Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- meditative
- disturbing
- late night horror viewing
- extreme cinema exploration
What critics said
The limited critical response broadly praises the film's meditative intensity, soundtrack, cinematography, and mature engagement with suicide and death, while acknowledging its brutally distressing effect.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film consists of seven episodes, each taking place on a different day of the week and linked by the recurring subject of death.
Every episode is organized around suicide, depression, or violent death, making self-destruction the film's defining concern.
The episodes include gore, suffocation, sadism, castration, and skeleton imagery, supported by the film's underground horror reputation.
Critical reception specifically praises the soundtrack and cinematography while describing the film as strong, meditative, and brutally sad.
Films like The Death King, and why
Theatre of Blood
experimental anthology structure, graphic mortality, and bleak philosophical horror
Nekromantik
transgressive body horror, confrontational violence, and avant-garde grotesquerie
The ABCs of Death
episodic extreme horror with morbid imagery and existential despair
Begotten
meditative death symbolism, austere pacing, and disturbing arthouse horror
Movie Details
- Director
- Jörg Buttgereit
- Release Date
- 1990-01-25
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (79)
Cast
- Heinrich Ebber
- Angelika Hoch
- Hermann Kopp
- Nicholas Petche
- Eva-Maria Kurz
- Bela B.
- Jörg Buttgereit
- Mark Reeder
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- ARROW
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Death King about?
- A seven-part German death ritual turns suicide, bodily violence, and existential despair into stark, transgressive horror tableaux.
- What is The Death King like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Death King as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Death King violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Death King as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Death King?
- The limited critical response broadly praises the film's meditative intensity, soundtrack, cinematography, and mature engagement with suicide and death, while acknowledging its brutally distressing effect.
- Which films are like The Death King?
- Films with a similar feel include Theatre of Blood, Nekromantik, The ABCs of Death, and Begotten.
- How long is The Death King?
- The Death King runs 80 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Death King?
- In United States, The Death King streams on ARROW.
