A highly disturbing experience it was, watching this
Austrian psycho-horror-drama based on the real case of the
serial killer Werner Kniesek. With it's narration (from the Killer)
it felt like listening to and watching a madman's diary.
Nasty, but well constructed and listening to the mind of a "true"
Maniac was really scary and the thought that these
creatures walk the streets among us .... yuck! Brrrr! Like man-eating
sharks watching people as their prey. Scary.
For the first time since it's original release in a
uncut and uncensored presentation in an ambitious BR release from the
great Cult Epics. It felt a bit like watching an Austrian Driller Killer
type of film even though not as grittily filmed as the
Abel Ferrara one as Angst has a crystal clear great photo from Polish
Zbigniew Rybczynski, and also a great floating
soundtrack from krautrocker Klaus Schulze and, if i
just had kept my Ash Ra Tempel album from the early 1970's
i could sell it for some fortune today .... i once had a huge record
collection and with lots and lots of 1970's Krautrock
and British progressive and i sold them all to get room for my imported
Hong Kong DVD's at the start of the millennia,
a bad decision as these records today are very, very much sought after
and cost astronomical sums if you want them
Above: Booklet
This film has got a very simple story as it depicts
the release of Killer (Erwin Leder) from prison after
a 10 year long
stint. He's very excited and the only thing he thinks about is to meet
some people, some people to murder that is.
From the narrator we get to hear his disgusting thoughts and a barf
bag may be needed to watch and listen to this
human Slime, and Erwin Leder is frightfully good in the role - one of
the best/worst psychos in horror film history.
He plans to kill a Vienna female taxi driver but panics and flees through
the woods until he reach a seemingly
deserted villa to hide in. But a young woman (Silvia Rabenreither),
her mother and disabled brother lives there.
Warning for a film that bites, and yes .... The Killer won't kill the
cute dachshund in the picture above, don't worry.
The favourite film of french director Gaspar Noé
and he's providing a special introduction to this film in a SUPER
fine release from the great Cult Epics. The story is simple but not
the way it's told, with the unusual narration and
the exquisite visuals created by Zbigniew Rybczynski. I had never heard
of this forgotten Cult movie before and as
i understand Austrian horror films are a rare thing, but now i've seen
2 great such ones in a short time with this,
Gerald Kargl's Angst from 1983 and with Veronika Franz/Severin Fiala's
Ich See, Ich See from 2014.
widescreen 1.85:1, german audio DTS HD 5.1 or DD 2.0 stereo with english
subtitles (or a french language dub)
Extras: Commentary track with director Gerald Kargl and film critic
Marcus Stiglegger, text booklet with pictures,
featurette with Erwin Leder, an interview with director and co-script
writer Gerald Kargl and with cinematographer
and co-script writer Zbigniew Rybczynski. The Film playable with 1.
optional prologue 2. prologue by Gaspar Noé