La Petite Mort II: Nasty Tapes is a 2014 splatter horror film, written and directed by Marcel Walz with additional writing from Annika Strauss. The film is a continuation of the gory horror thriller La Petite Mort (2009), also written and directed by Marcel Walz (check out our review of the first film here).
The film follows the owners of the infamous “Maison de la Petite Mort” as they complete their daily work. After the shocking events in part one, you’ll never guess what the new owner, Monsieur Matheo Maximè, is up to, but it involves torturing for money at its very worst.
Contrary to its prequel, La Petite Mort II decides to drop any inkling of a story to instead present itself as a “documentary Blu-ray” sold by the murder club displaying vignettes of previous services provided to their happy clientele along with testimonies and some behind the scenes interactions between staff. Although the premise of the first film was paper-thin at times, its sequel’s lack of real narrative is certainly noticeable throughout. This absence of direction relegates the film to what the original narrowly avoided—torture porn. Nevertheless, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many films that fall under this category, such as numerous titles in the Saw series, still deliver an enjoyable experience to some viewers. However, the bitchy interactions between the club’s staff that break up the scenes of torture become slightly monotonous at times, rarely adding anything beneficial to the overall production.
When a film falls into this category, its saving grace is its implementation of some grisly practical special effects and it’s assured that La Petite Mort II delivers in this department. Provided this time by Megan & Ryan Nicholson, the effects exhibit an undeniably savage realism to the torture. A multitude of scenes featuring unspeakable acts of sadism is delivered by the hands of latex-clad beauties for all to discern, executing far more inventive punishments than spotlighted in the first film. Despite this, these effects have an overall sterile feel to them when compared to their predecessor, lacking the visual veracity of practical effects that wizard Olaf Ittenbach, who provided the effects in La Petite Mort (2009), is notable for.
In terms of cinematography, La Petite Mort II contains varying levels of technique, from gritty handheld shots to more polished and stylized sequences. While this inconsistency can be jarring at times, it ultimately serves to enhance the unsettling atmosphere and disorient the viewer.
Falling slightly short of the original, La Petite Mort II: Nasty Tapes is still an interestingly unique and unapologetically unsettling cinematic experience that achieves challenging societal and cinematic norms. With its magnificently naturalistic levels of gruesome special effects and respectable performances from the cast, this 84-minute behind-the-scenes look at your favourite murder-for-pay club is sure to satiate fans of the original and gore-hounds alike!
La Petite Mort II: Nasty Tapes (2014) is available to pre-order from Unearthed Films Website here
More from the Purveyors of Extreme Cinema
Taking place after the bloody conflict in The Princess of the Never-Ending Castle, “Twelve Sisters” (shortened for sake of sanity) takes another trip to the mind-bending world of branching realities… The generally agreed definition of a snuff film is a real (not staged) filmed murder. In some cases, it is viewed for the purpose of arousal. However, this is somewhat… The Old Man: The Movie (Vanamehe film) is a 2019 Estonian stop-motion animation, written and directed by Oskar Lehemaa and Mikk Mägi with additional writing from Peeter Ritso. The film… TetroVideo unveils posters, images, and trailer for “XXX Darknet: Red Lips”— an extreme anthology film Gorehounds and TetroVideo released the new posters, images, and trailer for the upcoming XXX Darknet: Red… Deadgirl (2008) is an American extreme horror film written by Trent Haaga and directed by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel. Beginning his directing career with It’s Better to Be Wanted… Keepsake! is a 2019 American gore horror short, written and directed by Nathan Hine. The short was produced by Hardgore Core Productions, known for their low-budget splatter productions such as…
The Twelve Sisters of the Never-Ending Castle (2021) Manga Review – Guts in Knots
Top 15 Pseudo-Snuff Films – Diamonds In The Snuff
The Old Man: The Movie (2019) Film Review – “Adventures, Robots, Explosions”
TetroVideo unveils posters, images, and trailer for XXX Darknet: Red Lips
Deadgirl (2008) Film Review – An Intriguing Re-imagining of the Zombie Genre
Keepsake! (2019) Film Review – Paint the Town Red
Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.