Movies
Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps
“Despite the confusing nature of the film, ‘Sennentuntschi’ is a unique and breathtaking experience that captures perfectly (well, presumably) the horrors of isolation and the depths man will go to when alone. It’s dark, sad, and deeply disturbing, all of which make for one Hell of a ride.”
There aren’t enough horror movies that deal with folklore; and not generic folklore, like the boogeyman, but small, specific, and most importantly little-known folk tales and myths from around the world. Occasionally one will crop up (though for the life of me I can’t think of any off the top of my head), but when they do, they’re usually lackluster affairs. Sennentuntschi, however, is not like that. Director Michael Steiner manages to take a little known tale – the Sennentuntschi, a popular myth from the German Alps – and construct a beautiful, intricate, and at times downright disturbing thriller out of it.
A young woman wanders into a small village in the Swiss Alps. Dirty, mute, and covered in a shroud, she attracts the attention of Reusch, the local policeman, who takes her in and cares for her. The townspeople, however, are not entirely convinced she’s not a demon responsible for the death of a local priest, found hanged in the Church. Meanwhile, Erwin, a mountain-dwelling herdsman, and his son Albert, take in Martin, a traveler escaping his past, and combat the boredom with copious amounts of absinthe and the Sennentunschi. Their perverted dalliances, however, are not without consequences, and as the secret of the mysterious woman is revealed, the entire foundation of the peaceful village threatens to crumble.
Sennentuntschi is a beautiful film. Sweeping shots of the Swiss Alps set the stage for the loneliness and isolation that rules the lives of the quiet village and neighboring mountain homes while a booming and, at times, epic score complements the perfectly paced rising tension. As the village’s primary lawman and the man responsible for bringing the mysterious woman into the village, Reusch’s isolation is further enhanced by his rift with the townspeople, who fear his intentions as much as they do the presence of the mysterious woman.
Roxane Mesquida in the titular role was phenomenal (and absolutely gorgeous to boot). With almost no dialogue her eyes were filled with every range of emotional necessary of the character, resulting in one of the best performances in the film. As Reusch, Nicholas Ofczarek brought to the role a sort of passiveness and, in contrast to the religious majority in the village, a sense of kindness that does much to temper the brutality that pervades throughout. Andrea Zogg and Carlos Leal as Erwin and Martin, respectively, brought to the fold delightfully disturbing performances that keep knocking you down and bringing you back in with their ability to seamlessly go from kind and gentle men to vile creatures.
The biggest hindrance lies primarily in the execution. Told through a flashback and, at other times, a flashback within a flashback, the film manages to avoid an explicit explanation for the events unfolding, preferring instead to reveal everything toward the very end of the film The end result is a fairly disjointed presentation that relies on a quick dialogue and yet another flashback to reveal just how and why the events took place. When they’re revealed, you’re left scratching your head and trying to piece together the strangely satisfying puzzle.
Despite the confusing nature of the film, Sennentuntschi is a unique and breathtaking experience that captures perfectly (well, presumably) the horrors of isolation and the depths man will go to when alone. It’s dark, sad, and deeply disturbing, all of which make for one Hell of a ride.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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