The German documentary film is directed by Max Rainer and Kilian Lieb and has a runtime of 102 minutes. The film, also known as Cyberbunker: Darknet in Deutschland, follows the surprising case of a bunch of hackers who take over a Cold War-era bunker in a quiet and idyllic German town, much to the fear of the locals. Who are these people, and what do they want?
Plot
When a group of mysterious Duchmen, headed by their leader Xennt, arrive at Traben-Trarbach, the locals are wary of the new arrivals. Xennt promises them jobs and a prosperous future if they are able to take over the Cold War-era NATO bunker, but the locals aren’t convinced – they find him to be untrustworthy and even criminal. However, their concerns fall on deaf ears, and soon the group bunkers down in the underground and names their new home Cyberbunker 2.0. What does this mean for the inhabitants of Traben-Trarbach? Who are these people, and what are their real motives?
– The Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Review
Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld is a very interesting documentary – thankfully, it’s a movie and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s 102 minutes of pure facts that discuss the entire story from start to end without much fluff to bore you or slow the pace down. Thus, before you know it, the docufilm comes to an end.
Senior Public Prosecutor Jorg Angerer puts it well towards the end of the film; while talking about Sven Olaf Kamphuis’s insistence on freedom and how people who share pornographic material of children are akin to pictures of bank robberies being posted on the newspaper, he mentions that Sven is only concerned with his own freedom and doesn’t care about the abuse that the children have to go through for him to get it. The film, although keeping quite a neutral tone throughout, hits it home in the latter part of its runtime that there’s nothing called absolute freedom and whoever wants it and enjoys it is doing so at the detriment of others.
The film, as I mentioned previously, is thoroughly engaging, and its short and to-the-point runtime and storytelling only add to its watchability. Following Netflix’s usual framework of documentaries, it tells its story with the use of a ton of recreations, archival footage, original police images and videos, as well as interviews with everyone associated with the bunker and its criminal activities.
I think, more often than not, the film left me astonished with the camaraderie among the inhabitants of the “Republic of Cyberbunker”. It’s almost like watching a cult in action, but not the usual kind. There’s sexual violence, the dabble with drugs and the healthy dash of manipulation, but the way these things happen is almost astonishing. The huge enterprise is one thing, but the absolute devotion with which the members of the bunker talk about Xennt is nothing short of extraordinary.
In a way, their camaraderie is almost sweet to watch at first. Here you have a bunch of people who find themselves to not fit completely in everyday society and find solace somewhere far away among like-minded people. Slowly, however, the reality and the creepiness of the situation set in and Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld does a fantastic job of giving us these feelings slowly but quite effectively and without pause.
Law enforcements’ accounts of the situation, the global manhunt-esque vibe and the criminals’ testimonies all come together effectively in this film to deliver an entertaining and informative film that will make you think towards the end of its runtime. Which side of the spectrum are you on? Does true freedom exist? There are many interesting questions and some very interesting people that the film brings forth that will constantly leave you wondering what happens next and what their motivations can be. The answers might just leave you shocked!
Final Thoughts
Selfishness is a shocking thing, and that’s something that you will be reminded of over and over again while watching this series. While it questions you about the morality and legality of complete freedom and privacy, it also makes you question whether the criminals at play even understand the consequences of their actions. This is definitely an entertaining watch which makes you question a few things by the end.
Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld is streaming on Netflix.