Sennentuntschi: Curse Of the Alps

Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps (2010)

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by: Michael Steiner

Starring: Roxane Mesquida, Nicholas Ofczarek, Andrea Zogg, Carlos Zeal, Joel Basman

From: Kontraproduktion AG/Superfilm

Yes, even the mild-mannered Swiss can make interesting horror films: 

For awhile now I've known of this Swiss horror film; as it's on Shudder this was the perfect time for me to finally give it a whirl. I made the right choice putting this in my queue-I found the movie to be pretty good.

This is based on old Alpine folklore; the story is that some lonely men create a makeshift doll and wish for it to come alive, so it is a young woman they can have their way with. It does come alive, they act like A-holes then she gets rather gruesome revenge. The plot of the movie bookends around present time but most of it is in 1975, either in a small Swiss village or high up a mountain. It is partly a flashback and partly a flashback within a flashback; the movie is not as confusing as it sounds. Besides the legend being brought to screen, there's also the sheriff of the town falling for the titular sennentuntschi. I say it's understandable as she was a rather attractive young lady. Note that most of the main players who are men are also pretty scummy, to say the least.

Roxane Mesquida as the lead was more than just a pretty face; she never said a word yet she still said a lot with her acting skills. The format this story was told in... it usually worked. The story was pretty entertaining even with there being some unpleasant scenes. I appreciated there being a modern movie based on a fable, and one obscure to most people. The scenery (filmed in both Switzerland and Austria) was absolutely gorgeous. I am glad this was one of the many interesting foreign films Shudder has in its library.