Angst

Even after 30-plus years, the graphic violence of Gerald Kargl's 1983 fact-based tale of an Austrian serial killer who butchers a family remains stomach-churning—made even more unsettling because the quality of the filmmaking is so high. Kargl based his script on a crime committed by Werner Kniesek, who after serving a seven-year prison sentence for shooting an elderly woman then went on to murder a widow, her son, and her daughter, and was arrested with the bodies still in the trunk of the family's stolen car. The story is told from the perspective of the killer, played to jittery perfection by Erwin Leder, who narrates the appalling events in horrifying voiceover. Zbigniew Rybczynski's carefully crafted camerawork, which combines odd angles with more conventional shots, and Klaus Schulze's tense, brooding score add immeasurably to the creepy effect. But what will still shock most viewers is that Kargl holds nothing back while portraying the carnage: the murderer's brutalization of his victims and his mad ecstasy are gruesome even by the most extreme contemporary standards. So, it's not surprising that Angst was effectively censored off the screen in the 1980s, becoming one of the most notorious unseen films of its day, and it remains a rarity even among cult film aficionados. Sporting a new HD transfer, this release confirms Angst's status as a work that straddles the boundary between gross-out slasher movie and cutting-edge art film. Extras include audio commentary by Kargl, an introduction by filmmaker Gasper Noé, cast and crew interviews, and a booklet. With appropriate warnings about content, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)