News

Trepang Studios and Team17 Digital’s action-horror Fps Trepang2 has its new Dlc out today in “Bladekisser”, adding in some much-welcomed swordplay to Trepang2, along with a new mission. The launch of the Dlc is accompanied with a stylish new trailer that offers up glimpses of your new toys in action.

Bladekisser features 3 new weapons: a revolver to obliterate your foes, a machine gun, and of course an impressively-crafted sword for those “slice and dice” moments. And yes, you can dual-wield a pair of each of the new guns.

The Dlc also includes 2 new side missions, 9 combat simulator maps, 3 HVTs and new intel. Those who already have the Trepang2 Season Pass will have Bladekisser included. The rest of us can purchase the Dlc separately for $7.99.

Touted as a spiritual successor to the fast-paced, over-the-top first-person shooters of the mid-2000s (namely Monolith’s classic F.E.A.R.), Trepang2 “pairs high-octane,...

Writer/director Chris Nash’s slasher movie In a Violent Nature had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year (you can read a review by Chris Bumbray right Here), and IFC gave the film a theatrical release at the end of May (which is when Tyler Nichols wrote his review and interviewed the director and stars). The movie will be reaching the Shudder streaming service sometime later this year – but in the meantime, it has already received a digital release and is available to watch in the comfort of your home right now! You can check it out on Amazon at This Link, where it can be rented for the price of $6.99 or purchased for $14.99.

Here’s the official synopsis: When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime,...

“It’s just a thrill a minute,” filmmaker Chris Nash is quick to joke of his debut feature, “In a Violent Nature.”

“We made this movie with an audience of maybe five people in mind. So having anybody like it and endure the walking and just the pace of the film, it’s been a testament to the patience of an audience,” he said.

Nash cuts himself short — a metaphor made more apt when you’ve seen just how creative the filmmaker can be with a paralyzed victim and a well-placed log splitter. The extra gutsy first-time feature writer/director and his star Ry Barrett spoke with IndieWire in April at The Overlook Film Festival. That’s an annual horror event in Louisiana, where Nash’s spellbinding slasher deconstruction for IFC Films and Shudder screened for the second time after making its world premiere at Sundance. “In a Violent Nature...

In 2017, a video game based on the popular horror franchise Friday the 13th was released. That game and another called Dead by Daylight had an option where you get to stalk players as the killer and try to pick them off one by one. The new IFC Films and Shudder original, In a Violent Nature, takes a similar concept and has the audience experience a slasher movie from the point-of-view of the killer. Writer/Director Chris Nash brings us the twisty premise and IFC Films has released a new trailer for all of us to behold.

Here’s the official synopsis: When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group...

Writer/director Chris Nash’s slasher movie In a Violent Nature had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year (you can read a review by JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray right Here), and it won’t be long before a wider audience has a chance to see it, as it has been announced that IFC Film will be giving the film a theatrical release on May 31st! Along with this release date announcement comes the unveiling of a full trailer for In a Violent Nature, and you can check that out in the embed above.

Sundance said In a Violent Nature is about “the enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.” Variety added that it features “a masked killer named Johnny traipsing through the woods, camping teens, a local who escaped death years ago, buckets of gore. But including these...

The Unnamed Footage Festival has announced the first wave of films for this year’s 7th edition of the Found Footage Horror, First Person Pov, and Faux Doc film festival.

The team previews, “Every year, our programmers scour the globe for the greatest, weirdest, and most obscure films in the In-World camera genre, and this year is shaping up to be our best and biggest year yet, complete with cryptids, liminal horror, possession and live streaming.

“UFF7 will feature two nights of pre-fest events. On Tuesday March 26th, Uff will present a 10th Anniversary screening of As Above So Below at Terror Tuesday in collaboration with the Alamo Drafthouse at their New Mission location. Wednesday March 27th will be our first ever badgeholder-only pre-festival event & mixer at the Artists’ Television Access in the Mission district, with details to be announced soon.

“Our annual Recalibration Party kicks off opening night on Thursday March 28th,...

