Just can't find anything bad to say about this movie!European cinema at its best!!! Very very very good!Enjoy!

The film introduces Linda (Jasna Fritzi Bauer ) who is attempting to escape from her abusive stalker ex-boyfriend Danny. She is on a German island with a storm cutting them off from the mainland. Meanwhile on the mainland coroner Paul Herzfeld (Moritz Bleibtreu ) is examining a mutilated corpse that gives him a clue. He discovers his estranged teen daughter has been kidnapped. She is being repeatedly raped. Linda happens to be on the beach by a another corpse when the phone rings. It is Paul and she is drawn into a game of "scavenger hunt with corpses." They are doing what they can to save Paul's daughter.

Things kept happening on the screen to keep you engaged and guessing. There is a twist or two. Jasna Fritzi Bauer did a good job as our reluctant protagonist. I found the dubbing satisfactory.

Guide: F-word, rape, nudity.

This is a solid German thriller, but once again, I can see how nay-sayers with short attention spans will give it short shrift. Along with that, you'll probably need a strong stomach to make your way through the picture, as the autopsy scenes will make you gag if you're not ready for them. Funny, but some of the scenes in the picture at one time would have made me weak in the knees, but I must be getting accustomed to it because I can handle most anything these days. In any event, the story here is uncharacteristically original, as a forensic pathologist (Moritz Bleibtreu) whose daughter has been kidnapped, is prevented from getting to the probable scene of the crime because the island of Heligoland is cut off from the mainland by a furious storm that's forecast to last at least three days. So that's the first instance where the movie's title relates to events on screen.

Where things get a bit tricky is how Paul Herzfeld (Bleitbreu) intends to solve his problem, by advising a twenty four year old woman (Jasna Fritzi Bauer) on how to perform an autopsy - over the phone! On paper this sounds a little bit sketchy, but the screenwriters manage to make it work with a reluctant accomplice, all the while ratcheting up the suspenseful twists until arriving at a meaningful conclusion. The screenplay involves a fair amount of sleight of hand to misdirect the viewer as to the identity of the ancillary players, so proper focus is needed to stay on track. When all seems wrapped up tight, a final twist brings one of the story's villains back into the picture, long enough to stylize the ending with the movie's second reference to why it's English translation is "Cut Off". Kind of clever too, in the way the double entendre is pulled off. And for what it's worth, Hitchcock would have been proud of the way director Christian Alvart handled the preoccupation with Linda's (Bauer),unseen, abusive boyfriend Danny, frequently mentioned but never showing up - a classic red herring!