Dungeon Girl, the latest in a long series of cinematic train wrecks made by cult director Ulli Lommel, looks to be an attempt to cash in on the garish real-world case of Austrian Natascha Kampusch, whose kidnapping and 8 years of imprisonment became the stuff of worldwide headlines back in 2006.

Unlike other cheap true-crime thrillers, though, Dungeon Girl fictionalizes the concept. In it, we're introduced to Schatzi, an unhappy 12-year-old girl who is abducted by a stranger stalking her home. She's imprisoned by the man at his isolated rural home until her 18th birthday - although imprisoned isn't quite the right word. Schatzi seems to fall for this man (she often refers to him as "my stranger") and makes little effort to reach the outside world.

And that's about it. Dungeon Girl, despite its prurient concept, is one bad and boring movie. Much of the film is comprised of staring.

That's right, staring.

Characters stare at each other. They stare at the camera. They stare at television. They stare at the woods when outside. And sometimes, they even stare at nothing at all.

While the characters stare, Schatzi provides dull, meandering narration in a near monotone as she lets the viewers in on her thoughts and memories. Strangely, Schatzi is played by Wendi Jean Linn but narrated / voiced by Gwen Trevathan.

Interspersed with the characters' stares are grainy flashbacks to Schatzi's father and his suicide, her mother and her uncle, and a boy who was her first crush. I'm guessing that these scenes are supposed to flesh out Schatzi's character and motivation. They don't, however.

And then, there's the stranger himself. He seems fascinated by witches and dolls. One perverse scene that does work is of his, ahem, interplay with a doll - replete with black gloved hands, it's reminiscent of Dario Argento. Unfortunately, the footage is re-used repeatedly and loses impact by the third go-round. A scene involving the burning of a witch shows up every 20 minutes or so as well. The main characters both ponder whether Schatzi is a witch, although why they do so isn't explained.

Ultimately, I'm not sure I have much else to say about this film. It seems more like a film student's thesis than a movie created by a director in the business for decades. Cheaply made, Dungeon Girl is an 81-minute exercise in tedium. Just skip it.

The DVD

Video:

Lionsgate describes the video presentation of Dungeon Girl as "16x9 Widescreen 1.78:1 DVD screen format," and that's what you get. It is anamorphic. The image looks grainy and fuzzy - and there's a lot of image noise.

Sound:

The only audio track is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Surprisingly, it doesn't sound too bad. Dialogue is clear, and the experimental score - heavy on keyboards - comes across well. The holiday standard "What Child Is This?" never sounded creepier. However, like the repetitive footage, by the third time you hear it, it's lost its appeal.

Subtitles are available in Spanish.

Extras:

Trailers automatically precede the main menu for Raising Jeffrey Dahmer, Borderline Cult, Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck, Curse of the Zodiac, and Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield. They're also available collectively through an Also from Lionsgate link in the menu system, and a separate link provides the trailer to Dungeon Girl.

Lionsgate has released many better direct-to-video films without extras, making the fact that a film like Dungeon Girl got a commentary track and other goodies seem somehow disheartening. In any case, there's a director's commentary track that also includes actor Gunter Zeigler, producer Nola Roeper, and editor Christian Behm (credited as Xgin). In addition, a Stills Gallery provides images from the film.

Final Thoughts:

Move along. There's nothing to see here.

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