User reviews

The film was advertised as a domestic horror film and the mood and the location was very well met. In terms of action, the whole film takes place on a farm in the countryside (Lower Austria), the actors are all very convincing and were well chosen. Pia Hierzegger is of course fantastic as the aunt, very believable.

The label horror film is too strong for me, although it certainly fits into the genre, but measured against today's usual horror films, the film is already rather harmless, more psychological thriller. Also, the film offers little surprising.

The story: overweight teenager Simi visits aunt Claudia, a nutrition expert, in the countryside (with hopes to be helped with dieting), with (newly married) uncle Stefan and cousin Fillip (from the first marriage of the aunt). Simi feels uncomfortable from the beginning, the cousin a creep, the aunt strict, the uncle too nice?

I felt they got inspired by films like "Get Out," "The Wicker Man," as well as some Hammer films from the sixties. Without giving more away, you definitely guess what the whole thing is leading up to in the course of the film. That's what I meant by unsurprising. I was missing a twist that would change your view of the story and question your perception, so to speak, but that twist doesn't come. Conclusion: well done, but not top notch.

No pun intended - someone who supposedly is good at diets, should be able to help a family member out, right? Well you would think that, but on the other hand, it seems like she has issues to keep her own son in check, so maybe she is not the best person to get advice from.

Now overall I assume most will know (predict) where the movie is going. You will not get bonus points (or brownies for that matter), if you guess that right. Even the weirdly placed wooden ritual thing is very on the nose. Still, this is a first time filmmaker (feature length that is) and maybe you are able to cut him some slack for that.

The performances are good, though quite understated. As intended I assume. There is insanity, but there could be more. There is some logic to it all, but there could be way better decision making. From all involved ... but it is what it is. Either go with the flow or leave it be.

At the end of the Lenten fast, a plump girl visits her aunt, an expert cook, at her remote farmhouse, where things seem a little ... off.

Grimm's fairy-tale meets mild body-horror. The narrative is kinda plain - if you substitute a wicked witch in a house in the forest, you're most of the way there. But the body-horror aspect is dignified by associations with the sacrifice of Jesus and the notion of cannibalism as a rite of rebirth, plus an unfussy portrait of animal death. Not really my genre, but in this form more 'tasteful' than the lurid stuff that's been a staple of French and Canadian films for decades.

The pace is sedate, the performances reserved, and the music is barely perceptible, just nudging us into a sense of dread. At times the intimacy of the whispered voices is intense, a nice effect. But the standout for me is the character of Simi, who has an intriguing mix of impassive innocence and savage resilience.

This is an Austrian production, and I have to say their Slavic neighbours do this kind of macabre with a greater sense of wonder and mystery - and humour. And a final oddity is that the German word Schei*e is translated into a more forceful word in English.

Overall: Simple story that just about fills its dress.

P.s. I do practice fasting and low-carb, and it's clear the writer didn't think to do his research.

Peter Hengl is one sick puppy, and I mean that as a compliment. He is both the writer and director of this wicked German film.

A teenage girl seeking to lose a few pounds is left with her aunt by her mother six days prior to Easter Sunday but do not expect a big bunny rabbit with colored eggs for the Holiday celebration.

Instead, the best selling author of diet books takes the young girl under her supervision with a crash diet program of no food for the six days leading up to a wonderful dinner with the aunt, her young son and her live-in boyfriend.

The diet coach is a strange woman filled with what seems to be a new age kind of religion. Earth mom is not playing with a full deck.

The ending was not a surprise to me but I still recommend Family Dinner.

I wouldn't consider this a real horror movie, it's more of a slow paced psychological thriller with some horror elements towards the third act. Usually I'm not a big fan of slow-paced movies but since this was an Austrian horror movie which we don't see a lot from I was intrigued.

It follows Simi, an overweight teenager who's staying at her aunts farm in her holidays. Her aunt is a famous writer and nutrition expert and is teaching Simi a lot about eating healthy. The aunt portrayed by Pia Hierzegger immediately has a weird presence and also her husband Stefan sometimes just seems too nice and is creating an uncomfortable sexual tension between the teenager and him. He also doesn't seem to like the aunts son Filipp. Filipp is acting creepy and keeps weirding out Simi even telling her that he thinks that his mother has evil plans for him. The movie slowly makes its tension-filled way towards the final act where you get the answer to your questions. Some might say it was predictable but I still enjoyed it and think it was a decent watch. [5,6/10]

Who cares what genre it is; it's a combination of all three, and while you've seen films with similar plot lines like this before, you know what to expect and even how it might turn out, but it's still worth the watch to get there.

This is a slow burn film, with no wasted scenes or padding, with believable and sympathetic actors, and you don't really have to suspend disbelief because the girl and the boy act like real kids would act around parents and adults. True, the girl is a bit smarter at the end than you may have thought she should be, but since it's only one small contrivance, it was acceptable as it was needed to get to a satisfying conclusion.

