(1983) Dir - Gerald Kargl
Overall: GOOD
Putting the viewer right smack in the uncomfortable seat throughout its entire run time, Gerald Kargl's Angst, (Fear), serves as Austrian's precursor to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Following around a violently deranged lunatic for an hour and some change as we get to witness every detail of him being violent and deranged, the premise is as cut and dry as it gets. Kargl makes some intriguing stylistic choices though, such as using multiple SnorriCam shots and shooting all of the violence and action in an awkward fashion, all the while having his main, psychopathic character calmly narrate his own history and fantasies. Erwin Leder's performance is perfect as he loses more and more control over himself and his circumstances, plus the score by German electronic composer Klaus Schulze is both eerie and hypnotic. It eventually becomes a problem that the movie is shot in real time since we are treated to a long post-killing spree sequence in which bodies are merely moved around for about twenty minutes, thus deflating the tension. The bleak presentation does not go fully into torture-porn though and this remains an effectively provocative and uncompromising look into the psyche of an inhuman, malevolent murderer for those curious to see something so knowingly unpleasant.
GOSPODIN OFORMITEL
(1987)
Dir - Oleg Teptsov
Overall: MEH
Based off of a short story by Russian writer Alexander Grin, Gospodin Oformitel, (Mister Designer), is an unforgivingly pretentious art film that is so stagnantly paced that it barely qualifies as the horror film that it is routinely labeled as. While it is remarkably photographed and the set and costume designs are wonderfully picturesque, it is ultimately a lot of hot air with nothing concrete to latch on to. The small lot of characters are so unemotive that they barely come off as characters at all, even in an intentionally aloof sense. This is most apparent with the lead protagonist, (played by theater actor Viktor Anilov), who has the hardest of times not looking like he is just as bored as we are confused. In his debut, director Teptsov, (who has only made two movies to this day), makes it a priority to be as ambiguous as possible, drenching every moment of the film in pompous and stylistic touches. It does not wallow in the surreal in an engaging fashion though and while the care was taken to make it a gorgeously looking film, it does not amount to much more than a whole lot of vapid arthouse pandering for the sake of it, which in and of itself may be enough for some adventurous viewers.
(1987)
Dir - Oleg Teptsov
Overall: MEH
Based off of a short story by Russian writer Alexander Grin, Gospodin Oformitel, (Mister Designer), is an unforgivingly pretentious art film that is so stagnantly paced that it barely qualifies as the horror film that it is routinely labeled as. While it is remarkably photographed and the set and costume designs are wonderfully picturesque, it is ultimately a lot of hot air with nothing concrete to latch on to. The small lot of characters are so unemotive that they barely come off as characters at all, even in an intentionally aloof sense. This is most apparent with the lead protagonist, (played by theater actor Viktor Anilov), who has the hardest of times not looking like he is just as bored as we are confused. In his debut, director Teptsov, (who has only made two movies to this day), makes it a priority to be as ambiguous as possible, drenching every moment of the film in pompous and stylistic touches. It does not wallow in the surreal in an engaging fashion though and while the care was taken to make it a gorgeously looking film, it does not amount to much more than a whole lot of vapid arthouse pandering for the sake of it, which in and of itself may be enough for some adventurous viewers.
(1989)
Dir - Constantino Magnatta
Overall: WOOF
The second of only two movies to be directed by Constantino Magnatta, Freakshow is an example of anthology horror done in an embarrassing and strictly clumsy manner. Given a limited theatrical release which is far more than it deserves, it gets off to a clunky start and remains off the rails throughout, strictly in an incompetent sense. Some asshole guns down a bunch of movie theater patrons because his girlfriend dumped him, prompting a famous female reporter to upset her cameraman who drives off and leaves her to wonder around fog-laded, sketchy streets while trying to hail a cab. Such head-scratching details would imply that the entire movie exists in some soft of dream logic and in a sense it does, once bitchy protagonist Audrey Landers runs into a weirdo with a freakshow exhibit, (hence the film's title), who shows her Belial from Basket Case floating in a glass compartment which somehow allows for her to imagine the following four stories. Each one exhibits exclusively unconvincing human behavior and plot maneuvers that insult the audience's intelligence and even though it occasionally becomes so bizarre to warrant laughing at, the wretched acting, wretched soundtrack, wretched writing, and wretched production values make it an unforgivably lame watch.
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