Angst - 1983

 There are movies that are labeled Video Nasty and then there's Angst.  Also known as both Fear and Schizophrenia.

I have probably heard tell of this Austrian horror movie before, but I have never seen it.  By the way, there are movies that are free on Youtube, Pluto TV, Tubi, etc, that are not coming up when I search for them on my Roku.  I have to individually go to that channel and look for them, what the hell is up with that?

Angst stars Erwin Leder.  In the beginning of the movie, he is locked in jail for committing a crime.  His narration mentions doing something to his mother, and then doing something to a 72 year old woman.  It is unclear exactly what he did, he does not specify, but he just finished serving maybe 7 years?  I don't remember.  He gets released and in voice narration as he leaves prison he says he fully intends to go commit more crimes.

We follow this man in an almost real time way as he goes about town, dementedly fantasizing about people, and then he finds a house, breaks in, and when the family returns he brutally kills the three of them.

Angst had music by Klaus Schulze from Tangerine Dream, and has really interesting camera work all the way around.  The darkness and the psychopathy present is also fresh and groundbreaking, even now 40 years later.  

This is truly one of the most disturbing movies I've seen, and I've seen a lot of movies.  It is because we are only with this killer, and we're in his head, and the pounding score makes us sick, and the intensity is at 11, and something about this feels extremely visceral and real and...just sickening.  Like I said, I have seen a lot of movies, and I can see why Gaspar Noe said this was a personal favorite.

Barely 80 minutes long, this is a breeze, and feels very realistic in a sick and twisted way.  This feels like one of the more brutal, realistic, soul-crushing horror movies, the movies that I can understand being banned.  It was not labeled a video nasty, but that's probably only because it was barely released.  

I don't know what to rate this, cause I have to say, I really didn't enjoy it, but it was for the right reasons:  the movie made me kinda sick and uneasy and want to look away...so god...5 stars?