Bumperkleef (2019) User Reviews

The killer has insane amount of luck

[rudygerst · 5/10 · 23 November 2020]

The first two acts were better than expected. Well filmed, intense and thrilling.

But the movie has no real ending.

It's this kind of movie where you want to slap the characters in the face because of the poor choices they make.

Also, the killer has an insane amount of luck. There's no way he wouldn't get caught multiple times.

The father is such a.....

[xxxxxdarkmoon · 6/10 · 5 May 2022]

...... he is the most annoying person I've ever seen in a film. He actually deserved what happened to him. It would have been a disaster if he hadn't been punished.

Yes, it's his role to be annoying. And he does it perfectly. So much that the viewer's sympathies develop in favour of the villain!

This is an EGO war that the father is waging.

He even jeopardises the health and lives of his children and his wife. With very bad decisions that can all be traced back to his ego.

His Ego focussed personality is revealed for the 1st time on the motorway when another car overtook his car. He started to accelerate while the other car overtook him.

All of the following problems of the movie can be traced back to his ego. And he met the wrong person at the wrong time at the wrong place: the Villain who is punishing people like him.

The message of the film is: one's ego is not a good advisor when making decisions.

Road rage - the Dutch edition

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 20 July 2020]

A man is taking his family on a long car drive in order to visit his aged parents. He's in a foul mood and his temper does not improve upon discovering that traffic is busy and that the other car drivers do not consider him their living god. Over-confident, angry and frustrated, he gets into a quarrel with a tall stranger who's a pest exterminator. Turns out the pest exterminator really, really does not like other people showing him disrespect...

"Bumperkleef" is a Dutch mix of dark comedy and horror. It's basically a movie about a cocksure and unpleasant man defying an even more dangerous man who has raised revenge to the level of an Olympic discipline. Much of the viewer's pleasure comes from the juxtaposition between the wild and crazy (car) pursuits and the pleasantly mundane surroundings. The insane happenings on the screen seem to belong not in a quiet and leafy suburb or in a charming little park, but in one of the most lawless corners of the Wild West.

"Bumperkleef" will also resonate with the many inoffensive car drivers who have found themselves threatened or insulted by some speeding megalomaniac convinced that he's Moses and that traffic should part miraculously whenever he appears.

The movie is sure to get compared, a lot, to Steven Spielberg's "Duel". "Duel" is clearly the better movie - it's a jewel of dark tension and suspense - but this does not mean that "Bumperkleef" is wholly without interest or fun. Anyway, I watched it with considerable enjoyment.

Simple Review

[andrewgrgtwn · 7/10 · 1 January 2021]

Dont usually go for films with subtitles but I'm glad I did this dutch production had lots of tension and excitement you didnt really have to read the subs anyway as the acting and direction was that good you could see what was going on anyway.

My wife and I both scored this a 7 as we throughly enjoyed this movie.

Duel in Dutch

[Coventry · 7/10 · 11 September 2021]

Already half a century old - that's fifty years, folks - and yet Steven's Spielberg's simple debut feature "Duel" is still one of the most influential, unsettling and disturbingly relevant thrillers ever made. In fact, the plot of a banal traffic dispute escalating into a life-altering nightmare is nowadays even more accurate than during the early 70s, since people - and particularly in traffic - have only become more obnoxious, selfish and aggressive over the years.

That's also what the Dutch, and clearly talented, writer/director Lodewijk Crijns must have thought when he penned down his modest but engaging road-rage thriller "Bumperkleef". Apart from the vehicle duel between the robust and clinically white transporter van of the killer and the family Volvo of his victim, the primary duel revolves around who is the most loathsome character. Is it the cruel killer who doesn't even hesitate to spray insecticides at young children, or is it the supposedly sophisticated family father who is too stubborn to admit his mistakes and needlessly puts his wife and kids in danger?

"Bumperkleef" is a solid little thriller from The Netherlands, with genuine moments of suspense and a couple of impressively staged bits of stunt work. The performances from the entire cast (even including the children) are terrific. It is truly regrettable this film didn't doo well at the box-office, and especially that reviewers around here are referring to it as lousy, because "Bumperkleef" honestly is as good as Dutch thriller/horror cinema gets.

Dumbest Protagonist Ever

[dsparks555 · 4/10 · 3 January 2022]

I've watched lots of movies with lots of really dumb characters. But the lead character in this film is the dumbest of all. Every decision he makes is completely idiotic. I feel sorry for his family because they have to suffer due to his really lame decisions. The villain would be much less threatening if the main character had any brains at all. Having said all that the film is watchable and entertaining on some levels.

