Hinterland

A POW and his comrades return home to defeated and depraved Vienna immediately at the end of World War I. Everything has changed, and for the worse, in his eyes.

Since Expressionism was still big by 1918, the movie's skylines and buildings are deliberately distorted to reflect the feelings of the protagonist. It's ugly and a bit distracting, but for me, it worked. It was one of the more original and interesting things about the movie.

The main plot line revolves around the hunt for a sadistic serial killer, but this was neither particularly interesting nor credible. It was no worse than in many movies, but no better.

The main actor is big and very charismatic, dominating every scene. I hope we see more of him.

Questions remain. If they were POWs on the Russian front, wouldn't they have been home sooner, after the Bolsheviks made a separate peace with Germany? And why is a movie set entirely in Vienna called 'Hinterland'?

It has taken some time, but Peter Perg leads a group of soldiers back home to Vienna after the end of Great War. They had been brutalized while imprisoned in Russia. Perg finds the old social order in chaos. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had collapsed. He left his beloved wife and daughter behind to fight for the Emperor, but they are now gone. His aristocratic home is empty. He is forced to return to his police work when one of his soldiers gets ritualistically murdered. To many, he is the prime suspect.

I really like the style. It's half German silent film, half Se7en, half comic book. I would add some more rain, but it's got a cool look. I like diving into this time and place. I like the general premise and the lead character's suffering. I would probably just kill off the family. He would move heaven and earth to find them. He wouldn't care about anything else including the murder of his men. Finally, I have an issue with the ending. It has a big coincidence that really bugs me. Aside from those two issues, I really like this movie.

Grim and scary film with intrigue, plot twists , chills , thrills , sleaziness , ugly scenes and lots of blood and gore . Peculiar thriller showing the European situation just after First Wold War , it remains as a special piece on surprises , showcasing the unique visual , special color and ordinary stylistic tricks that mark Stefan Ruzowitzky 's work . Austrian production dealing with a serial killer -Jack the Ripper lookalike- in Vienna executing some grisly killings . It is set in Vienna, 1920. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has collapsed , there an ex-prisoner of the Great War called Peter Perg (Murathan Muslu) goes back home from the Great War, after years of captivity. But the Vienna he comes home to is nothing like the place he once knew. After the Treaty of St. Germain, the Austrian empire had disappeared and the emperor had been overthrown and a new Austrian Republic was born . The new Austrian Republic thrives on social and artistic freedom but the streets are really dangerous and citizens are suffering extreme poverty , starvation , misfortunes, shortages and strikes . A stranger in his hometown, life's Perg takes a turn for the worse when one of his previous comrades is murdered. Suddenly the mysterious killings of veterans are mounting. Personally connected to the victims, Perg finds an ally in the intelligent forensic doctor Theresa Korner (Lisa Fries) , with whom he has a deeper, shared history. Their investigation leads them into the darkest corners of the city, as they face off a cruel and systematic killer and intrigues from within the police force. But when the murderer's net closes around Perg himself, he takes on the moral dilemma of his existence.

A crime thriller with historical remarks , including thrills, chills, suspense as well as gore and blood. This shows the European situation just after the First World War and particularly in Vienna with unemployment loom overhead , hungry people , anti-democratic movements and others participating in strikes and attempting the communist revolution that had already triumphed in Russia. This is a moving and horrific story about astonishing oddly murders in Vienna committed by an elusive killer . Stars Murathan Muslu who gives a nice acting as the ex-veteran WWI soldier returning home and finds his comrades brutally murdered deciding to bring the serial-killer to justice , as well as Liv Lisa Fries is nice as the cool-headed forensic doctor who finds out the main keys . This is one of the rate movies in which everything pulls together to create a weirdly compulsive atmosphere with plenty of fog , darkness , lights and shades , well shown on the expressionist photography by Benedict Neuenfels in 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari' style including misconfigured buildings, strange and vertical shots and other abstract images, adding an excessive use of frames made by means of 3D computer generator , filmed in Studio 1 Rosenhügel, Vienna, Austria and Filmland Studios Kehlen, Luxembourg. The production design is brilliant and acceptable interpretations , but the film is neither for squeamish people , nor for the easily queazy.

This gory motion picture was competently directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky. This craftsman director usually lives in Vienna where he's shot some films . In the early years of his career, he directed documentaries and commercials, but also music videos of noted artists such as N'Sync, Scorpions or Die Prinzen. He is a famed filmmaker and writer, specially known for Lilly the Witch: The inheritors (1998) , The counterfeiters (2007), The Dragon and the Magic Book (2009) , Deadfall (2012) Patient Zero (2018) and Hinterland (2021). The lattr featured at the Locarno film festival in August 2021 Locarno , being Winner International Film Festival 2021 , Audience Award Best Film Stefan Ruzowitzky (director) , Sabine Moser (producer) ,Oliver Neumann (producer) . And Austrian Film Award, Winner Austrian Film Award Best Production Design (Oleg Prodeus , Andreas Sobotka , Martin Reiter, and Best Supporting Actress (Margarete Tiesel) , Best Cinematography (Beste Kamera) , Best Costume Design (Uli Simon). Rating : 6.5/10 . Acceptable and decent suspense thriller .

Yes the background can be annoying - I have to point that out. Although I think I am pointing out the obvious. Something everyone can see - no pun intended. But something that hopefully won't bug you too much. Not sure if there was another (cheaper solution) to this, but the movie does concentrate on the ... story and the characters it has. Which is a good thing and should be the thing you should look forward to the most.

That said, the actors really deliver here. Even someone like Matthias Schweighöfer or anyone else who has a small (insignificant or not) role or a bigger one. This is a murder mystery ... one where our hero seems to have something hidden himself. Or something that haunts him from the past ... and not just the fact that he was in a war. The ghosts that haunt him from that are big too of course.

There is enough to sink your teeth in and relish in where the story takes us. You can't be squeamish though, because there are some scenes that can be called borderline and quite violent. But it is the nature of the movie and our main bad guy ... tough case to crack. A Sherlock Holmes would be a nice thing to have - but maybe the former police man is able to find the culprit too ... you have to watch to see! And also if his journey is ... well let's call it complete.

I have seen this movie in a Sneak Preview.

What I really liked was the mask and the sound. Well done! Also Murathan Muslu was convincing in his role.

Although there are a couple of reason why I'm giving it only 6 stars.

The very special Art Style with a lot of tilted shots and all the inclined houses was just too much and sometimes distracting. Some people may like that, but I don't.

Another reason is story related. I won't spoil anything, but there are at least 3 annoyingly unrealistic scenes (in terms of reactions in specific situations).