Family Dinner is the feature debut of writer and director Peter Hengl, who had only produced short films previously. However, the bold red title font emblazoned across the opening credits, hint at the pedigree of the filmmaker as it reminds the viewer that he is a past student under the tutelage of the legendary Michael Heneke (Funny Games, Hidden) at the Vienna Film Academy. Hengl wears this influence on his sleeve as he crafts a morbid, murky, and brooding film that would garner praise from his former professor.

An overweight teenager (Nina Katlein) spends the Easter holidays at her famous nutritionist aunt's farm in the hope of getting help to lose weight, but soon after her arrival, she begins to suspect that something is very wrong and that her family should not be trusted.

Experienced horror fans will have no problem predicting where Family Dinner will go at its conclusion, but the journey will be mesmerising and harrowing. The German-language film is very deliberately paced in the rich history of elevated European cinema, but each scene crackles with intent and intensity. The viewer is left unnerved and unbalanced with each new interaction between characters who clearly have hidden motives.

Nina Katlein is a revelation as the determined Simi. The character sets her mind to something and fully commits to it and the actor beautifully manages to capture the duelling parts of Simi's personality as she struggles to make sense of the escalating tensions in the home of her aunt. Katlein effortlessly shifts between determination, compassion, fear, and bravery, as she crafts a fully-fledged three-dimensional person with specific goals and uncertain boundaries. She grapples with her unhealthy habits, but remains focused on body positivity and staying true to herself throughout the attempt to lose excess weight.

Pia Hierzegger is equally superb as the jittery and manipulative Aunt Claudia whose dialogue is layered with venom and disdain. Her performance is grotesque, unhinged and hypnotic, with each scene building momentum towards a brutal outcome which our protagonist is oblivious to.

The sound design for Family Dinner is a character in its own right as it gets under the viewer's skin. Creepy, but fun sound-effects make connections between the food being consumed, the physical changes the characters undergo and the continuous build-up of tension. The audience becomes a complicit voyeur, as Hengl immerses them in a strained and weird, but relatable, family dynamic, while the pacing keeps us, and Simi, mystified by the unsettling and perplexing events. The foreshadowing wonderfully pays off as a reward for anyone paying close attention to the unfolding madness.

Family Dinner is a deviously delicious recipe of psychological manipulation and macabre horror that combines effectively into a feast of a meal and gives us a cinematic first; a horror film set during the Easter period. Move over Halloween and Friday the 13th. Give way Killer Santa because the Easter Bunny has a malicious and creepy tale to tell.

Obvious, obvious, obvious. What a terrible disappointment. No atmosphere, no tension, no surprises. The cold, bland, sterile home environment mirrors the essence of this film.

I should have gone with my gut & judged the appearance of the director - (bow tie + a goatee, never a good sign) in this case, you can indeed judge a book by it's cover. One brief moment of great practical effects was whisked away from our vision almost immediately.

Don't waste your time or money.

I would call this a great breath of fresh air if the movie's inherent atmosphere wasn't so suffocating.

I am puzzled by some of the really negative user reviews. Is it a Hollywood movie? Is it an actual horror movie? No to both. It is a very European movie. Not flashy, no special effects, just a gently paced, mounting sense of dread and discomfort. The cold set and lighting contribute to a sense of impending tragedy.

Overweight Simi is cleverly made to look and feel like an outsider among the painfully thin Aunt Claudia and her partner Steffan. Aunt Claudia is a famous nutritionist whom Simi hope will help lose weight. It soon appears that Claudia's techniques have become a little extreme as indeed has her mental health.

Gently paced but ultimately very tense and frightening with really strong and. Nuanced central performances.

Give it a shot.

Family Dinner is not an exciting movie. The acting is very sincere. I believed the entire time that these actors were their characters.

The lead is pitiable. I dont know if the stone necklace gave her an overload of strength. I am certain it was more strength then her aunt intended.

It is curious why the mother did not know or understand her sister more deeply. I am convinced she meant well to have her daughter visit.

Each character is filled with underlying tension. The exception is the step father. He seems carefree except for a deep dislike for Philip the son. Oh well. You marry the family I suppose.

If you have any level of ADD, I suggest having something to do with your hands during the film. There is quite a bit of foreshadowing. So you could test yourself by taking note of these before they are clearly confirmed.

Also, it might make you hungry.

I hadn't even heard about this 2022 German mystery movie titled "Family Dinner" from writer and director Peter Hengl prior to stumbling upon it by random luck here in 2023. And with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, nor even heard about, of course my interest was spurned, and thus I sat down to watch "Family Dinner" without knowing what I was in for.

Well, "Family Dinner" definitely had potential, I will say that much. However, writer and director Peter Hengl delivered a movie that ultimately failed to entertain me, solely because the narrative was so insanely slow paced and without anything of any interest happening before the movie was about to end, then I feel that I have literally wasted 97 minutes on watching "Family Dinner".

As I am by no means well-traversed in the German cinema, then I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. I will say that leading actress Nina Katlein (playing Simi) did carry the movie quite well with her performance.

"Family Dinner" was simply too much of a slow burn to provide me with enjoyment or entertainment. Yet, I still managed to sit through the entire movie, hoping that director Peter Hengl would pick up the pace and start to deliver something worthwhile. That just never happened. And by the time something started to happen, around the last 10 minutes or so of the movie, it was just simply too little, too late. And worse still, what did happen was so predictable that you saw it coming a mile away.