Strong second act, but unsatisfying experience

[galahad26 · 6/10 · 20 January 2020]

Bumperkleef gave me a negative experience despite it nails you into your seat for a big part of the film. To first mention some positives: villain Ed is really scary and really well performed. The film is directed quite well, the film is quite effective in its horror and the main characters quest for survival.

Still Bumperkleef leaves you unsatisfied and it didn't do well at all at the Dutch box office. The main reason could be that the main characters are just too negative and unsympathetic. They are frustrated people arguing and shouting all the time, which is exhausting in the end. By the time the film is over you leave the cinema with a very negative feeling.

Now characters in general don't need to be sympathetic. The mistake that is made in this film is that there is no compassion or a tender moment the audience share with the characters (see Joker for this - also a dark and negative character, but we engage). There is no love between the characters at all, only anger.

Horror also doesn't need to end on a positive note. Most of the time a horror film ends with the main characters not being able to survive. The mistake is that Bumperkleef lacks a real third act. You cannot make a villain leave for a while and call that a third act. There needs to be some sort of reversal within the hero. Usually, in a third act the main character has either a redemption or makes a turn facing evil (see Spielberg's Duel for this) going against it instead of trying to escape all the time. In Bumperkleef, the audience never share a moment of victory with the main character where he has seemingly conquered evil. The result is that there is no moment of real insight in the hero. And more importantly, no emotion. There seems to be some sort of intended catharsis with the main character going under the shower at the end. But the audience doesn't feel anything there and it actually feels superficial. Like the filmmaker doesn't know his theme or character well enough...

There is also a huge lack of humor in this film. Horror only works for the target audience when it's a form of escapism. Humor is one of the ways to achieve this. Or you can set it into another world or it could be that something happens that is otherworldly, like in Rosemary's Baby. Horror needs this escapism otherwise there is no form of relief (or distance) in the end. Therefore I think it was a mistake to make this film look so realistic. The photography is totally wrong for this film (it looks like 12 Steden, 13 Ongelukken - a cheap Dutch TV-series), and the lack of humor is even more of a mistake (there is some, but not enough). Put that together with the frustration and anger of the main characters, and the film feels too realistic, harsh and confrontational. You can do that in arthouse horror, but not in main stream.

All this leaves you unsatisfied, despite a strong second act.

Brainless Crap

[cescfabulous · 2/10 · 5 January 2021]

This is beyond bad, leave your brain and lock it in a box cause you will not need it to watch this. SPOILERS The wife would have called the cops Why write down a number-plate when you have a mobile phone, don't they have a thing called a camera This weedkiller bloke is on how many cameras, So the idiot Police would not got to the petrol station and get the CCTV footage? And the Police after the wife nearly killed kids and people smashed up property with her driving, would have just just released her? And the car was full of poison, again the Police would just let them drive away and the car was dangerous to drive As soon as they saw they were being followed they would have gone to the Police station not got out and spoken to the psycho. Yes they wanted to make a film, but at least make it half believable And how the F did he work out by the fingerprints the code, as soon as we touch our phones we leave finger-prints, these prints are only on the phone to unlock it, then the other touches would have wiped over them, to lock a phone you don't use the code. what a load of dodo

Quite an exciting and intense movie

[cjc-coppens · 7/10 · 15 October 2020]

I actually liked this movie quite a lot from the start. The opening sequence instantly sets the tension and I found it quite gripping. A bit further into the movie are a couple of situations on the Dutch motorway that are sadly enough quite recognizable. But this also makes the frustration and anger very understandable and you can see things are slowly getting out of control.

Surely there are some situations that are maybe not the most realistic, but if you're looking for that go watch a documentary. It's not less realistic than the average Hollywood movie in my opinion (meaning not too realistic in essence). To me, a good thriller movie can contain some clichés and comedy, als long as it's full of tension. And surely we're terrified of the psychopath.

This movie also let's you think about what is right and wrong, as the main character is clearly flawed in his own ways and certainly had his part in causing the whole situation. It's also not your standard Hollywood happy-ending movie, which for me also is a plus.

Disappointed

[jmat40 · 3/10 · 21 November 2021]

This is just another movie about another unstoppable psychopath.

The wife is is extremely unlikable. She defends or sticks up for everyone except her husband.

Are we supposed to root for the killer?

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 8/10 · 9 July 2022]

The father was such an arrogant POS in desperate need of anger management therapy and his enabling wife only fed his warped ego. As the film progressed I despised him more and more and wanted the psycho to kill him so his innocent little girls are spared being raised by him.

He drives way over the speed limit, tail gates cars on the highway placing his family in danger. You don't drive hazardous like that, especially with children in the back seat. I felt so sorry for those little girls.