Writer/director Chris Nash’s slasher movie In a Violent Nature had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month (you can read a review by JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray right Here), and it won’t be long before a wider audience has a chance to see it, as it has already secured theatrical and streaming distribution with IFC and Shudder. A release date hasn’t been announced yet, but a teaser has made its way online, and you can check that out in the embed above.

Sundance said In a Violent Nature is about “the enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.” Variety added that it features “a masked killer named Johnny traipsing through the woods, camping teens, a local who escaped death years ago, buckets of gore. But including these cornerstones doesn’t feel like a retread—instead,...

There’s a reason that home invasion horror films like The Strangers, Them, The Purge, Hush, Don’t Breathe, Funny Games, and more rank highly among horror fans. The very concept of your private sanctuary getting corrupted and invaded by an unhinged intruder who means you grave harm is inherently terrifying. The realistic thrills of home invasion films can offer some of the most intense horror, and some of the biggest surprises when the formula is subverted.

This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to home invasion horror movies that unleash suspense, chills, violence, and stalker thrills. Here’s where you can stream them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

Angst – Kanopy, Midnight Pulp, Mubi, Tubi

An unconventional, stylized Austrian horror movie that largely influenced Gaspar Noe’s work, Angst follows a psychopath as he’s released from prison and eager to commit crime again. After a botched murder attempt,...

It’s clear from the imagery, the poster, and the description that writer/director Chris Nash’s slasher movie In a Violent Nature, which will be having its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this month, is inspired by backwoods slashers like the Friday the 13th films… but during an interview with Variety, Nash revealed that this one takes a different approach to the backwoods slasher sub-genre, as it focuses on the killer rather than the potential victims and also draws inspiration from the works of Terrence Malick and Gus Van Sant.

Sundance said In a Violent Nature is about “the enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.” Variety adds that it features “a masked killer named Johnny traipsing through the woods, camping teens, a local who escaped death years ago, buckets of gore. But including these cornerstones doesn’t feel like a retread—instead,...

Chris Nash, who wrote and directed the indie horror movie “In A Violent Nature,” loves the slasher genre so much that he decided to totally deconstruct it.

Much like the “Friday the 13th” franchise, “Violent Nature” hits all the known beats: a masked killer named Johnny traipsing through the woods, camping teens, a local who escaped death years ago, buckets of gore. But including these cornerstones doesn’t feel like a retread—instead, it gave Nash room to play freely. Like, for example, making the perspective largely tethered to the killer. There’s no spotlight on heroes or final girls here, only the glimpses and whispers of those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of Johnny’s reign of terror.

“We went in knowing that we were just following around this slasher character the entire time,” he said of the film, which is set to debut in the...

Paris-based sales house Charades has acquired international sales rights to “In a Violent Nature,” the debut feature film from writer and director Chris Nash that is set to premiere in Sundance’s Midnight Section on Jan. 22.

Produced by Shudder under the streaming service’s Shudder Original banner, the film follows a vengeful undead monster as he methodically slaughters a group of campers in the wilderness after they remove a pendant from his resting grounds. Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hanmer are also producers on “In a Violent Nature,” which is set for release in 2024.

“‘In a Violent Nature’ reminded us of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Angst,’ but most of all, it’s the discovery of an incredibly talented director,” said Charades co-founders Pierre Mazars, Yohann Comte and Carole Baraton. “We are very grateful to be working with Shudder once again with whom we are building an incredible track record of genre films from ‘Revenge,...

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (Bhff) announces today the full program for its 2023 incarnation, running October 12-19th with all screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema’s Williamsburg and Prospect Park locations. Audiences are in for an unearthly lineup of films and events, including the inaugural Leviathan Award, which will be presented to NYC horror legend William Lustig at a special 35th-anniversary screening of Maniac Cop, followed by a post-screening conversation with Lustig.

The Opening Night film is the World Premiere of Kill Your Lover from directors Alix Austin and Keir Siewert, who previously announced themselves to the Bhff audience last year with their short film Sucker. The 2023 festival boasts the World Premieres of three more exciting new films: Gaia director Jaco Bouwer’s unsettling Breathing In, Aimee Kuge’s audacious debut Cannibal Mukbang, and Tyler Chipman’s powerfully creepy debut The Shade. The festival’s other spotlight titles include director...

