Razzennest

Razzennest just had its world premiere as part of Fantastic Fest 2022's Burnt Ends Showcase, an ideal debut for a film that will undoubtedly be one of the most original and perhaps controversial film experiences of the year at indie festivals. While the film is certainly not for the casual moviegoer - I laugh at the thought of a Star Wars connoisseur seeing it - Razzennest is a film not to be missed if you like films that challenge and provoke.

The narrator in Razzennest is played by none other than Joe Dante, one of several surprises Grenzfurthner has in store for us in this film. Alec Empire's original score for the film is an immersive creepiness that complements the visuals without dominating them. Florian Hofer, Philine Hofmann and Ronald von den Sternen have done the same with their camerawork, immersing us in a world that is thoughtful, dark, funny and haunting.

There is no synopsis about this so called film on imbd just some 'mumbo jumbo ' with some names and advertising Rotten Tomato The film tries to be too clever . It's just boring . It doesn't matter if you're from Austria , Germany or Mars , it's boring !

I presume many people haven't seen it as they're only three reviews on imbd . Admittedly , I watched for about 10 minutes and couldn't endure any more You can usually tell if a film is going to be good in the first few minutes ( well I can! Nothing more to say about this film but have to have six hundred characters for a review! Why Imbd? Why?

Very imaginative work. It gives the viewer just enough to get an idea of what is going on without giving too much away visually.

Some people seem to criticize this wonderful film for being "not a movie" but just "a radio play" or something like that. That's not true, of course. It is a multi-layered, nuanced, wonderful observation of what a film can and should be. And if that needs to be told primarily as voice-over commentary, so be it.

The sound is enough to scare me, and though there are no images, my imagination was stimulated by the sounds alone.

Looking forward to see more from the director...

As an Austrian living abroad I would like to add an additional perspective. Razzennest has very many layers of meaning and allusions, which as a non-Austrian probably cannot be fully understood or grasped. They are not really relevant to the plot, but are important to the essence and "flavor" of this piece. For example, the moment when on the audio layer (without spoiling too much) a sexual assault happens, on the picture level, almost casually, a record from the 1980s can be seen: Horst Chmela's "Her mit meinen Hennen." (An excellent example of mainstream Austrian rape culture. The chorus of this "funny novelty hit" is: "Bring on my hens, the rooster is here.") That gave me real goose bumps.

A strange, hard to describe experience. Not the kind of thing I would usually imagine, going into a 'horror movie', but very enjoyable none-the-less. I'm a fan of experimental filmmaking, so this was right up my alley.

There aren't a ton of similar films to compare it to. I would say Razzennest exists somewhere between Aquarela (2018), David Lynch's Eraserhead, and an Orson Welles radio drama.

Maybe not for everyone, but those viewers who lean towards the Avant-garde (or making fun of the Avant-garde) will likely love it. The score alone is enough to excite most true cinema lovers. Will definitely keep an eye out for what this director does next.