Who would of thought in 1983 the most mentally involved and
realistically portrayed movie about a serial killer would have been released?
Angst is an
Austria Proto-Slasher film about a
man who’s imprisoned for 15 years for the murders of his mother and a random
stranger. As the movie starts from his prison cell, the murderer tells us his
story about why he is the way he is, as it happens to be the day that he is
finally and mistakenly released from prison after 15 years. The man goes on a
journey of re-self-discovery as he navigates a world 15 years later, finding
out that he still has the same murderous urges, well realizing how awkward and
self deprecating he actually is around girls of the current time which makes
him desire homicidal mutilation even more. As the man stumbles upon a lone
house in the woods, evil energy starts to take hold and chaos runs rampant.
Angst does
something that was never fully delved into with any Slasher-esque films, allow us to accompany the villain on his
murderous rampage and almost sympathize and coddle them as they try to go about
their creative process of irreversible carnage. To immediately understand where
the killer is coming from while at the same time begging them to stop and
rethink their choices. The most fascinating part about this movie is noticing
that the other characters in the movie aren’t given a voice, everything is seen
based on the killer’s perspective, so only emotions are apparent not motives
from the otherwise protagonists which gives a hopelessness that hasn’t been
explored in type movies such as Psycho,
as at same point in those films interference is hailed from outside characters.
Throughout Angst you come to the
conclusion that our hero is unfortunately the antagonist.
The film makes artful decisions in developing a slasher’s
strategy that is effective in the sense of watching the human struggle. Trying
to get away and stay alive looks more poetic and ironically euphoric as things
play out than in anything else in horror film. The movement of certain
characters bodies mixed with the killers narrative speaking voice and back and
forth contemplation, acts like watching an intriguing visually pleasing puzzle orchestration.
I can’t help but think……..if you were to make a movie about
Jeffery Dahmer or Son of Sam without having it to be a crime procedural, this
would be the most accurate way to go that is scary as all hell.
Now whether Angst
is a Horror-Slasher film or just an Art film is neither here nor there, as
it’s a movie that has an idea in mind and plays it out and those are some of
the best kinds of movies. If you’re looking for something lethal yet
interesting, you’re here.
-
Maurice Jones
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