Hagazussa – Der Hexenfluch (2017)

Hagazussa – Der Hexenfluch: Directed by Lukas Feigelfeld. With Aleksandra Cwen, Celina Peter, Claudia Martini, Tanja Petrovsky. Paranoia u0026 Superstition in 15th Century Europe.

“In Germany this film is often compared to, used in the same sentence with, Robert Eggeru0026#39;s THE VVITCH (2015). Google actually translates the title to u0026quot;Hagazussa – The Witches Curse.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first thought that came to me during the opening title sequence was, if the rest of the soundtrack is like this, itu0026#39;s going to be amazing…and it was! Understated but dark and menacing. You wonu0026#39;t mistake the sound score for anything but disturbing horror.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is divided into four parts: Shadow, Horn, Blood and Fire. At the start you canu0026#39;t help but feel compassion and concern for the young girl taking care of her sick mother, both isolated outcasts and thus thought of as witches. HAGAZUSSA is spooky old world horror set in 15th century Europe, beautifully eerie, with many scenes that I can only describe as CREEPY AS HELL, while other scenes are like a slow burn nightmare on u0026#39;shrooms; hypnotic and hallucinatory. Dialogue is used sparingly, only as needed, but itu0026#39;s enough and much else can be gained by studying the facial expressions of the characters and other plot clues providing context…the acting and all else in that regard is first rate. Yes, the movie is slow paced, but also full and rich, ripe with suggestion with moments of interpretation and realization. Also incredible scenery/cinematography with nature itself becoming a hostile mood-setting character.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs good as THE VVITCH? Oh hell yeah, and this is coming from someone who really liked THE VVITCH. HAGAZUSSA is much darker and in my opinion it exceeds that film in every way, including its historical religion-based presentation of paranoia-driven superstition and madness. And it even has its own version of Black Phillip! Okay, itu0026#39;s a black goat, but you canu0026#39;t help but make the connection within the context.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWho would I recommend it to? If you are a horror fan who doesnu0026#39;t always need to be spoon fed nonstop gory scenes of people being brutalized – if you liked THE VVITCH for example, and have the patience to let a slower paced film develop while you soak it all in – not only should you see this movie, you should sell your soul to find a copy. The realistic fragility of life is there anyway but itu0026#39;s within the scope of very dark and stark atmospheric horror.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFinal impression: WOW! Mind blown.”