Ausgestorben (1995) User Reviews

An amazing student movie

[torsten.dewi · 26 November 1999]

This one has it all: a great story (a scientist of a plague-ridden world goes back to dinosaur times to find an extinct plant that might hold the key to a cure, but bungles up the timelines in doing so), good German actors (including genre fave Udo Kier), very high-tech design (utilising left-over sets from "Enemy Mine"), and a great eye for details. With this, Michael Pohl has created a short-film "business card" that should be his ticket to big budget features. Let's hope his new project, the 45 minute "Vortex", can live up to the promise.

Best Student Movie I have ever seen!

[otb13 · 10/10 · 18 December 2006]

Once i saw Pohl's First Feature Film, Vortex, i went to see if he had done anything else. I found this, the best student movie i have ever seen! It seems this man had talent from a young age! It has a brilliant storyline and brilliant actors. The surroundings are brilliant. This short-film has it all, good characters well acted out by professionals, and you feel a personal connection with the main character. GREAT!

I would also like to recommend his other film, vortex which is available on amazon.com. It is well worth a look if you enjoyed this, or sci-fi in general! It also, has a good storyline, good actors and a great ending. WELL Recommended!!!

Excellent sci-fi lo-budget short-film

[johannes-16 · 9/10 · 23 February 2005]

It was a good surprise when I once watched this short story on TV a few years ago. It's not very often you see Germans produce sci-fi films. And this "Ausgestorben" is an excellent lo-budget sci-fi movie. You can watch it over and over, and each time you see more and more how the screenplay, filming and editing is close to perfection. Michael Pohl has written a perfect screenplay. In less than 15 minutes he tells us a very complex and intelligent story. Actors are all professionals and they give this credibility you mostly don't have in student flicks. The use of natural sets is excellent. I can't wait to see Michael Pohl's first feature film.

Good final twist, the rest is forgettable

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 30 June 2015]

This is German writer and director Michael Pohl's very first movie from 20 years ago. He was under 30 back then and is still working today, mostly for television. Same can be said about lead actor Jophi Ries and I don't think I need to say anything about Udo Kier. He is very famous, worked with the likes of von Trier. "Extinct" is a 15-minute science-fiction film with some fantasy elements. A man wants to find the cure for his daughter's illness and uses (without permission) means of time travel. He arrives in a prehistoric world. We get to see a triceratops (yay! my favorite dinosaur). But can he really find the cure? And if he does, can he even come back to the present. It's not a bad short film by any means. It's just not really my genre. That's why I only appreciated the ending out of these 15 minutes. If you like science-fiction, you will think differently perhaps. But for me the ending was not great enough to make up for everything before that. Not recommended.