Der Block – The show begins with Juri (Tristan Gobel) and Jaschek (Charly Hubner) pulling into the parking lot of a multi-story apartment building. Jaschek goes to retrieve the key while Juri remains with the car.

Inside the building, Jaschek posts a flyer on the bulletin board to alert the tenants that he is the new building supervisor.

A man rummaging through a dumpster grabs Juri’s attention. Holding out a half-eaten apple, Juri says he assumed he was hungry. The man eats a piece of the apple before asking if he is moving into the building. Juri informs him of his father’s new position as the building manager. When the man asks about his mother, he isn’t forthcoming. The man asks if his mother advised him to not talk to strangers. Juri says his mother encouraged him to show respect and kindness to the needy.

After a brief introduction, Jaschek asks female tenant Cleo (Lilith Stangenberg) if she is familiar with Ms. Loeber. When he explains Loeber is holding some keys for him, she says the heat isn’t working. He questions if she reached out to the property manager. She claims no one answers her calls. He asks which floor her apartment is on. She tells him the seventh floor before suggesting he look in a mailbox behind him. Instantly, all the contents, including a set of keys fall out of the mailbox onto the floor. She quietly makes her exit.

The man gives Juri a small welcome gift. When he questions its purpose, the man assures him that he will know in time but keep it from his father. When Jaschek calls his name, the man repeats it.

Jaschek and Juri carry their things to their apartment. After placing a family portrait on a desk, Juri studies the man’s gift before placing it underneath his bed. They are having supper when Jaschek complains about the taste of his drink. He carries his cup over to the sink only to discover the main water line isn’t shutoff

Just wakes up after a restless night. He walks into the living room, where he finds Jaschek preparing to go work on the heating system. Jaschek says he will need his assistance.

Juri is looking through a scope when it begins to ooze a dark liquid.

Cleo is surprised Jaschek has come to work on her heater. He questions how long she has gone without heat. She claims it has been days since it worked.

Scherbe (Daniel Staber) is startled awake by Jeschek’s banging on the heat register. Immediately upon inhaling a substance wrapped in a brown paper, Nina’s eyes dilate. With mouth gaped wide open and eyes peeled on the ceiling, he gradually lays back in bed. The next time we see him, he is levitating.

Jaschek collects a black gooey liquid from the heating system in a tin box. When Cleo asks what it is, he says something must’ve collected in the pipes.  Cleo yells at her baby when it won’t stop crying. The baby stops crying within minutes of being nestled in Jaschek’s arms. While the black ooze spills over the sides of the tin container, Cleo complains that the baby refuses to breastfeed. Scherbe asks the baby if he notices the cold. The black ooze spreads across the floor. He addresses himself as “daddy” while scooping the baby into his arms.

Jaschek replaces the lid on the tin can before closing the radiator drain. Cleo questions the extent of the damage. He assures her that she will have heat all night. After promising they won’t be there much longer, she gives Scerbe a kiss.

Jaschek walks through the boiler room until he reaches the central heating system. Juri tosses a bag down the trash chute. After a few minutes of entering the stairwell, a lower floor door can be heard opening and shutting. He is grabbed from behind by several men. Kater (Alexander Scheer) demands to know if his father is the new building supervisor. Ninja (Bela Gabor Lenz) watches as it goes down. Juri acknowledges his father is the new building manager before identifying himself.

Jaschek enters what looks like the maintenance room.

Kater asks Juri if the supervisor has free rein in the building. Juri assumes it is because he has keys. Kater assures him that it wouldn’t be too terrible if his dad misplaced them for a day. Ninja says he figures his dad wouldn’t even know they were missing. Kater agrees with him. Ninja questions if there is an extra set of keys for the building.

Jaschek is disturbed by a black outfit with a mask inside a closet.

After bathing his baby, Scherbe discovers there is no formula in the apartment. He pleads with Paco for a loan until tomorrow. Paco says he can’t because Gitti (Rike Eckermann) would kill him. Lenin offers him 20 for his coat. Scherbe tells him to stop it. Paco extends him an invitation to a bash at his place later. He promises to give it some thought before entering the store. Loan (Andrea Guo) catches him stealing baby formula. She reminds him of them living under the same roof. He claims to have only been reading the ingredients before describing the prices as “robbery.” When she holds out her hand, he reluctantly gives her the can of formula. Before leaving, he sarcastically says, “Welcome to the police state.”

Jaschek gradually makes his way through the lower level.

Juri is walking down a hallway when the lights go out. He says “hello” but doesn’t get a response.

