Forklift Driver Klaus

Meet Klaus. Klaus recently became a certified forklift driver. Today is Klaus' first day driving a forklift. He has been looking forward to this day for some time. He wants to be the best forklift driver ever.

However, Klaus will find himself in the middle of a horrifying sequence of bloodshed and destruction. Why?

Because Klaus is the central character in a workplace safety video.

Forklift Driver Klaus - The First Day on the Job (German title: Staplerfahrer Klaus – Der erste Arbeitstag) is presented as a workplace safety video for forklift drivers, centering on the newbie Klaus (Konstantin Graudus) and narrated by Egon Hoegen, who also narrates Der 7. Sinn, which gives tips for correct behavior in road traffic. However, Klaus parodies the workplace safety video, using over-the-top violence and Gorn to demonstrate the brutal consequences of insufficient workplace safety, which results in the horrifying deaths of nearly everybody at the site. Although the film is not officially part of the German training and education system for forklift trucks, it is frequently shown by instructors to lighten up the mood.

The film has won many awards, including:

• The Canal+ International Award for Best Short Film at the Cinema Jove Festival Internacional de Cine València in 2001
• The Jury Award for Best Short Film and the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival in 2001
• The Audience Award for Short Film and the Special Prize of the European Broadcasters Jury for Best Original Idea at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film in 2002
• The Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Award at the Day of the German Short Film awards in 2002
• The German Film Critics Award for Best Short Film at the German Film Critics Association Awards in 2002
• The Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2003 (where it also won 3rd place in the Best Short Film category

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This short film contains examples of:

• Black Comedy
• Bloody Hilarious
• Chainsaw Good
• Deadfoot Leadfoot
• Distracted by the Sexy: This is how the final segment starts off and how Klaus is eventually killed.
• Failsafe Failure
• Forklift Fu: Several people are killed with a forklift. None of these are at all intentional.
• German Humour
• Gorn
• Half the Man He Used To Be: One guy gets bisected twice.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
• Kill'Em All
• No OSHA Compliance: Well, it is a workplace safety video... sort of.
  • Deconstruction?
  • It demonstrates why you should have OSHA compliance.
• Oh Crap
• Retraux: The film was shot in 2001 but uses graphical illustrations and music more reminiscent of the 1980s.
• Role Called
• Running Gag: The emergency bell ring each time an accident occurs at the workplace, followed by a roof shot of an ambulance rushing to the scene. On one occasion it coincides with the bell ring signaling the start of lunchtime, effectively leaving one injured worker unattended. It goes on to the point the bell malfunctions and falls off its mounting.
• Tempting Fate: "What are hands for?"