This article contains major spoilers for "Barbarian."

We've barely entered the spooky movie season and Zach Cregger's "Barbarian" has already blown the doors off in a big way. It's rare that you come across a movie that keeps its deepest secrets close to its chest in the way that this unpredictable nightmare does. It comes as such a surprise given how Cregger, one of the founding members of "The Whitest Kids U' Know," has only directed one other theatrical feature with "Miss March," which was savagely panned by critics at the time of its release.

"Barbarian" already feels like a formidable addition to the roster of modern horror greats. Those of you who are already privy to this movie's dark secrets know how imperative it is that others walk into it as cold as possible. While Cregger was interviewed by Bloody Disgusting, he stressed how important it was to...

Spoiler warning: Perhaps best known as one of the founding members of “The Whitest Kids U’Know,” writer/director Zach Cregger has had an enduring comedy career. While Cregger’s latest, Barbarian, features a darkly funny streak, it’s the type of horror that goes for the jugular.

Barbarian, out in theaters on September 9, stars Georgina Campbell as Tess. When Tess arrives at her Detroit rental late one night, she’s startled to find that it’s been double booked. She reluctantly agrees to share the space with the stranger (Bill Skarsgård) but soon realizes there’s more to fear than unexpected guests.

Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting chatted with Cregger about his unpredictable horror movie. The filmmaker spoke about why comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin, the story behind a song choice, and his surprising horror influences.

The film’s introduction to Justin Long...

As the human race straddles an unprecedented pandemic, hostile divisions and conflicts, fake news (and real news) and digital opportunism, we also discover new strengths and beauty of moral courage and perseverance. This programme celebrates the Austrian master of literature, Stefan Zweig (1881 – 1942), who is famed for his steadfast pacifism, insistence on vaster understanding and intricate reading on passion and desire.

Zweig experienced two world wars. As a famous Jewish-Austrian writer, Zweig’s books were censored, vilified and destroyed by the Nazi in the 1930s and 1940s. He left his hometown, Vienna, to escape German persecution, living in England and America before settling in his final destination, Brazil. When Zweig was in exile, a journalist asked how the writer thought of Germany, he answered, “I will make no prophecy. I would not speak against Germany. I would never speak against any country.”

Zweig’s work has served as the basis of many film adaptations and inspirations.

October’s here and it’s time to get spooked. After last year’s superb “’70s Horror” lineup, the Criterion Channel commemorates October with a couple series: “Universal Horror,” which does what it says on the tin (with special notice to the Spanish-language Dracula), and “Home Invasion,” which runs the gamut from Romero to Oshima with Polanski and Haneke in the mix. Lest we disregard the programming of Cindy Sherman’s one feature, Office Killer, and Jennifer’s Body, whose lifespan has gone from gimmick to forgotten to Criterion Channel. And if you want to stretch ideas of genre just a hair, their “True Crime” selection gets at darker shades of human nature.

It’s not all chills and thrills, mind. October also boasts a Kirk Douglas repertoire, movies by Doris Wishman and Wayne Wang, plus Manoel de Oliveira’s rarely screened Porto of My Childhood. And Edgar Wright gets the “Adventures in Moviegoing” treatment,...

Writer, director, producer, editor, cinematographer, and actor Larry Fessenden chats with hosts Joe Dante & Josh Olson about some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Habit (1995)

Jakob’s Wife (2021)

Phantom Thread (2017)

The Last Winter (2006)

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

The Crawling Eye (1958)

The Reptile (1966)

Peeping Tom (1960)

Casablanca (1942)

Jaws (1975)

Man Of A Thousand Faces (1957)

Scarlet Street (1945)

Suspicion (1941)

Rope (1948)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

Frankenstein (1931)

The Wolf Man (1941)

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Dracula (1931)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Taxi Driver (1976)

Mean Streets (1973)

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Playtime (1973)

The Thing (1982)

The Howling (1981)

An American Werewolf In London (1981)

An American Werewolf In Paris (1997)

I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)

Ginger Snaps (2001)

The Terminator (1984)

The Wolfman (2010)

Van Helsing (2004)

The Mummy (2017)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man (2020)

Amazon Women On The Moon (1987)

Wendigo (2001)

Fargo (1996)

Raising Arizona (1987)

Seven (1995)

Man Bites Dog...

