Written and directed by Dick Maas (Silent Witness; The Shaft), the cult classic action-thriller AMSTERDAMNED comes to DVD for the first time ever in the UK this September, totally uncut, courtesy of Nouveaux Pictures and Cine-Excess.
Rarely seen in the two decades since its original release, AMSTERDAMNED was a box office sensation in its home territory of the Netherlands and quickly established itself as a cult favourite amongst horror and thriller fans elsewhere in the world.
When the brutally mutilated body of a hooker is discovered suspended from a bridge in the heart of Amsterdam’s popular tourist district the city’s police fear the worst. Within days further murders confirm their suspicions – a serial killer is on the loose and is using the vast network of canals to traverse the city before dragging unsuspecting victims to their watery graves and escaping detection by hiding in the darkness beneath the surface.
Fearing an outbreak of mass hysteria and a serious blow to the tourist trade should the news break to the public, the mayor demands swift action from the authorities. The police respond by assigning their best man, Detective Visser (Hube Stapel), to the case. Figuring the killer must be someone with scuba diving experience, Visser begins his investigation at the city’s principal sub-aqua club where he meets and befriends an attractive woman diver, Laura (Monique van de Ven), and her therapist, who was also once a diving enthusiast. Meanwhile, as the body count begins to rise, Visser’s adolescent daughter and her school friend have unwisely decided to try and track down the killer themselves.
Directed with considerable flair by Dick Maas, AMSTERDAMNED is a taut, suspenseful thriller boasting a rich vein of black humour (in particular some humorous nods to “Jaws”) and several memorable set-pieces, including a much-lauded and extremely gripping speedboat chase through Amsterdam’s narrow waterways.
AMSTERDAMNED (Cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£19.99) by Nouveaux Pictures on 28th September 2009. Special Features include: “Making of” featurette; Dutch (with English subtitles) and English dub audio options; Dutch trailer; English trailer.