College sweethearts Brad and Ashley venture into the heartland of Germany. Their romantic holiday takes a sinister turn when encountering a German SS Officer, thrusting them into a psychological vortex revealing there is not always life in a ‘Living Space’.

Ever seen a haunted house movie? Of course you have. Ever seen a human swastika? What do you mean, “no”?

In writer/director Steven Spiel’s feature debut, a romantic holiday takes a dark turn when college lovers Brad and Ashley find themselves stranded in a picturesque German countryside after their car breaks down. They reluctantly attempt to take refuge Rocky-Horror style in an isolated farmhouse nearby, but quickly learn that the house they thought was abandoned holds a dark and violent past. They are thrust into an unending nightmare led by an undead German SS guard as they desperately try to survive the night.

The goal was clearly for the film to be more of a psychological thriller rather than a physical one, until we begin the saga of gore with an almost comically gruesome scene where Brad’s limbs have been mangled into the shape of a swastika. (“It hurts,” he says.) This continues with more and more creepy swastika-themed mutilations and the tragic story of an evil Nazi prick who murdered his whole family after accusing his wife of infidelity. It’s apparent that the ambitious ideas that Living Space wanted to live up to were more cerebral than it was able to achieve–but the effort was there nonetheless.

Complete with a Groundhog Day-esque twist towards the end that explains Ashley’s bizarre premonitions, most of the suspense in Living Space is well-timed but becomes more and more predictable as the film goes on, and ends up having more jump scares and door slams than life with a teenage daughter. The scariest parts of the film were those with actual WWII footage of Nazi rallies. (This is what happens when you hire Jewish writers, HorrorBuzz!)

However, within the haunted house cliches are some nice little creepy touches and details that are worth recognition and make the film compelling. The general idea of a couple being trapped in a haunted place is nothing original, but the historical context of the most chilling and horrific event to ever occur in Germany adds an edge to it that sets it apart from others of its kind.

I’m not a fan of the word “triggered” but I can’t help but say that I was when the time-warp ending brought back memories of quite possibly the worst film I have ever reviewed on this website (Spiel has hopefully never seen a film called Inoperable and probably has too much self-respect and merit as a filmmaker to ever do so). But the space-time continuum that Brad and Ashley find themselves trapped in has a deeper meaning, one that signifies a perpetual mistreatment of women throughout history and men’s accusations of adultery that can turn violent. And though Living Space comes with the expected blunders that come with the package of a debut feature, there are also the ideas and images such as those that make the viewer think, and are what make Spiel an independent filmmaker that should stay on everyone’s radar as he progresses.

Living Space
RATING: NR
Living Space (Trailer)
Runtime: 1hr. 20Mins.
Directed By:
Written By:

About the Author

From humble beginnings as a bisexual art kid who drank more coffee than a 40-year-old author, Remy now holds a BFA in Film Production from Chapman University and is a proud member of the HorrorBuzz team (and still a bisexual art kid who drinks too much coffee). They were first introduced to the world of horror and camp when their grandma showed them The Rocky Horror Picture Show at age 5, and never looked back. When they're not writing cartoons or working on movies, one can spot them in various clubs around Los Angeles performing very, very self-deprecating standup comedy. Howdy ho!