Frightfest 2022: ‘Holy Shit!’ Review

Stars: Thomas Niehaus, Gedeon Burkhard, Rodney Charles, Uke Bosse | Written and Directed by Lukas Rinker

I recently watched Man On A Ledge for the first time but the title for it seemed a bit misleading. Yes, there was a man on a ledge but less than half of the movie seemed to be about and feature that man on the ledge. Now, although not 100% of Holy Shit! (aka Ach du Scheisse!) is focused on this one guy, it would still justify being titled ‘A Man In A Portaloo’.

I actually really enjoy single-location movies, maybe even more so when that location is very small. Whether it be Buried starring Ryan Reynolds, Phone Booth starring Colin Farrell or a movie more similar to Holy Shit! – the low-budget zombie movie Stalled, which takes place almost entirely in a toilet cubicle.

Here, Frank (Thomas Niehaus) wakes up in a portaloo that has been knocked on its side. Not only does he have to deal with the contents of the toilet now covering him and everything surrounding him but he is also feeling a little worse for wear. Mostly because of a nasty cut on his forehead and the fact that his hand has a massive piece of metal that has pierced a hole through his palm and is still stuck in place. He is clearly not having the best of days but there’s more because the location he is in will soon be demolished and he only has one hour to avoid the imminent explosion.

This is only the beginning of what will feel like a long hour for Frank. It does get a lot worse for him. I was kinda shocked (in a good way) at the sheer amount of gore in Holy Shit. There is an extreme amount of blood throughout the movie and it looks suitably disgusting and painful too. I have pretty much seen it all when it comes to horror movies but there’s one particular scene in Holy Shit!, involving that hand wound, that had me truly grimacing at what I was watching. The director does well to keep the shock value of the gore in each moment it is used. Show too much too soon and it dilutes anything that comes after it but that does not happen at all. You will continue to watch with your eyes half closed, your hands gripped and your mouth open!

Niehaus does superbly in a role in which he is alone for much of the movie. Much of the time he is screaming, crying and generally in pain and he does it all very convincingly. And you really feel for him when moments of hope are taken away from him – this happens quite often!

I did like that the filmmakers made sure that the film looked dirty. That might seem like an odd thing to talk about but the movie is at least 90% set in an upturned portaloo. There is urine and faeces everywhere, so it should look disgusting and that’s exactly how it does look. It helps make Frank’s situation as awful as it is and strangely it helps add sympathy to the character. No one ever wants to be in a situation remotely similar.

As far as small singular location movies go, Holy Shit! is one of the most entertaining I have ever seen. Horror fans will be pleasantly surprised just how far Holy Shit! goes to earn that title.

**** 4/5

Holy Shit! screened as part of this year’s Arrow Video London Frightfest.