“Enfant Terrible,” which received the Cannes 2020 label, is set to start its international journey with its first distribution deals announced as it joins the international festival circuit. The film, directed by Oskar Roehler, is about the life of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

The German film, which received its local festival premiere at the Hamburg Film Festival, was released on home turf by Weltkino on Oct. 1. The biopic is set to start its international life with upcoming premieres at the festivals in Ghent (in competition), Istanbul (as a Gala screening) and Seville (in competition).

“Enfant Terrible” opened the German Film Festival in Paris on Oct. 7, and screened in the Masters section of the Moscow Film Festival on Oct. 7, and has received a nomination for the European Film Awards.

Alongside various ongoing and advanced negotiations, sales agent Picture Tree Intl. has announced the film’s first deals, including in the U.

This week on Batwoman, ahead of the CW series’ freshman finale, Alice struggled to make sense of the late Lucius Fox’s journal, while a sense of betrayal nearly broke up the Bat-team.

When last we tuned in, Kate had woken up after a hook-up to discover that sweet li’l Reagan had made off with Lucius Fox’s journal. Kate found and confronted Reagan, who insisted that she truly does have feelings for the real estate titan, but she was compelled to do right by her sister aka Magpie. And now she has no idea where the journal is.

Starring Jonas Dassler, Margarethe Tiesel Written by Fatih Akin (screenplay), Heinz Strunk (novel) Directed by Fatih Akin The Golden Glove pulls from previously-banned shock cinema classics like Gerald Kargl’s Angst in a shared earnest observation of its subjects, while it’s cruel refusal to let the viewer opt out of participation recalls Michael Haneke’s Funny Games. […]

The post Fantastic Fest 2019: The Golden Glove Review – Filthy Shock Horror Leavened With Humanity appeared first on Dread Central.

To hear Robbie Ryan tell it, he was “a glorified camera operator” on “The Favourite.” Shot entirely in natural light, director Yorgos Lanthimos was against his cinematographer cluttering the set with flags, bounce or diffusion in an effort to shape the light. He also picked the lenses, knowing he would rely almost entirely on the extremely wide 10mm lens he experimented with while shooting “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.”

“At the end of the job, I said to Yorgos, ‘You should be shooting your own films, ’cause your an amazingly astute cinematographer in your own mind and I’m just kind of a glorified operator on this,’” said Ryan. “And I still kind of stick to that adage, but he’s going, ‘No, no. I like the way we worked.’”

Ryan was in many ways a natural partner for Lanthimos on “The Favourite.” From his collaborations with director Andrea Arnold,...

Cult Epics has long been one of our favorite home video distributors for their unwavering dedication to the darkest corners of upsetting and challenging cinema. From their releases of Radley Metzger's late '60s softcore masterpieces Score, The Lickerish Quartet, and Camille 2000, to their championing of German underground legend Jorg Buttgereit, to their astoung releases of disturbing classics like Agustin Villaronga's In a Glass Cage and Gerald Kargl's Angst, Cult Epics has never shied away from a challenging title, often introducing home video enthusiasts to films they may not have known existed. Now, as they celebrate their 25th year, Cult Epics is getting ready to release their first book, a hardcover exploration of their legacy titled Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema. The book...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Cult Epics is one of the most under-appreciated cult home video labels haunting video store shelves these days.The label's owner, Nico B., has turned his company an essential source for hard-edged avant garde horror and splatter of yesteryear with releases of classics like Jorg Buttgereit's Nekromantik and its sequel, Death Bed: The Bed that Eats, and Augustin Villaronga's terrifying post Wwi nightmare, In a Glass Cage.The label continues its hot streak with recent releases of Buttgereit's long unavailable existential anti-horror Der Todesking and Gerald Kargl's essential Austrian masterpiece, Angst....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

You’d be hard-pressed to find a film that can transcend the unpleasantness of Austrian filmmaker Gerald Kargl’s sole directorial feature, Angst. A title difficult to obtain copies of in the United States, it’s one of those titles passed around amongst aficionados who prefer their boundaries stretched or surpassed when it comes to taste, and the film feels like a progenitor of unsettling material like Man Bites Dog (1992) or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986). And yet Kargl’s unsung masterpiece of distress usurps the discomfort engendered in those later titles thanks to ambient score and spectacular camerawork. Touted as a film influencing the likes of Gaspar Noe, on record as proclaiming the title to be ‘the rarest masterpiece of cinema,’ widespread availability should mark this as a film worthy of reconsideration and a much wider cult following.