Jaschek continues through the lower level until he reaches the furnace.

Juri encounters a child in the hallway. The child stands motionless for a few minutes for fleeing.

Scherbe takes his baby to Paco’s party. He gives a woman some drugs for breastfeeding his baby. The baby is passed from one guest to another.

When a plumbing pipe breaks free, black liquid gushes out while Jaschek watches.

A man asks Scherbe his baby’s name. He admits they never named the baby. Staring at the baby, he tells them that he still doesn’t know him. He asks the baby if he knows him. Paco tells his guests that Scherbe is “one of the best young men” to emerge from the house. A bowl is passed around the room to collect money for Scherbe. He thanks them for their generosity.

A strange noise gets Jaschek’s attention. Walking toward the noise, he looks up just as someone says, “Chuck it in there.” He takes a fire extinguisher to Paco’s room, where people are gathered around a stove. He extinguishes the fire before issuing a warning about the stove being a “fire hazard,” Paco asks if they are just supposed to freeze. Jaschek orders everyone to leave.

Jaschek asks what he utilized to clean a glass. Juri says he cleaned it with vinegar like as mother taught him. Jascheck takes the bottle of vinegar to the maintenance room. He pours the vinegar into the black goo stored in the tin box. He watches the mixture sizzle and steam when he remembers the liquid-filled containers stored inside a nearby cabinet.

Scherbe promises his infant that they will move out tomorrow and find him a good name. As he approaches his apartment, he notices something odd.

Juri stares at his family portrait before opening the door to the trash chute on his floor. Scherbe also opens the door to the trash chute on his floor. After stuffing money inside a sock, he promises his baby it will be the last time.

Jaschek pours the solution into a metal container.

Juri drops the family portrait down the trash chute. As he peeks inside the chute, three taps come from above.  He taps twice before the door to the trash chute above closes. Reaching his hand into the trash chute, Scherbe angrily says you got your money, I want my things.

Jaschek sprays the pipes running along the ceiling with the solution.

While leaning inside the trash chute, Juri notices the doors closing on the floors above him. He jumps back just in time for his door to slam shut. Frantic, he takes off running.

While Jaschek continues to spray the pipes, the pressure gauges act erratically. The force from pressurized steam knocks him to the ground.

As Juri runs down a hallway, Dennis pulls him into her apartment.

After regaining footing, Jaschek turns off before taking a seat on the floor.

Dennis leads Juri to the House Recreation Room. He pulls two ice creams out of a freezer before taking a seat on the floor. Juri joins him. He explains how he hides there sometimes until his mother returns. Juri asks where his mother is at. Dennis asks if he can hear the noise emitting from the ceiling vent. He tells him that you are never alone.

Cleo leaves Scherbe a voicemail to inform him that she is heading home but will be late. She says they have an appointment to look at an apartment with heating. She assures him that it could work this time before the line disconnects. As Scherbe enters the apartment, the voicemail appears to be quickly rewinding. He covers his ears to soften the noise emitting from the vents. When he looks outside, a face appears in the window.  The baby wails and lights flicker while the room appears to spin. He runs down the hallway with his baby when a red light illuminates the area in front of him. He gradually walks toward the red light.

Scherbe is lying on the floor when he comes through. His baby is nowhere to be seen but his blanket hands out of the trash chute. As he reaches up to grab the blanket, it is pulled into the chute. He screams no while the blanket falls down the chute. The baby’s wails can be heard in the basement. A lever activates the furnace.

Jaschek cries while calling for Juri and Anja. Juri assures him everything will be all right.

Cleo returns home to find the apartment empty as the episode comes to an end.

 

Hausen Review

The show is definitely worth watching, but don’t expect perfection. The cinematography is subpar at best. The camera rarely if ever shows the characters’ faces or props directly, just side views. Many of the indoor and outdoor scenes are literally too dark, which is unfortunate since the setting is a gloomy apartment building.

The show has a boatload of flaws, but it is still decent. The acting is superb, which makes up for some of the show’s idiosyncrasies.

The slow pace drags out the episode without offering anything extra. It is no Amityville Horror, but the suspension, tension, and jump scares are good. I do wish there was a brief history of the building and each character. Instead, the script skips forward to the present and doesn’t bother looking back.

The poor lighting and cinematography could ruin the experience for some viewers. It isn’t so terrible that you should skip watching it. Just know there are a lot of flaws, and you may find yourself enjoying the show.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Hausen recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking on the link.