Well there certainly aren't a lot of movies like this one! I've been looking forward to a viewing of Angst for some time now, and now that it's finally come, I have to say that the film didn't disappoint! Unlike many films of this nature, this one truly is horrendously disturbing and the original way that it goes about portraying the mind of a serial killer has ensured the film its cult status. The obvious film to compare this one to would be the 1986 film 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', but although they share some themes - the two can never really be compared, Angst feels a whole lot more real! The plot itself is very simple and there isn't really any story to it. The film simply follows a man upon his release from prison. We are immediately made aware that he is a psychopath through his musings and the way that his first plan upon release is to go back to his old murderous ways. First, he decides to murder a taxi driver; but that plan goes wrong when he bottles it at the last moment. Later, he happens upon a secluded house and decides to have some fun with the occupants...
The best thing about this film is the way that it mixes the killer's sadistic monologues with the action on screen. We get to see him torturing his victims, and at the same time he's giving us a run down of past events in his life and his desires, and this really makes us feel like we're getting inside the psychopath's head. The film is lead by Erwin Leder, who gives an absolutely great performance in the central role! He both looks the part and sounds the part of the psychopath he's portraying, and much of the success of the film is courtesy of him. The film is completely disturbing, but it doesn't deliver this with shocks in the way that many movies do - Angst is not a gory film, but it's more shocking than any amount of gore because of the way that it presents itself. The realism of the piece, together with disorientating camera work, the piercing soundtrack and the aforementioned voice over ensure that this is not an 'easy' film to sit through. However, if you're looking for a sadistic shocker that really does do what it says on the tin - then good luck tracking down a copy of Angst!
