Movies

ANGST – Austrian Shocker from 1983 Midnights This Weekend at The Hi-Pointe

By Tom Stockman | July 5, 2015

“The fear in her eyes and the knife in the chest. That’s my last memory of my mother. That’s why I had to go to prison for four years, even though she survived.”

ANGST screens midnights this Friday and Saturday Night (June 10th and 11th) at The Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Ave, St. Louis) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse

After serving time, a troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house. That’s the premise of ANGST, an Austrian serial killer flick from 1983 that I am completely unfamiliar with. ANGST is loosely based on the true story of Werner Kniesek who killed three people in Austria in 1980 and was never released theatrically in the U.S. Apparently director Gaspar Noé (IRREVERSIBLE) has embraced it and is behind the film getting a belated release on DVD and Blu-ray here later this year. Directed by Gerald Kargl, shot by Oscar-winning filmmaker/animator Zbigniew Rybczynski, and with music by synth-god Klaus Schulze (a one-time member of Tangerine Dream), ANGST will be presented in its uncut & uncensored version midnights this weekend (July 10th and 11th) at The Hi-Pointe Theater as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse midnight series.

Critics who have seen ANGST are impressed.

John Krauter at Decapitated Zombie Vampire Bloodbath says ANGST:

“….is full of energy, offbeat but naturalistic humor, stellar performances, top-notch cinematography, and thoughtful shot compositions and camera movements.” Read all of Krauter’s review HERE

Simon Howell at Sound on Sight says:

“Its single-minded subjectivity and depraved psychological landscape share a clear connection with Gaspar Noé’s ‘I Stand Alone’. Its subject-dependent camerawork feels plainly ahead of its time, with its fixed-camera perspectives still a visual staple of any contemporary filmmaker”

I guess we’ll have to wait until this weekend to see what all the fuss is about but it sounds like something not to be missed…..See ya there!