Alex Teaser Trailer: A Spiritual Sequel Short Film To A Clockwork Orange

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

In 1971, Stanley Kubrick released the film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ 1962 short novel A Clockwork Orange. While the film was ultra violent and relentlessly brutal, it would be heralded as a masterpiece of Kubrick’s work and of the science fiction genre. The film was never sequelized because of unfair comparisons to Kubrick’s film, but German filmmaker Florian Frerichs tried to make a “spiritual” sequel and tribute to A Clockwork Orange. Watch the teaser trailer for Frerichs’s short film, Alex, below:

Alex is named after the protagonist of Anthony Burgess’ novel. British actor Malcolm McDowell famously played the role in Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film. The short film seems to be a different beast than what Kubrick and Burgess were presenting. The film takes place in the same world and follows a character named Frederick (Nikolai Kinski — German actor Klaus Kinski’s son) who gets a copy of Kubrick’s film and is inspired by the film’s mayhem and violence. Frederick becomes obsessed and starts to embody Alex as he goes on a rampage with his new droogs. Read the plot synopsis below:

In the near future the society of a megalopolis is divided into two fractions: on one side a super-rich minority, led by the ruthless dictator Lucius (Werner Daehn), living a life of debauchery and decadence. On the other side the vast majority, dwelling in different degrees of nearly unbearable poverty.

When the young Frederick (Nikolai Kinski) comes in possession of the partial copy of a long forbidden Stanley Kubrick movie, it sparks a growing movement amongst the city’s formerly aimless youths, developing fast into serious opposition to the ruling system, which retaliates with rapidly increasing brutality. Frederick becomes Alex, his friends the new droogs. But are they even aware of the consequences of their actions?

It’s also interesting to note — based on the film’s official synopsis — that the Frederick character gets a copy of Stanley Kubrick’s version of A Clockwork Orange, rather than Anthony Burgess’ book. Kubrick’s film is based on the U.S. edition of the Burgess novel, which is missing the last chapter of the book. In the final chapter, Alex is redeemed for his past, whereas in Kubrick’s version, Alex remains a monster. Stanley Kubrick didn’t like the last chapter of the original novel and called it “inconsistent” and “unconvincing.” It’s going to be fascinating to watch how Alex plays out.

Florian Frerichs is a filmmaker from Berlin, Germany. He is a film producer and production manager at Warnuts Entertainment, where he has created various music videos, short films, and commercials in Germany.