Angst

Angst (1983)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Kargl

Starring: Erwin Leder, Robert Hunger-Buhler, Silvia Ryder, Edith Rosset, Rudolf Gotz

From: This was self-financed by Kargl

What an Austrian motion picture this is: 

For awhile now I've known of this infamous picture, and this was the perfect time for me to see the Austrian production. Two things have to be said which will likely go far in explaining what kind of motion picture this is:

1 I've seen some say it is an artier version of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; the William Lustig Maniac is not the worst comparison either.

2 GASPAR NOE is a gigantic fan and actually first saw the movie as a kid. I am not sure if that says more about him or about Angst.

Gerald Kargl created this film to deliver a message; it's based on a real-life killer-Werner Kniesek-who had mental health issues yet was not properly treated by the legal system so he was released from prison and started killing again. The plot is that, except that it's a nameless dude and there's an opening where a narrator explained some things about the killer's background, although later the killer narrates much of the same info. After prison he stumbles upon a middle-class house and he does disturbing things to its occupants. As “animal torture” was brought up, I feared the worst when I saw the family had a dachshund dog; thank heavens it did not go in such a direction and the pooch was fine.

This has only one gory scene yet the movie was still banned in many places, and I know it's because of the overall tone. The entire movie is following around this psychopath as the narration from him is inspired by what other serial killers have said about their abhorrent behavior and there's no redeeming factors about this lead aside from the fact he doesn't kill the dog. It's not the easiest sit. Yet it was filmed in a stylish way. Polish animator Zbigniew Rybczynski had several roles in this production, chiefly as cinematographer. Sometimes it's low-angle but it's usually high-angle and that includes such things as big crane shots and the camera moving along with the lead at more than 10 feet off the ground... I understand that was due to a complicated rope setup he created; as I am sure it wasn't easy to put in the extra effort to lens the movie in a creative way, I am glad it was done that way. The electronic score from Klaus Schulze did help in setting a particular mood for this motion picture.

I feel bad yet am not surprised this self-financed movie from Kargl did not make a lot of money-being banned will cause that-and he made no more feature films. It cannot be stated enough that some will never want to have the experience of giving this a shot; I don't regret it even if I don't want to put myself through this experience again anytime soon.