Amsterdamned (1988)

There's a psychopathic skindiver at large in the canals of Amsterdam, slaughtering at random - a hooker, some anti-pollution activists, a Salvation Army collector - and defying the police. Inspector Visser (Huub Stapel), a cop with a neo-beard and a leather jacket, is put on the case, and divides his time between autopsies, cynical dialogue and romancing a museum attendant. The diver keeps killing, and his stunts get more daring, including a high-speed powerboat chase around the canals and some spectacular splatter. Dick Maas, who made The Lift, has obviously been charged by the Dutch tourist board to get as much of Amsterdam on screen as possible. This doesn't manage to work in any tulips, but it does have a windmill scene, some Flemish old masters, lots of canals, plenty of pretty locations and some discreet red-light district footage. Like The Lift, Amsterdamned - great title, by the way - take scare to shore up its all-action thrills with some well-thought-out character drama, and is lucky enough to have personable stars in Stapel and Monique Van De Ven to carry it off. The identity of the killer is a shade guessable, and some characters persist in doing silly things to keep the suspense up, but there is more than enough straight action to make up for those lapses. The powerboat chase alone is worth the price of admission, but there's an added bonus car chase, some prowling in the sewers, a nasty trick with a speargun and a good bit of wino-drowning to keep the attention. They ought to make films like this in London.
KIM NEWMAN

First published in City Limits (issue unknown).

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