We recorded an episode of Movies We Like yesterday with cinematographer Andrew Wonder and just as we wrapped up, he dropped this recommendation on us as one of those films that burrows under your skin and festers. He wasn’t wrong. It’s the kind of film that leaves you feeling grubby, like you need a shower and a strong drink, preferably while sitting in a brightly lit room. And yet, I can’t help but admire its audacity, its sheer, unflinching commitment to making you feel terrible. In the space of home invasion horror, this is at the very top of the raw discomfort-per-minute ratio in terms of raw despair.
Apparently, based on the crimes of Austrian murderer Werner Kniesek, the film follows an unnamed psychopath (played with chilling intensity by Erwin Leder) in the hours following his release from prison. His goal is to kill again. The film wastes no time in establishing his pathology, thrusting us into his disturbing worldview from the opening frame.
What sets Angst apart, truly sets it apart, is Zbigniew Rybczyński’s groundbreaking cinematography. Forget static shots and conventional framing; the camera here is a living, breathing entity, constantly moving, observing, almost predatory in its gaze. We are placed firmly within the killer’s perspective, forced to inhabit his distorted reality. It’s a claustrophobic, nauseating experience, and yet utterly mesmerizing. When critics call the camera a character in the film, they’re thinking of Angst.
This isn’t mere stylistic flourish. The camera work, coupled with the deeply unsettling score and the film’s chaotic direction, creates a terrifying and physically stressful experience.
This is a film that revels in its darkness, using violence not for titillation but to illustrate the banality of evil. The killer’s narration, a stream of consciousness that provides glimpses into his past traumas and attempts to rationalize his actions, only adds to the film’s unsettling power. We confront disorienting violence on screen paired with the calm reflection of our protagonist’s narration. We are forced to confront his lack of humanity while mirroring his own mental state.
Angst is not for the faint of heart. It is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll, a film that dares to ask uncomfortable questions about the nature of evil and our own capacity for darkness.
And yet, for all its darkness, for all its unflinching brutality, there’s a strange, darkly comedic undercurrent to the film because for all his talk, for all his grandstanding, the killer’s journey in Angst ends in a clumsy bust with a brat in one hand, and bodies in the trunk. In that way, the film tells the story of a man who, in spite of his desire for greatness, demonstrates precious little talent in the task.
★★★★☆🧡