Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her handicapped son and her pretty daughter.
Angst is a singular, deeply unsettling Austrian psychological horror film directed by Gerald Kargl. Its plot is skeletal by design — a released psychopath commits a home invasion — but this minimalism serves the relentless character study. The real distinction lies in its cinematography: Zbigniew Rybczyński's extraordinary, restless camerawork (gyroscopic rigs, extreme close-ups, overhead tracking shots) creates an almost physical sense of dread and claustrophobia that was virtually unprecedented in 1983 and remains stunning. The first-person voice-over narration from the killer's perspective adds a disturbing intimacy. Novelty is very high — the film's singular voice, tone, and technical execution make it unmistakably one-of-a-kind, a clear forerunner of films like Man Bites Dog. Acting is committed if deliberately flat, serving the tone. The ending, while appropriately bleak, is somewhat abrupt and underdeveloped compared to the film's visceral mid-section.