A psychopath who had previously shot and killed an old woman (seemingly for no reason) is released from prison. He picks up where he left off and invades the home of a male invalid and his two female relatives.

Angst is an Austrian film loosely based on the real-life serial killer Werner Kniesek. It was also banned in numerous countries upon its (attempted) release.

There’s some very impressive direction and photography here by Gerald Kargl and Zbigniew Rybczyński, who also handled the editing. The screenplay was also written by them and is just as impressive with the thought processes of the psychopath (an excellent performance by Erwin Leder) being disclosed to the audience over the soundtrack.

Some compare Angst to another film, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. It’s not as good as Henry (there’s not enough variation within Angst and some of Klaus Schulze’s score is horribly tinny and dated).

But it’s still a nice slice (pun not intended) of extreme cinema and it’s nice to see that a sausage dog plays a major role.

Fun fact- Angst was a major influence on Gaspar Noé.

3.5 out of 5 stars