Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld is a crime documentary about Herman Johan Xennt who created a data center inside a bunker that was involved in several crimes. The film is streaming on Netflix.
Story
Herman Xennt was a charismatic IT genius who saw the advent of the internet as a significant moment in human history. He believed that the internet was for everyone and wanted to offer everyone the opportunity to use it the way they wanted.
He brought in like-minded people and set up a data center inside an old NATO bunker in the town of Traben-Trarbach where they offered to host a variety of websites and promised them that their data was safe.
However, Xennt had a spotty past and all of his actions fell in a gray area that drew the attention of the authorities who spent years investigating him and the bunker until they had enough evidence to take it down.
Positives
The scene re-enactments are kept simple and offer visual context for the information that is being portrayed. While it wasn’t entirely required, it certainly helps in a small way.
Negatives
Apart from Sven, none of the other interviewees had any sort of charisma to them, which is down to the directors who weren’t able to bring that authenticity out of them.
That makes it all the more disappointing when one hears some of Sven’s views. He is such a despicable person and the knowledge that he roams free is unpleasant.
Verdict
Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld is a meandering film that talks a lot about the criminal activities that were involved but the overall story just doesn’t grab your attention enough. There is a hint of intrigue in Xennt and what he wants to achieve but it isn’t adequately covered in this documentary.
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