Harefooted Halloween: Angst

What I Liked: The camerawork is amazing.  There are a few long shots that creep, there are bodycams that swivel every which way (in 1983!), POV shots, extreme closeups, high, low and awkward angles of all sorts.

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.

Guys this is an incredible film, one of the best and most truly frightening horror movies I’ve ever seen.  Like top five disturbs me.  So even though I’m recommending it and you probably got the gist already, it’s gonna be a rough ride.  Thank god this is a brief 78 mins because you wouldn’t want it to go on any longer.

Intriguingly this was the only picture Gerald Kargl ever made.  Well, he certainly left his mark.