Erwin Leder (Das Boot, Underworld) as the psychopath
(we never learn his name) is off the charts.
He’s completely insane, obsessive, compulsive and deranged. He has a scrawny build, bulging eyes, a wide
mouth and is so nervous all the time that his appearance and attitude are off
putting. Leder gives it his all like a
man possessed with his wild yet precise performance.
I love the way the story sucks you in as it builds. You go deeper and deeper into madness with
this completely fucked up individual. We
start right off in a bad place as the psychopath is being released from a ten
year stint in prison for killing an old woman.
He admits he never lost the urge to kill while inside and plans a carnage
spree as soon as he’s released, like maybe only a few hours after. At first he fantasizes about it, then makes a
half hearted attempt on a cab driver but then finally goes through with attacking
three innocent people in their own home.
That progression is unstoppable and it’s an arduous journey you take
with him.
The drum machine and hollow synth driven soundtrack is dated
but in the best way possible. It gives
this a very early 80’s feel and on paper it shouldn’t work with the dark mood
but somehow it does.
What I Didn’t Like: I think I kinda like everything
about this one.
Overall Impressions: I saw this last year and was so
blown away I had to revisit it again this year.
What this man does is so awful but you can’t look away. And what makes matters worse is this was
based on a true incident, the St. Pölten murders in Vienna.
It’s interesting to compare this to The House That Jack Built because they share many similarities.
They’re both character studies of an extremely sadistic and dangerous
person who cannot function in society and is a serious threat to anyone they
come across. The protagonist narrates
throughout letting you know their thoughts on the acts they commit, they’re
unrelenting in their portrayal of violence (in Angst apparently pig’s
blood was used instead of fake blood), they don’t rationalize the behavior of
the killers and they both push the boundaries of what the viewer is willing to
participate in.
Angst is a much better movie than Jack
though. It doesn’t have any tonal
problems, is more straight forward in its approach and much more focused in its
execution. But it’s difficult to watch
all the same.
Intriguingly this was the only picture Gerald Kargl ever
made. Well, he certainly left his mark.
No comments:
Post a Comment