Afterwards, he acts all bravado in the gas station actually striking the other driver multiple times and refuses to apologize for his nutty, arrogant behavior.

Everything this moron did placed his family in danger. And towards the end he shows what a coward he actually is when he flees the house from the killer leaving his family and even his parents inside.

He only thinks of himself and it was pitiful seeing him running around the yards like a scared little coward while his family was trapped in the house.

I wanted to badly to see the killer get him, but the movie cuts off before showing us what we've been waiting for. WHY?!

It's all I was looking forward to and the movie deprives me of the pleasure of seeing him get his comeuppance. When the killer told the little girls "This wasn't your doing, it was your Mom and Dad's", he was right. And you could see the girls agreed with him because they didn't alert the cops of his presence when he walked away.

I think the film wants us to root for the killer here, but if we're meant to hate the idiot father, why deprive us of seeing his demise in the end? It was a great suspenseful movie but I would've given an even higher rating for that treat!

Good movie with it's flaws.

[Marten-kamerling-115-164082 · 7/10 · 28 December 2020]

Of course there are some things that absolutely make no sense, by but so do a lot of other Hollywood movies. Maybe dutch people watch their own movies with a lot more criticism than necessary. I am dutch myself and normally dutch horror movies kinda suck, have all the cliches and just not a good story This movie also has that all.... but I still enjoyed this movie a lot. I really wanna know what made Ed all do this, but I really love that none of it is explained.... for all those people that complained about everybody screaming all the time.... sometimes driving around with kids is all this..... now imagine a maniac following you.... Really give this movie a chance!

They are the most stupidest Family in the History of families

[Neptune165 · 3/10 · 8 December 2021]

Total nonsense, that annoyed me the most about this movie. The guy in the van was insane, clearly on the road to provoke people so he could take whatever trauma he had on them. Never apologize by force, only when you yourself feel you need to and especially never bend down to people who live by their own law. Do yourselves a favor and Don't watch this movie. It sucks. The problem is the place where they filmed this movie. In The Netherlands, city with everywhere people around you and phone network! Just call the cops and drive further till the police comes. Totally unrealistic.

Excellent road clash movie..!!

[kamalbeeee · 7/10 · 10 October 2021]

When a protogonist travels with his family unfortunately he make fight with a sadist van driver..then that van driver request him to ask sorry to him..when protogonist refuse to do then movie starts burning like anything.. Excellent acting by all cast.. Good screenplay and photography..!

Must watch thriller..!!

A good simple thriller

[borgcube-67535 · 7/10 · 6 October 2020]

A simple exciting story mostly located on the road. A creepy murderer stalks a family going to their (grand)parents. Very entertaining!

Unwatchable and poorer than poor choices

[kevinvanhelden · 1/10 · 11 October 2020]

It's unbelievable how they manage to write the script in such a way that the main characters seem to react less and less logical to the situation... it's just frustrating to watch...

I can't see why they did what they did...

SIGH!!

[kremicoco · 7/10 · 26 March 2022]

And this is why we can't have world peace and always embroiled in some type of war - MEN. & their fragile testosterone. Jesus! Had I been his wife I would have driven off and left him on the ground. All of that ego from a selfishly weak man. That's not how you protect your family.

Anyway, good movie but I just wanted to scream out of frustration.

Worst Movie I've Seen in a While

[shaquille-23481 · 1/10 · 2 April 2021]

I am Dutch and I was hoping to finally see a good thriller made on Dutch soil. Boy was I wrong.

This is probably the worst "movie" I have seen in years. I do not even want to call it a movie, it is such an immense failure and I honestly have no words for it. The movie starts out decent, and I did enjoy the first 20 minutes.

Once the family starts getting stalked it gets so insanely ridiculous. It's like they were told to make as many bad decisions as possible. It's one senseless decision after the other. The characters are so stupid that you start praying that they get killed but guess what! The killer is a complete clown too and you end up not liking any of the characters. It's like they had a total number of IQ points of 100 to spread out over the cast.

I cannot believe that they made this and thought: "This seems fine.", do not waste your time and watch something else. If you are looking for a road rage stalking movie, go watch Unhinged. That movie is heaps better.

Fine and exciting action thriller.

[johannes2000-1 · 7/10 · 7 September 2021]

All the ingedients are there for a nice action-thriller-horror flick: a good premise that you can relate to (who didn't once in a while react inpatiently at a slow driver in traffic when you're in a hurry!), a solid screenplay and fine acting. The frantic car chasing through the streets of a tranquil suburb is well done and absolutely nerve racking, and the fury, exasperation and at last mortal fear of the family father is very convincingly pictured by actor Spitzenberger, who's unsympathetic character you gradually forgive when he's faced with a relentless and vengeful psychopath. My only reservation concerns the editing: between the action scenes there are too many moments where the pace sags in, I think it all could have been even more dynamic with some careful cutting.

