Nonureva Really Surprised!

Lawbolisted Powerful

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Rodrigo Amaro I'd really wish to remember the last film I've seen that not only had me on the edge of my seat but also left me twisting my senses, nervous and disturbed all the way yet it allowed to compensate me with a different perspective without being extremely critical of what I was seeing. In all of its strange ways and crushing parts, "Angst" felt like an open door of which I had to enter, despite having seen similar experiences before time and again, but this one had some form of urgency and virtuosity that seemed different, offered unusual insights and made me see further to an already worn out exposed theme: the mind of a psychopath. Gerald Kargl's film is a tremendous effort that requires a certain coldness from the viewer in order to comprehend (or at least try) what goes on inside the devious and sickening acts of a cold-blooded murderer and his desperate needs to obtain satisfaction and pleasure with killing other people. Without Hollywood's stylized fashion and popular stars which always appeals to audiences, the European "Angst" feels like a vividly real experience that is hard to wash away from your mind. Everything's told from the perspective of the psychopath (brilliantly played by Erwin Leder, he was in "Das Boot"), from the moment he's released from prison after doing some time for his attempt to kill his mother, and from then on we already know that this sick man wasn't reformed while in there. He can't wait for his chance to commit more murders and that what's his journey is all about. Observing potential victims on a diner and trying his way with a taxi driver doesn't help him at first glance. Too difficult and he gets himself scared quite easily, almost as if were a beginner (the more he narrates about his past is that we realize that he's actually new to this "business" since he reveals failure after failure, and ideas he wanted to do but never accomplished). During one of those panic moments he finds a house, breaks into it and wait for his possible new victims - to his luck he finds them: an old lady, her daughter and her invalid brother. The rest isn't worth mentioning. "Angst" succeeds where all similar flicks fails because it isn't about just someone who randomly kills people and there's authorities trying to get him. Above all, this is a psychological view to a deranged state of mind, carefully elaborated by Mr. Kargl with his planned sequences filmed with a body-cam tied to the lead actor, spinning out of control and in several directions while the paranoid killer is on the loose, running away from scenarios he could easily get away if he managed to control himself or when his mind is echoing memories from the past. Most of the movie consists of those shots (brilliantly filmed and edited), edgy and dizzy but with a purpose; and Leder is a courageous and patient actor who understood exactly the frame of mind his character was going through. His character doesn't pity anyone, all he needs its the immediate relief while stabbing, torturing and killing people. The way he moves, the intensity on his eyes and acts, it's a complete feeling of delusion, insanity and at a deep level, true happiness (when he reaches his ultimate sadistic goal). But the screenplay doesn't make him much of of a bright guy as we tend to watch in many similar movies. Surely, he could fool the prison's psychiatrists with his fake dream stories but once he's out, the desperation takes over and he makes one sloppy mistake after another and you start to wonder why this guy isn't so clever like most psycho folks are. At least, this is what we hear and read in several sources that those dangerous minds are far more clever than the average joe. The egocentrism, the nihilism, the hatred, the contempt...it's all there - even the charm, evidenced at the diner sequences where he flirts with two pretty girls. He's not so cute but there's an appeal to him that some would fall for him with no problem. But it lacks a higher intelligence for this man. It's not like he's trying to commit the perfect crime, obviously, but for someone who's avoiding getting back to jail, he's too careless, not typical for serial killers. However, perhaps that's the real focus of the movie with this character: he's so inside his world and worried about doing what he needs, that he forgets about everything else, it's a whole new level of mentality. The obsession takes over, he goes along regardless of consequences and then it's all about improvising to what comes next. The experience is not for the faint of heart. It's brutal, dark, real, violent and extremely tense film but one that gives you the opportunity to see with precision and detail through variations of a disturbed personality, which makes of "Angst" a unique thrilling experiment. It's a shocking pity that the director made only this film after dealing with many budget obstacles during its making. He vowed to never return to filmmaking again, and it's a shame because Mr. Kargl had an incredible eye and talent for the job. Anyway, this is a shining moment for an one-hit wonder. 9/10

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Angst" is an Austrian 32-year-old movie written and directed by Gerald Kargl. It is easily his most known effort as he has not been really prolific. His body of work on IMDb is almost empty, but I read that he directed many television ads as well. The same cannot be said about the Polish co-writer Rybczynski, who won an Oscar in the animated short film category the very same year "Angst" was released. This film runs for no longer than 75 minutes, but is very intense and at times tough to watch. A man with a history of violence (even towards his own mother and sister) gets released out of prison after 10 years and immediately plans his next massacre. He ends up at a rich family's house, where he kills everybody. If you are more interested in the psychological aspect of this movie and prefer to skip the murders, you can simply omit minutes 30-45 as this is where the trio gets killed. He has fantasies about young women at a café and about a taxi driver as well, but does not succeed there already. Anyway, he seems to have a pretty misogynist attitude, probably because of bad experiences with his female relatives.The lead character is played by Erwin Leder, an actor you may also have come across in "Das Boot" or "Schindler's List". While we watch him, we constantly hear the thought of what is going on in his head, how he makes parallels between his victims (or even creatures like swans) and his family members or ex-girlfriends. The rest of the cast is fairly unknown. Many of them have never appeared in a film before or after this. If you like horror films with simple premises or just enjoy slashers where a sadist kills many people, this is probably exactly your cup of tea. However, I should probably not say slasher as there is really not much blood in here except when he kills the daughter of the family. There is also no really explicit agony, suffering or screaming. The daughter, for example, in her last moments, still thinks about her mother's illness. After he killed the trio, the film gets a bit worse, mostly because his inner monologues get less too and he is not telling us that much anymore why he became who he is. The ending, however, is pretty good again at the café and outside when the cops come and catch him. All in all, I recommend it. It is a pretty good character study of a disturbed sadist. But it is certainly not for the easily offended.

christopher-underwood A full star rating, for me, usually indicates a film I would gladly sit down and watch again, straight away. Not this one. Not this mean disgusting, horrific, disturbing, involving and believable film from Gerald Kargl. If the refusal of distributors to show this upon release had been overcome, what mighty movies might, this clearly most talented man have brought us? Well, I suppose the influence is clear to see in much more recent and overwrought horror, but surely nothing so impressive as this. From start to finish, helped by a haunting score and free flowing cinematography, not afraid to mix intense POV shots with overhead and hand-held. Blistering and uncompromising film making helped much by a sensational central performance from Erwin Leder and also by the clever use of voice over where we learn what this guy has done before and how much pleasure it gives him and then what he hopes to do with these very people he is dragging around. A very tough film that is out there on its own. Grubby and hard to like but a genuine and sincere masterpiece.

cwarne_uk "Angst" seems to have picked up some interest since Gaspar Noe singled it out for praise. It is more interesting than Noe's pretentious films, but fall far short of being a lost masterpiece. The plot is simple as a killer released from prison feels an unbearable urge to kill again, eventually picking on a family in a large house in the woods. There is very little dialogue but a voice-over by the killer provides his background, unfortunately rather than providing an insight into his mind this is mostly sub-Freudian gibberish (not surprising in an Austrian film, and yes he does blame his mother!). Erwin Leder has been praised for his role but really all he has to do is look bug eyed for most of the film. Kargl shoots the film informatively but he lacks any narrative skill and completely mishandles the killings - they look more laughable than anything. The only scene that develops any tension is early on in a café and involves eating a sausage!. That Kargl never directed again is really no surprise. To sum up an interesting one for exploitation fans but not really worth seeking out for anyone else. (True crime fans may note that some elements of the film are similar to the later case of Jack Unterweger).