A troubled individual (Erwin Leder) is released from prison after...

“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...

For the New Inquiry, Brandon Harris reviews the current production in New York of Annie Baker’s Pulitzer-winning play The Flick, which "resembles the slow cinema of Chantal Akerman or Pedro Costa as much as it does a traditional theatrical experience." In July, Sean Baker will be in the city for screenings of Prince of Broadway, Starlet and Tangerine. Chicago is mounting a formal-wear screening of the rediscovered and restored Essanay production of Sherlock Holmes (1916). The Reader recommends Lisandro Alonso's Jauja. Plus, a special trailer for Gerald Kargl's Angst (1983), screening tonight and tomorrow in Los Angeles. » - David Hudson...

For the New Inquiry, Brandon Harris reviews the current production in New York of Annie Baker’s Pulitzer-winning play The Flick, which "resembles the slow cinema of Chantal Akerman or Pedro Costa as much as it does a traditional theatrical experience." In July, Sean Baker will be in the city for screenings of Prince of Broadway, Starlet and Tangerine. Chicago is mounting a formal-wear screening of the rediscovered and restored Essanay production of Sherlock Holmes (1916). The Reader recommends Lisandro Alonso's Jauja. Plus, a special trailer for Gerald Kargl's Angst (1983), screening tonight and tomorrow in Los Angeles. » - David Hudson...

In this morning's round-up, we have details on not one, not two, but three slasher films. Savage Weekend, Angst, and The Mutilator are set to be released on Blu-ray between late summer and early fall.

Savage Weekend: From Kino Lorber: "Coming September 29th! On Blu-ray and DVD! From a Brand New 2015 HD Master!

Savage Weekend (1979) Starring Christopher Allport, David Gale, Caitlin O'Heaney, Jeff Pomerantz, William Sanderson and Yancy Butler. Written and Directed by David Paulsen.

Blu-ray, packaging, and extras all produced by Walt Olsen (Scorpion Releasing). Another one of his recommendations!

Special Features:

On camera interview with star William Sanderson On camera interview with star Caitlin O'Heaney On camera interview with star Jeff Pomeranz Original Theatrical Trailer"

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Angst: Gerald Kargl's Angst will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 18th.

Blu-ray.com reports that "Independent U.S. distributors Cult Epics will release on...

Angst

Written by Gerald Kargl & Zbigniew Rybczynski

Directed by Gerald Kargl

Austria, 1983

Roger Ebert famously observed that, “Art is the closest we can come to understanding how a stranger really feels.” If that’s the case, Angst might be the deepest that cinema has ever plunged into the mind of a psychopath. Dispassionate, clinical, and obsessed with the minutiae of tortured fantasies, director Gerald Kargl ensnares his audience in a monstrous trap. We have certainly seen more graphic films, but few more disturbing in their depiction of true evil. Fans of forbidden cinema must seek out this demented masterpiece. All others must avoid it at all costs.

If you’ve ever wondered what Alex was forced to watch for his aversion therapy in Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, it probably resembled something close to Angst. Austrian filmmaker Gerald Kargl concocts a fiendish blend of fact and fiction; a patchwork of...

Cult Epics have revealed full details on the coming Blu-ray and DVD for Gerald Kargl’s Angst, a notorious, incredible film that’s largely gone unreleased on home video. Graphic and entirely unhinged, the 1983 home invasion horror is also a technical marvel with Kargl and cinematographer Zbigniew Rybcynski’s camerawork mirroring the main character’s psychotic state. This,…

The post Full Details: Angst, the infamous Austrian home invasion horror on Blu appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

If you’re into horror movies about depraved, mentally unstable serial killers, then director Gerald Kargl’s 1983 genre flick Angst (also known as Schizophrenia) is right up your demented alley. Locating a legitimate copy of the movie on home video in… Continue Reading →

The post Gerald Kargl’s Angst Set to Terrorize Theaters Ahead of Home Video Release appeared first on Dread Central.