Slapstick

[Yvie81 · 3/10 · 18 December 2020]

Honestly the main character is so annoying that you're almost like "yeah man, you deserve this!" Also, listening to screaming kids, arguing parents and a whining grandmother for an hour or so is not what I usually would call entertaining. Somewhere halfway I said to my partner "ok, now it's turning into slapstick". Need I say more? It did give me some laughs though, but I'm afraid for the wrong reasons..

Wasn't expecting much, but really enjoyed it.

[petemcg-797-298995 · 8/10 · 2 January 2021]

A gripping film from start to finish. It had its plot flaws, as do lots of films of this type - it reminded me of Duel by Steven Speliberg in its ridiculousness, but held my attention to the end.

Tailgating Party of Five

[thesar-2 · 6/10 · 11 December 2021]

If not for Cinema's Absolute WORST protagonist, this would have a much higher rating.

But, since our "hero" is so incredibly dumb, you almost root for the sadistic antagonist. He just wanted an apology, after all.

This road rage thriller's first third is so cliché and predictable, I almost turned it off. But, then, BAM, in the 2nd Act, this movie picks up the tension, there were some genuine scares and it's absolutely suspenseful.

A bickering family of four head to (also, the world's worst) Grandma's house, but the running-behind family encounter a jerk on the road and the driver/father of the family makes his first of about 653 mistakes: he taunts the bad driver. Repeatedly. Well, this man, as you'd see in a tense chase cold open, isn't one you should mess with. He likes to spray humans with enormously poisonous chemicals.

The killer, who's kind of a less scary Anton Chigurh - the bad guy from No Country for Old Men, is alright. He's original enough, even if everything else around him isn't. It's really the dad who will get on your last nerve and is a perfectionist at making the worse decisions. And every time he calms down from one blunder and you forget he's a terrible person, he'll make another. His unwise choices should be this film's drinking game.

If not for the creepy cold open, the much better 2nd act and pretty good conclusion, I'd say skip it. I also really dug the very ending even if it was so foreseen. Just staying through the credits is disturbing. So, it's a recommendation.

***

Final Thoughts: It is a Foreign Film with subtitles, but you know what? It's pretty easy to tell what's going on and they use few words. You can almost ignore the words and still follow the story.

But, if that bothers you, they remade this movie for America the following year (2020) starring Russell Crowe. I did see that movie, Unhinged, first and I gave that one 6/10 Stars, as well. So, I recommend both.

Truly one of the most infuriating movies I have ever seen.

[superdaan · 1/10 · 18 November 2020]

Truly a god awful piece of trash, not one redeeming element. We don't get a lot of Dutch made movies and when we do they're mostly either a romcom or a period piece. A shame coz I'm sure we are able to make way better movies than those. This isn't one of those. 70.000 euros wasted making this that could've been spend on another younger more ambitious filmmaker. I'm truly angry that I watched this.

The characters are all very very very unlikeable. not one redeeming factor. And even if they were likeable, they'd still be morons. Not one decision these people make is smart and the only reason they even got into this scenario was because they're dumb. These people are denser than an 80s slasher teen. Every bit of this movie sucks.

I'm done spending time on it. Not a lot of movies make me genuinely angry enough to write a review. But this one did. So please if you read this and you're wondering if you should watch it, don't, please don't. Watch Us, a better movie about a family getting stalked. Or literally anything else.

About humans and mole rats

[HateHoollywoodNetflix · 7/10 · 16 July 2021]

• We have become a case of manual: the only animal species, together with the mole rat, that exterminates its own individuals.- Franz-Olivier Giesbert, french writer.

Democritus already made a review of this film -All is lost when the bad ones serve as an example and the good ones as a mockery-

From the magnificent Duel to the most recent Savage, we have always had that suspicion. Who is that who has advanced me in full continuous line? Or simply who is driving the car in front? Normally people are not usually psychopaths, but these films remind us that even if it is a 00000.1% probability, there is a psychopath driving a car.

The worst thing about the movie is marriage, which has moments that you almost convince yourself that they deserve it, but those daughters bring us back to reality.

The educated psychopath has her point, not is a being without a face or without morality (even if this morality is wrong).

Enjoyable

[neil-shrubb · 7/10 · 1 February 2021]

Gripping chase-down in which people generally get the treatment they deserve. Plus, it's subtitled so you get the bonus of feeling smug & cultured for watching a basic thriller. Well done, you basically just read a book.