It should be noted, however, that the cinematography in the movie was actually fair enough, and helped keep the movie from utterly sinking to the bottom.

If you enjoy a good mystery, then give "Family Dinner" a wide berth. It simply is too uneventful and slow paced. This is not a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of "Family Dinner" lands on a three out of ten stars.

One will need subtitles, as the film is in German. Aunt Claudia and Uncle Stefan and son Philipp live on an isolated farm in the countryside. Simi, a bit overweight is to visit and arrives the Tuesday before Easter, thinking she would stay through Easter. But she is informed that Easter is a very special and private time, and they didn't expect her to stay that long. Claudia is a nutrition expert, and puts Simi on a diet. Diet is the wrong term, as it is to be NO food until Easter, and she is then invited to stay longer. She has to share the room with Filipp, and it is clear he doesn't like her. Claudia says he has a personality disorder and often runs away. It is slow paced, very moody, and there are many undercurrents to the story. As Easter approaches, Stefan says he doesn't agree with the entire ritual, but it is very important to Claudia, so Simi should just go along with it. I can't really consider it a horror movie in the true sense, as there are no jump scares or other things associated with horror movies. It is decent movie, well acted but not really special.

I swear to god, this is by far the worst movie i have ever watched. The whole movie has no sense and every scene is predictable. The acting is very bad and the characters are very annoying. The whole plot is nosense.

I really recommend you guys to NOT watch this movie. I can't understand how this movie has such a good rating on all platforms, especially on Rotten Tomato. Maybe the whole cast, directors, cameraman and all family members has given a 10 star Rating on all platforms. In the whole movie, there wasn't any interesting scene, not even a scene with any sense. And what happens in the last 10min is ridiculous.

Please make yourself a please and do NOT watch this movie and safe your money.

I gave it a 10 to counter those noobs that have to always go the massacre way of giving 1 star reviews, which is ridiculous.

Like someone already said, a "Minimalist" movie. Overall it is definitely an average movie. You can see very early where this movie might be headed, but it never gets boring or too predictable. Or lets say it is predicatable but not boring to continue watching despite the anticipation of where it might go.

This is not anything new, nor is it that super masterpiece. But the acting is superb and setting and everything else fits well.

Good movie for a rainy sunday afternoon ;)

A slow moving, atmospheric, uncomfortable viewing is not going to be everyone's cup of tea... but there was something I quite liked about this one. It viscerally makes you uncomfortable and I love when a movie is able to do that. The acting is pretty great all around as well, everyone had very solid moments.

There truly wasn't all that much to the story here. There were hints of folk horror aspects here and there but nothing was ever really explained or elaborated on. This kept up the air of mystery, but I would have loved a little more just as far as a semblance of a solidified story's sake goes... that was a little lacking for me. But as a whole experience, it was a positive for me. 5.5 rounding up to a 6. Would recommend.

Overweight Simi comes to visit her aunt, who is a famous writer and nutritionist, for Easter Dinner. Simi doesn't realize how poor her instincts are when it comes to a proper diet and she has a lot to learn from her loving aunt, who eagerly helps the young girl improve her self image and weight.

Everything goes well until the family's pet rat escapes into the bedroom. Fortunately the aunt takes care of everything, like she always does, to support her family and help the little rascal rat. Ultimately her pet rat ends up in a happier place.

In this coming of age story, Simi learns important life lessons about nutrition and self control. In turn, her aunt learns to love the joys of having a teenage niece around who needs help.

This could have been a Disney movie with so much joy and laughter from start to finish. Everyone should watch this movie and follow the important advice on how to live a healthy life by eating from the main food groups. Highly recommended.

Loved the movie. Kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was "bad one" until almost the very end. How they were able to sustain the suspense for so long was pretty cool. The acting was excellent. I had never seen any of these actors previously and was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the quaity. I'm not used to watching with CC but it was easy (I speak english only). Four characters in the entire cast and the way they developed each of them as the movie progressed led you to believe three out of the four could potentially be the troubled one as the story moved to its shocking conclusion. The music definitely set a scary mood many times.

From the get go you know something is up with Simi's family, but what exactly is going on will keep you guessing.

You feel like you can trust in a character, just to have another undermine that trust, and then see something that hints that you might be guessing wrong. Who is telling the truth and who is lying/manipulating will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through.

The set design, color scheme and score help sustain the tension that the actors and camera work build. Everything is very quiet and unnerving. The whole movie feels cold and unnerving, in a good way.

Looking forward to seeing more horror from this director/producer duo.

Stupid me I almost didn't watch this because of the low rating! Luckily I read the comments before and I was convinced by whoever said this is a mix of "Get Out" and "Wickerman". It reminded me of Hereditary as well!

So it's wasn't at all slow or predictable, even if there are only 4 characters, they are impeccable and the whole atmosphere is exactly the opposite of boring. I never knew what the next scene was going to be.

The only reason why I don't give it a higher rating it's because I wish they could have explained more about the reason for writing the 2nd book or when did that change took place.