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Attack Of The Lederhosenzombies

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Synopsis

Steve, a young professional snowboarder, ruins a high-paying photo shoot by playing a silly prank. He, his girlfriend Branka and fellow snowboarder Josh are left behind on the mountain. They seek shelter in an après-ski tavern that is hosting an all-night party. Things go from bad to worse when a scientific experiment unleashes an epidemic of zombies and mutant wildlife. This is mostly lost on the local drunkards, as they are not always easy to distinguish from zombies themselves. But Steve, Branka and Josh have to find a way to survive this hellish night.

Technical Information

2016; Austria; Horror, Zombie; 78 minutes; DCP, ProRes; 2.35:1; 5.1 mix; Original Language: English; Dubbed Versions: German

DIRECTOR

Dominik Hartl

WRITER

Dominik Hartl, Armin Prediger

D.O.P.

Xiaosu Han, Andreas Thalhammer

EDITOR

Daniel Prochaska

MUSIC

Paul Gallister

PRODUCTION COMPANY

Fischer Film

PRODUCER

Markus Fischer

Steve

Laurie Calvert

Branka

Gabriela Marcinková

Josh Edlund

Oscar Dyekjær Giese

Rita

Margarethe Tiesel

DOMINIK HARTL

Dominik Hartl studied directing and script writing at the Film Academy Vienna, Austria, and finished his bachelor’s thesis film, “SPITZENDECKCHEN,” a horror-comedy short, in spring 2012. Hartl has realized over a dozen film projects within the past four years as a director, including award-winning works such as the short “IRON & BUTTERFLY” (2009), the music video “GUITARSTRING MARKED FINGERPRINTS” (2010) and the commercial “CUT THE CRAP” (2008) for Greenpeace. He has also worked as an art director for one of the biggest Austrian advertising companies. Besides his film career, Hartl is also involved in several music projects, where he plays the clarinet, saxophone, bass-guitar and synthesizers.

Selective Filmography

Feature Film

2015 Attack of the Lederhosenzombies

2014 Beautiful Girl

Feature Documentary

2010 DropIn

 

Short

2012 Siblings

2012 Vienna Waits For You

2010 Bis einer weint

2008 Das Betonschloss

2008 Iron & Butterfly

2018

LES ÉTRANGES NUITS DU CINÉMA

Mar 26 – Apr 01

2017

POCITY FILM – PRESOVSKY FILM FESTIVAL

Oct 10 – 15

ULJU MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

Sep 21 – 25

TRENTO FILM FESTIVAL

Apr 27 – May 07

FIFF FRIBOURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Mar 31 – Apr 08

FANTASPORTO

Feb 24 – Mar 04

2016

SEVILLE EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL SEFF

Nov 04 – 12

TRIESTE SCIENCE PLUS FICTION FILM FESTIVAL

Nov 01 – 06

FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS

Oct 19 – 23

SITGES FILM FESTIVAL

Oct 07 – 16

 

Hamilton –

FRIGHT NIGHT THEATRE FESTIVAL

Best Special Effects

Oct 01

 

Hamilton –

FRIGHT NIGHT THEATRE FESTIVAL

Special Achievement in MakeUp FX

Oct 01

L’ÉTRANGE FESTIVAL

Sep 07 – 18

FRIGHTFEST

Aug 25 – 31

BUCHEON INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

Jul 21 – 31 (in competition)

GROSSMANN FANTASTIC FILM & WINE FESTIVAL

Jul 12 – 16 (in competition)

 

Porto Alegre –

FANTASPOA FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

Best Feature Film & Best Special Effects

May 29

FANTASPOA

May 13 – 13 (in competition)

BRUSSELS INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

Mar 29 – Apr 10 (in competition)

It´s funny because there are lots of killing !

Very nice critic from Croatia !

2016-07-21

Monitor.hr

The zombie comedy of the year !

A very good critic from Spain !

2016-04-05

Terror Weekend

Great review

Most of us have gotten overly used to regarding most low-budget zombie comedies with liberal doses of suspicion, cynicism, even outright avoidance. And it’s understandable; the last decade or so has seen innumerable heaps of shit bastardising and shaming the foundations laid out by Mr. Romero. There are of course a few shining gems to be dredged from the sea of swill, although all too often, such bright hopes are slapped with a silly comedy title, and lost back into the mush. Here’s hoping that such a fate does not befall snow-capped Austrian flick Attack of The Lederhosenzombies because despite that title, it’s one of the smartest, coolest and most original zombie comedies in years.

