Angst

Angst

Year: 1983

Runtime: 75 mins

Language: German

Director: Gerald Kargl

ThrillerHorrorCrimeIntense violence and sexual transgressionHorror the undead and monster classics

Based on a true story. A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her handicapped son and her pretty daughter.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Angst (1983)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Angst (1983). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Diner, Street, House, Café

The story unfolds across familiar urban spaces: a roadside diner, a city street, a quiet house where a family resides, and a bustling café. These everyday locations become stages for sudden violence, highlighting how danger can intrude into ordinary life. The house transforms into a claustrophobic battleground where the killer stages his brutal acts. By alternating between public and private spaces, the film emphasizes the fragile boundary between normalcy and horror.

🏙 Urban 🏠 Domestic 🍽 Diner ☕ Café

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:01

Main Characters – Angst (1983)

Meet the key characters of Angst (1983), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Psychopath (Robert Hunger-Bühler)

An unnamed serial killer freshly released from prison, he is driven by a sadistic urge to see fear in his victims’ eyes. He stalks victims in ordinary spaces—like diners and taxis—before choosing a house to break into. He reveals a cold, calculating demeanor, with moments of sudden, brutal rage. His stated motivation and methodical restraint mark him as a chilling, unstoppable force of violence.

🔪 Violence 🧠 Psychopathy 🗝️ Manipulation

Mother (Edith Rosset)

A mother living in the house with her son and daughter, she becomes a target during the killer’s rampage. She endures the chaos of an intrusion and ultimately dies as the intruder’s violence escalates. Her struggle to protect her family is cut short, underscoring the film’s brutal realism. Her fate emphasizes the collateral damage of the killer’s cruelty.

👩 Mother 🩸 Victim 👪 Family tragedy

Daughter (Karin Springer)

The daughter who pleads for her mother’s medication and tries to flee, only to be drawn into the killer’s orbit of violence. She experiences fear and desperation as she confronts the intruder, ultimately becoming a victim of his brutal ritual. Her death highlights the indiscriminate nature of the killer’s wrath. Her presence marks the personal stakes of the confrontation within the house.

👧 Daughter 🩸 Victim 🕯️ Fear

Daughter (Silvia Rabenreither)

Another daughter in the house who becomes entangled in the killer’s rampage. She is attacked after the mother is confronted, and her fate is sealed by the killer’s escalation. Her murder reinforces the film’s unflinching portrayal of violence within a domestic space. The scene underscores the predator’s disregard for family and life.

👧 Daughter 🩸 Victim 🕯️ Dread

Son (Rudolf Götz)

A mentally impaired boy in a wheelchair living in the house. He becomes a target of the intruder’s brutality, who drags him to the upstairs bathroom and drowns him. His vulnerability exemplifies the indiscriminate cruelty of the killer and heightens the film’s sense of hopelessness.

👶 Son 🩸 Victim 🕯️ Tragedy

Taxi Driver (Renate Kastelik)

A female taxi driver who becomes a potential target when the killer hops into her cab. She grows suspicious, and the driver’s vigilance forces the killer to flee rather than complete the murder. Her scene punctuates the constant threat present in everyday routines like a city ride.

🚕 Taxi 🧊 Suspense 🩸 Victim

Waitress (Rosa Schandl)

A waitress at the café who witnesses the tension surrounding the killer’s actions in a social space that becomes a backdrop for fear. Her presence helps anchor the film’s everyday realism, contrasting with the killer’s hidden predatory behavior.

🍽 Waitress 👀 Witness

Guest at café (Hermann Groissenberger)

A café patron who serves as a bystander in the sequences where the killer’s menace intrudes into public life. His reactions contribute to the texture of ordinary life disrupted by violence.

👥 Bystander ☕ Café patron

Guest at café (Claudia Schinko)

Another café patron who witnesses the mounting tension in a public space, reinforcing the film’s theme of ubiquitous fear in everyday settings.

👥 Bystander ☕ Café patron

Guest at café (Beate Jurkowitsch)

A further café patron whose presence amplifies the sense of shared vulnerability in public venues.

👥 Bystander ☕ Café patron

Waiter (Rolf Bock)

A policeman’s contact in a scene that anchors the killer’s murder spree in a recognizably public setting. The encounter with law enforcement adds a procedural counterpoint to the chaos.

👮 Police 🛑 Witness

Prison Guard (Helmut Hrdina)

One of the guards connected to the killer’s release, his presence helps contextualize the protagonist’s return to violence after imprisonment.

👮 Authority 🪪 Prison

Prison Guard (Emil Polaczek)

Another guard present in the context of the killer’s prison background, reinforcing the backstory of imprisonment before the rampage.

👮 Authority 🪪 Prison

Prison Guard (Adolf Hagmann)

A guard whose presence completes the depiction of the killer’s imprisonment history.

👮 Authority 🪪 Prison

Prison Guard (Karl Riepl)

Part of the prison context surrounding the killer’s release, contributing to the narrative of returning danger.

👮 Authority 🪪 Prison

Prison Guard (Günther Dietz)

Another guard linked to the prison setting that frames the killer’s release and subsequent actions.

👮 Authority 🪪 Prison

Passer-by (Elisabeth Fez)

A bystander whose presence underscores the pervasiveness of fear in public spaces during the killer’s spree.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Paula Elkins)

Another passer-by who witnesses the chaos, adding to the film’s atmosphere of uneasy spectatorship.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Tennesee Gelinek)

A bystander caught in the crossfire of the killer’s presence in public spaces.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Vallerian Tomsich)

A bystander witness who adds to the broader social context of fear surrounding the killer.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Rafael Gelinek)

A member of the audience in the public scenes, reinforcing the sense that violence interrupts ordinary life.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Mischa Griegor)

A witness whose presence contributes to the film’s texture of everyday fear.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Andrea Eckelbacher)

A bystander whose actions and reactions help illustrate the public dimension of the killer’s violence.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Martin Kretschier)

Another onlooker in the film’s public spaces, contributing to the sense of shared fear.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Ursula Kretschier)

A bystander whose presence amplifies the everyday nature of danger in the story.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Tina Schlögl)

A bystander witness in the café street scene, adding to the collective sense of fear.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Walter Herzog)

A café or street bystander who bears witness to the killer’s presence.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Passer-by (Rudolf Steger)

A bystander whose reactions contribute to the film’s texture of public perception and fear.

👥 Bystander 🕯️ Observation

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:01

Major Themes – Angst (1983)

Explore the central themes of Angst (1983), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🔪 Violence

Angst centers on a sadistic killer who seeks to provoke fear in his victims. The violence is depicted as a ritualistic urge rather than a random act, underscored by the killer’s pleasure in observers’ reactions. The film strips glamour from the killings, presenting them in stark, clinical detail that heightens unease. Fear, power, and control emerge through the killer’s methodical brutality.

🧠 Trauma

The killer’s brutality is contextualized by a traumatic childhood, including abuse by his mother and stepfather. The narrative uses flashbacks and confessional moments to explore how early harm shapes cruel behavior. While the film invites sympathy for the motive it does not excuse the acts. Trauma is shown as a persistent force that ripples through present violence.

🌃 Fear

Fear is Weaponized as the killer’s primary tool; his acts are designed to induce terror in strangers and to provoke reactions from onlookers. The tension shifts between intimate domestic menace and public venues such as diners and streets, amplifying dread. Bystanders become part of the atmosphere of fear, illustrating how fear propagates beyond the immediate vict im. The film uses fear to critique the sensation of witnessing violence as spectacle.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:01

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Angst Summary

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