Angst

Shortly after being released from ten years in prison, a man is already tormented by his lust for blood. He watches young girls in a café, then tries to kill a female taxi driver with his shoelace. In a secluded house on the edge of the forest, he finds his next victims: an elderly woman, her daughter and her disabled son in a wheelchair… Based on the true story of Austrian serial killer Werner Kniesek, Gerald Kargl’s debut ANGST has become a cult film over the last four decades, with prominent fans all over the world, including Gaspar Noé. Condemned on its initial release and consequently held back (at least in its home country) for years, the film is now finally ripe for rediscovery. The descent into a psychopath’s mind is efciently constructed and narrated and leaves little time for respite: the camerawork by Oscar winning Polish cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczyński is incredible even from the point of view of today, while electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze delivers icy soundscapes. And Erwin Leder’s (DAS BOOT, SCHINDLER’S LIST) performance shows both great despair and merciless brutality. A movie like this hasn’t been done in Austria either before or since! (Florian Widegger

In the presence of Gerald Kargl.

Gerald Kargl: RATATATA (1977, K), SKISZENEN MIT FRANZ KLAMMER (1980, K), DAS VERTRAUTE OBJEKT (1981, K)