Things start on a somewhat pedestrian note for this type of film, with a foolhardy entrepreneur creating a noxious chemical to power his artificial snow machine. Attending a demonstration of the device, a Russian would-be investor gets a face full of the green gas and promptly breaks out in boils and starts spewing green sludge. On the same mountain, snowboarders Steve and Josh, on the brink of a big sponsorship, are shooting a video to seal the deal. Prankster Steve blows it by getting naked for a distinctly unappreciative audience however and the two, together with Steve’s girlfriend, business partner and fellow boarder Branka, are left stranded on the mountain. They seek shelter in a rowdy tavern hosting an end-of-season party where the Russian investor is in attendance, and he’s looking a little worse for wear. As his infection spreads throughout the revellers, our snowboarding heroes find themselves in a bloody fight for survival.

It’s a fairly cut-and-paste plot for a zombie flick and for the first half, it seems like a pretty straight-up zombie film is on the cards, albeit an impressively-shot one with above-par comedic performances. Once we hit the tavern though, the film begins to open up and show its hand. Harsh green and red lighting gives the film’s second act a quasi-surrealist horror quality, and provides a striking contrast to the relentless white of the mountains outside. Our protagonists are back out into the cold come the third act, the night-time blues making for a third distinct aesthetic.

Lederhosen2Visuals aside, Attack of The Lederhosenzombies finds its groove as soon as we enter the tavern largely due to the presence of bar owner Rita, who plays up to the tourists with long blonde plaits and of course, the customary garment of the film’s title. She is quickly revealed as quick-witted and resourceful, taking no shit from her more lewd guests and never without a plan when said excretory matter hits the fan, and it’s a smart play by the script to elevate her to main character status.

What makes writer-director Dominik Hartl’s film so enjoyable, as well as lifting it from the undead pack, is its refusal to settle on mere gore when it comes to the zombie slaying. That’s not to say it holds back however; while the bloodletting is fairly restrained for the most part, the riotous third act ups the ante spectacularly, reaching almost Braindead levels of gore. Gallons of blood is not the film’s raison d’être though, as almost without exception, every kill becomes a glorious gag, making for some genuinely jaw-dropping moments of carnage. In this respect, the film’s tone and comedic approach feel far closer to Peter Jackson’s splatstick classic than they do any 21st century zombie fare. Kills worthy of mention include a zombie getting popped in two by a snowboard’s leverage and one who is sliced wide open, causing everything – and I do mean everything – to fall out.

Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies PosterAt less than 80 minutes and smartly paced, Attack of The Lederhosenzombies never gets the chance to outstay its welcome. It’s a surprisingly quiet zombie film too, even during the scenes of carnage when we are given the chance to drink in the comedic aspects of the violence rather than being pummelled into forced excitement. It is worth highlighting too that during such scenes, the practical effects are massively impressive for this fairly low-budget affair. Ignoring the fact that you’d be hard pushed to spot any zombie actually wearing lederhosen, the silliness of the film’s title endangers it to being pigeonholed with the indistinguishable slew of generic, laugh-free zombie comedies. This would be a real, real shame, as its tone is wildly different to such films and I would implore you not to dismiss it as such. It really feels as though Braindead was a key influence and in the eyes of this viewer at least, Dominik Hartl’s film can sit proudly with the very best the genre has to offer.

Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)

2016-07-27

Scream Horror Mag.

MARKUS FISCHER

After finishing high school (1979) and job training, Markus Fis­cher began working as a cinematographer. In 1988 he passed the state-certified producer exam and founded Fischer Markus Film­produktion, based in Linz, Upper Austria. 

In 1998, Markus Fischer decided to take a further step towards more independence and founded the Vienna-based Fischer Film GmbH. 

With this company, it is Fischer’s goal to develop and produce Aus­trian films by well known filmmakers, as well as by young and tal­ented writers, directors and artists and also European Co-Produc­tions. Markus Fischer is a member of the “aafp – Association of Austrian Film Producers,” the Association of the Music and Film Industry Austria, and an EAVE graduate (Les Entrepre­neurs de l’Audiovisuel Europeen).

Selective Filmography

Feature Film

2014 Kafka, Ganja, Maniacs

2007 Midsummer Madness

2005 Fremde Haut

2004 Fräulein Phyllis

 

Feature Documentary

2012 Slatin Pascha

2011 Gas Monopoly