You’ve heard of the great serial killer films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs and Seven but you probably haven’t heard of Angst, the film that was banned in Europe upon release for its depiction of extreme violence. It depicts a killer, credited only as ‘The Psychopath’ who is released from prison after having spent the last decade trapped inside, dreaming of killing again.
The camera work viscerally captures this state of insatiable desire to kill by strapping the camera literally to ‘The Psychopath’ meaning you are trapped with him as he stumbles around frenziedly enjoying “the greatest things”. This is juxtaposed against the eerily high wide shots leaving you to enjoy the spectacle from a distance before you come crashing back into a close-up. This juxtaposition marks a remarkable feature of Angst as the balance between the surreal and the real leaves you nauseated and disgusted, but yet there is nowhere to hide.
What makes Angst truly great is in its sustained monologues it manages to capture the frenzied inner workings of a killer in a manner that isn’t sensationalized but rather real. It focuses on the ‘The Psychopath’ and his insatiable desire to kill rather than the kills themselves. It seems to exist in opposition to the great serial killer films of Hollywood which are sensationalized in comparison, which gives an extra reason to watch Angst outside of the experience alone.