Butcher Shitter or Karl the Butcher as he is more popularly known. There are other interesting aspects to the film as well. I won`t spoil too much but some of the religious imagery is very creepy and the grainy old camera really helps give this film its raw and in your face vibe. As well as that ambient synth heavy soundtrack throughout that always manages to get stuck in my head.

So yeah, that is basically all I can say about the film without giving it all away. It`s brain-dead gory mayhem, in short it rips ass! And you should totally go watch it.

Violent Shit II: Mother Hold My Hand. This is by far the Violent Shit movie I have watched the most often. It has the same insane, brain-dead gory mayhem as the first but with a little bit more story and a much more intimidating killer. But I`m getting ahead of myself.

Violent Shit II: Mother Hold My Hand takes place Twenty Years after Violent Shit 1 where after the death of Karl the Butcher in the first film, his lover was left to raise their child alone. All these years she has been training him into what he has now become. Karl the Butcher Jr. The more ruthless of the two by far. Throughout the film we get to see Karl Jr. ( again played by Andreas Schnaas) dispatch unsuspecting victims in new, exciting and downright savage ways and I love it all. Be-headings, dismemberment`s, torture and even some good old guns, this film has it all. And even an ominous ending. Spoilers I guess, Karl Jr. returns home from shooting up a local porn theater only to find his mother has been decapitated, her last words are "You`re father is back!"

As I said I by far watch this one the most often due to its brutal chaos, and in my opinion more interesting killer. I love this one and so should you!

Violent Shit 3 Infantry of Doom. This is where things get weird, and in a good way. This film is every bit as gory and insane as the others, but the tone is much more playful, especially near the end.

Violent Shit 3 Infantry of Doom begins with three men stuck out at sea in a small yacht. By chance one day they find an island and head ashore to find help or at least some food. Not long after they are approached by a large group of people wearing the iconic Butcher mask. They kidnap the three men and take them to their village. The men are horrified to see that Karl the Butcher and Karl Jr. have started a cult on this island and they do not like trespassers. After an unfortunate altercation leading to the death of one of the three men. The other two along with an exiled member of the cult are set free to run and hide until the next day where they will be hunted down by the Butcher Cult. Things play out more or less how you would expect for a while. They fight of some Butchers, steal weapons etc. After the other two men are killed however is where things get odd. The former cult member is approached by two other former members who all inexplicably know Kung Fu. Then the cult`s own mad scientist sends Zombies and Ninjas to kill them.

Yes... This film is THAT insane and my god its entertaining! This was the most popular of the Violent Shit movies and it is a pretty damn fun watch. Though it does have some crazy violent scenes, but then again, that`s exactly why we watch these films. I remember having no idea what to make of this one when I first saw it, as the change of tone between the first two films to the last two films can be downright jarring. But Violent Shit 3 Infantry of Doom has grown on me like a tumor and now I love it just as much as the others.

Last but not least Violent Shit 4.0 Karl the Butcher vs. Axe (for the purpose of this I will be refering to the film as Violent Shit 4). Ah, now we approach the really fun stuff. This film is about as crazy as Infantry of Doom if not ever more.

This film is set in the distant future of 2023. The world is in ruin and all territory and supplies are owned by vicious gangs. However, all of these gangs are fearful of a masked, ax wielding man by the name of Axe who is wiping out gangsters left and right. Karl the Butcher Jr. is summoned from the depths of hell to kill Axe. And of course insane and bizarre chaos ensues.

Violent Shit 4 is a ton of fun from start to finish that had me both laughing and cheering the whole time.

All in all, the Violent Shit franchise is an extremely entertaining and fun journey through depraved violence and crazy old school action. I highly recommend these films to horror fans and especially exploitation film fans like myself. I had a ton of fun with these films and hope you will too.