Movies
BD Presents ‘Hagazussa’, in Limited Theaters Today!
The Bloody Disgusting film library continues to grow as we’re excited to announce our second title with Doppelgänger Releasing (the genre label of arthouse distributor Music Box Films), the awesome German gothic horror film Hagazussa, which had its world premiere at the 2017 Fantastic Fest.
A feature film debut for director Lukas Feigelfeld, Hagazussa takes place in the Austrian Alps in the 15th century when people lived in fear of witches and ancient magic. The film is NOW OPEN in select cities (see theater listing below the trailer) with it then arriving on VOD/DVD/Blu-ray next week, on April 23rd.
Hagazussa is Germany’s answer to The Witch that has stunning atmosphere mixed with brooding terror from start to finish. Fans of slow-burn horror are going to want to settle in next to a crackling fire and let the story wash over them.
In the 15th Century in the remote Austrian Alps, the orphan Albrun (Celina Peter) grows up to be a simple goatherd living in solitude…and a marked woman. As a scapegoat of ancient myths and monstrous misogyny, Albrun (portrayed by Aleksandra Cwen as an adult) finds herself tormented by the local townsfolk, driving her to unleash the inner darkness that swells within her. A self-styled witch, Albrun soon exercises her other-worldly birthright and conjures a plague that makes the surrounding human cruelty look pathetic and small by comparison.
Here’s the official trailer.
“After researching old pagan beliefs and folklore about witches that were supposed to roam the mountain woods in those times, my interest was to develop a character that these folk tales would have branded as a witch,” says Feigelfeld on his exploration of the intersection between ancient magic, faith and madness. “[I also wanted] to dig deeper into her psyche and see her as the traumatized, mistreated and finally delusional person that society constructed.”
The film was awarded Best Picture in the “Next Wave” Features category at Fantastic Fest 2017 and has toured the international festival circuit, including BFI London Film Festival 2017, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2017, Music Box Theatre’s Cinepocalypse 2017, and Morbido Fest 2017, to name a few.
This is a vastly different film from our comedy Heavy Trip, from first-time directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren, which is now available on all VOD platforms and for free on Amazon Prime.
Fans of truly independent cinema are going to gush over this hidden gem.
Here are a handful of reviews:
The Noel Murray at the Los Angeles Times writes that it “unsettles at it beguiles,” adding that it’s “a conventionally chilling tale of the paranormal.”
Stephen Dalton at The Hollywood Reporter calls the film “a spooky, stylish, spellbinding debut.” He adds: “Hagazussa works very well as a spellbinding audiovisual symphony.“
Cineurpoa writer Marko Stojiljković declares Hagazussa a “psychologically tense, visually-arresting and mind-blowingly creepy folk horror film.“
Megan Casady of Nightmarish Conjurings calls it “a moody, atmospheric masterpiece” that’s “reminiscent of The Witch.”
Sight & Sound describes it as “sensual, slow-burning and ominous,” while Screen Anarchy adds that it’s “visceral and unforgiving.”
Matt Donato, who also writes for Bloody (full disclosure), tweeted out: “Cinematography is so folktale-gorgeous, fully realizing the maddening effects of isolation (much like THE WIND/THE WITCH). Deeply, destructively disturbing.” His accompanying piece on Atomic Tickets offers three reasons to see it in theaters.
Variety also reviewed the film, writing: “…it’s mix of the poetical, repugnant, and phantasmagorical will weave a singular spell for more adventuresome, arthouse-friendly viewers.”
HAGAZUSSA – Theater locations and dates:
*Please check Doppelganger Releasing website for additional dates & info
Los Angeles (Monica Film Center): April 19
New York (Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn): April 19
Chicago (Music Box Theater): April 19
San Francisco (Alamo Drafthouse New Mission) April 19
Seattle (Grand Illusion Cinema): April 19
Phoenix (Filmbar)
Houston (Alamo Drafthouse La Centerra): April 24
Washington D.C. (Alamo Drafthouse Winchester): April 26
Portland (Hollywood Theater): April 30
Before updating the video nasty Faces of Death, director Daniel Goldhaber and writer Isa Mazzei explored the dangers of online life in tech-thriller Cam, their feature debut that was acquired by Netflix in 2018 after making waves on the festival circuit.
At the end of last year, the Netflix exclusive quietly departed from the streaming platform, left without another streaming home.
It’s not an isolated story; Mike Flanagan’s Hush also left streaming entirely for a period until it was finally picked up on both physical media and other streaming services.
While the tech-thriller currently isn’t available to watch on Netflix, Tubi, Hulu, or any other platforms, that’s not a problem for Cam thanks to a very cool move by Goldhaber: the director has made his breakout film accessible to watch online for free via his website.
As his site notes: “CAM is unfortunately not currently available to view on any platforms, so you can watch it here if you like :).“
No subscriptions or fees necessary, just hit play.
Cam follows Alice (Madeline Brewer), who works as an online cam girl obsessed with her ranking on the cam site. The higher her ranking goes, the more it draws unwanted attention, and Alice soon finds herself replaced on her own show with a doppelganger.
Written by Mazzei, a former camgirl, it uses the horror thriller premise to examine the life of a sex worker; Alice’s career ambition is directly at odds with the shame it brings to her family, and how she tries to spare them from it by keeping them in the dark. It only compounds her danger when the doppelganger enters the equation in Goldhaber’s engaging thriller.
For a deep dive into the treacherous world of Cam, listen to Horror Queers’ episode on it now.
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