Angst

Erwin Leder and friend in Angst

Gerald Kargl's Angst, from 1983, is a splatter filled home invasion film that is a chilling portrait of the mind of a psychotic killer. The film is wholly nihilistic without even a trace of humanistic uplift. Erwin Leder (Das Boot) plays the protagonist who we meet in jail on the day he is sprung. Leder's voiceovers give us a glimpse into the miscreant's messed up and murderous past while he searches for new victims. Leder's antic and full-bodied performance is remarkable, but the film belongs to Kargl's mise-en-scene. His camera work, with swooping crane shots and gyroscopic dolly shots, evokes the protagonist's unhinged mind.

Ultimately, Angst has third act problems. Still, it is a tight and elegantly constructed 78 minutes; Kargl's only feature film. Angst didn't generate much goodwill despite Kargl's obvious talent. It was banned in most of Europe and bankrupted the director. Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream provides the serviceable techno score though Kargl uses silence and repetitive sounds, like water dripping, to further give a sense of psychic dislocation. The missing link between Stanley Kubrick and Gaspar Noe, Angst will entrance fans of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Golden Glove, and Sam Raimi. Mom, you should skip this one.