Nikos the Impaler backdrop
Nikos the Impaler poster

NIKOS THE IMPALER

2003 • DE HMDB
March 8, 2003

Due to a botched robbery attempt, a ruthless Romanian barbarian is somehow resurrected in modern day New York and begins wreaking havoc on a small Manhattan art-house. Chaos ensues as the patrons of the establishment band together to fight for their lives.

Cast

Joe Zaso, Felissa Rose, Andreas Schnaas, Antonio Tomahawk, Jasi Cotton Lanier, Darian Caine, Lloyd Kaufman, Debbie Rochon, Tina Krause, Frank Franconeri
Horror Commedia Thriller

REVIEWS (1)

FP

Federico Parzianello

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New York. A museum holds an original exhibition on artifacts related to the most ruthless and cruel men in history. One of them is Nikos, whose artifact is a mask. Following an attempted theft, the curse of the mask comes to life, bringing Nikos back and allowing him to continue his massacre, started centuries ago. The last work by the famous ultra-gore German director Andreas Schnaas (dated 2003), "Nikos the impaler", is certainly not the most successful. Compared to his earlier works, the technical aspect has improved (it didn't take much, to be honest), especially regarding photography and editing. The direction remains quite monotonous and not particularly impactful. The story is based exclusively on the perpetuation of Nikos's murders, without any psychological depth of the characters, who are totally stereotypical, and does not shine with originality, although it must be admitted that the film, seen for what it is (that is, a carnival of blood and violence, albeit in smaller quantities compared to works such as the "Violent Shit" trilogy), can also entertain the viewer who is more of a fan of the splatter side of horror cinema. Some special effects are really successful (like the murder of an old lady, literally opened from top to bottom by Nikos's sword), while some are really crude and poorly cared for, like the blood, which is... orange! It is very fun to discover the various references to horror/splatter films (some of which are works by Schnaas himself), present in the posters hanging on the walls of the sets or on the DVD shelves of the stores where Nikos commits his nefarious deeds. Also nice is the cameo by Lloyd Kaufmann, historic producer of "Troma". The ending, bad and totally disconnected from the rest of the story, involves ninjas (a true passion of the German director), satanic evocations, and even... Nazism, with a funny reincarnation of Hitler! "Nikos the impaler" was distributed in the symbolic number of 6,666 copies, but what is most surprising is not the number, but the fact that the film was produced! This gives us an idea of how horror cinema is considered in other countries, while in Italy there is (alas) a deeply rooted persecution against genre cinema. A film that can be safely avoided, unless you are a die-hard splatter fan... but really die-hard! Also known by the title "Violent shit 4 - Nikos".