Just this week, Cult Epics revealed Blu-ray and DVD plans for Gerald Kargl’s Angst, a notorious, incredible film that’s largely gone unreleased on home video. Graphic and entirely unhinged, the 1983 home invasion horror is also a technical marvel with Kargl and cinematographer Zbigniew Rybcynski’s camerawork mirroring the main character’s psychotic state. This, coupled with…

The post Exclusive: Infamous Austrian Horror, Angst Goes Theatrical appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

In truly huge news for film fans, Cult Epics—the boutique label who brought Jörg Buttgereit’s Nekromantik films to U.S. blu—has announced an August Blu-ray and DVDate, as well as summer theatrical bookings for Gerald Kargl’s crucial, Austrian home invasion classic Angst. The 1983 film, often cited by Irreversible and Enter the Void‘s Gaspar Noé as a tremendous influence (he’s…

The post Crucial, Rare Home Invasion Film Angst Comes to Blu appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Todd Haynes receives his first entry in the Criterion collection with a beautiful restoration of his landmark 1995 sophomore feature, Safe, the film that launched the status of burgeoning star Julianne Moore. Though initial reactions to the film were perplexing after a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, a growing cult following cemented the film’s reputation as a fascinating example of Haynes’ remarkable control of mise en scene, as well as a deliberately refined AIDs allegory ahead of its time. Recuperated famously as a case study as pertains to practices and definitions of whiteness, it may very well be Haynes’ most invigorating work precisely because of all the avenues of projection its fascinating obliqueness provides.

The narrative is relatively simple, especially as pertains to the work of Haynes, who often prizes experimental, non-linear narratives. A suburban housewife residing in the San Fernando Valley of 1987, Carol White (Julianne Moore) finds herself...

The features that make their premiere at Fantastic Fest tend to get much of the attention, but don’t forget that you’re likely to see some great short films at the event as well. Fantastic Fest is known for their extensive short film selection and this year is no different:

“Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the short film lineup for the ninth edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 19th- 26th in Austin, Texas at Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline. Short films provide an outlet for filmmakers to showcase their genre talents in a format with fewer restraints, making them a Fantastic Fest favorite. Fantastic Fest is wildly excited that longtime festival comrade Kier-la Janisse is now our lead shorts programmer. Kier-la created the notorious CineMuerte Film Festival in Canada, and was the first full-time film programmer for the Alamo back in the “wild west” days. She has since gone on...

Angst (Fear)

Written by Gerald Kargl and Zbigniew Rybczynski

Directed by Gerald Kargl

Austria, 1983

When it comes to cinematic portraits of killers, there is a tendency towards the mythic. Because, as a society, we like to keep a safe distance from those who consciously choose to kill others (whether for visceral enjoyment or personal gain), and the process of mythmaking buttresses that distance, making it clear that these people are not only not like us, but they probably couldn’t have existed in the first place. Give them a mask. Give them supernatural abilities. Give them immortality; it’s all ultimately part of the same process of distanciation.

There is no such process afoot in Angst, an Austrian chiller that strips the slasher film of any mythic barriers, but unfortunately robs it of its ability to evoke anything beyond base disgustin the process. Filmed in a style that oscillates between highly subjective and practically omniscient,...

Welcome to Beast’S Flashback, where like the critics said of Elias Mehrige’s Begotten: we point a flood light in those places we choose not to look. For those new to this column, allow the author to explain. In this space we will look at films from the past and present that have, for some reason or another, gone relatively unnoticed...

Even in these modern times, where nothing seems to be hidden, these films have evaded mass viewings, major DVD/Blu-Ray revivals, and far-reaching retrospectives, remaining below the surface, clawing at the coffins of avoidance, screaming to be let loose.

While these movies may not be well known, they still have a resonance on those few who have experienced them, some of which have become well-known genre auteurs, using these underground gems as the measuring stick against their own levels of celluloid depravity. You may have not of heard of them,...