FORKLIFT DRIVER KLAUS – THE FIRST DAY ON THE JOB (2000)

BY ALEX DAVIS 

DIR. STEFAN PREHN AND JORG WAGNER,  Germany, 10 mins
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If there's anywhere that we've frequented in Europe more than any other country, it would likely be Germany. With legendary extreme directors such as Marian Dora and Jorg Buttgereit emerging from the country, as well as many other individuals that divide opinion such as Olaf Ittenbach and Timo Rose, it's a nation with a proud tradition in the field and lots of quantity as well as a fair bit of quality. However it's fair to say that it's not a country that I would readily associate with horror-comedy, so it was a pretty pleasant experience stumbling upon this one. I've always rather enjoyed short films, so Forklift Driver Klaus – The First Day On The Job immediately spoke to me in many respects. And I have to add this was a pretty fun way to while away ten minutes of your time – especially if you've ever encountered the professional menace that is health and safety.

There were a few minutes in which I wasn't quite sure if I was just watching an educational workforce video, such was how it was shot. We're introduced to Klaus, who has just earned his forklift driving licence, and is bright and eager to get cracking in the new role. The reason it's hard to tell apart from an actual 1980s informational video is that the shooting is dead on – it has the cheesy acting, the terrible upbeat music, the chipper voiceover – it truly has it all. However the first day goes anything but swimmingly, as Klaus allows one of his colleagues to hitch a lift to a high shelf on the fork – with deadly consequences.
 
Of course that's the first of many calamities in his first day on the job, which do gradually scale up from that tumble to the concrete through to a man losing his hands in the machinery of the forklift's engine, to another employee being sliced clear in half by a sheet of glass through to a finale that is absolutely bloodsoaked mayhem – although still keeping the surreal humour of the whole piece.

Basically put, Forklift Driver Klaus is unlikely to live too long in the memory but it is good fun and there's a number of decent chuckles to be had throughout. The tone is dead on perfect – so much so that I wondered if I had just stumbled on a piece of 80s workplace video – and the performances are suitably wooden to go with that style. The effects are decent, if not spectacular, and if you're a bit stuck and want to kill a bit of time without launching into a long movie it's good entertainment. And I'll be checking out if these directors have done anything more substantial on the back of this little snippet.
 
RATING: 8/10. It's a bit too slight of a piece to really rate highly, but it's something that did make me smile and the gore effects are pretty fair. But it does wonderfully capture the absurdity of health and safety videos whilst in a strange way somehow driving home the value that they actually have. There's not a lot of flat out comedy to be had in this neck of the woods, so when it's done and done well then it does stand out nicely. For the first day on the job it's a very fine effort for 8/10. 

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