Born K
Austrian movies have a very particular way to be and "Luzifer" does not escape to the rule. 25% drama, 25% Thriller, 50% folk psychologic drama. This one was directed and written by Peter Brunner, a filmmaker (this is his 4th movie) and musician. The movie have both the characteristic of a parable between innocence and fury (especially the last one is seen in the scenes of self-martyrization)..
This could be easily one of arthouse A24 movies - very unique in the way it tells the story and show the images, getting some resemblance in the "folk terror" sprawled across all the movie weirdness and the way the characters acts (it have some resemblance in feeling with "Lamb" , 2021 by A24 in that side without the fantasy part.
It tells the story of an adult man in his 30 to 40's, literally with the mind of an 8 year boy, without the concept of death firm in his head that lives in a remote hut in an isolate Mountain range in Austria. His mother (a widow) had some problems with alcoholism, being clean from it since she married him (that died in an unknown time before).
She raises the man-boy in a humble shack with little use of modern technology by the means of an electricity generator, and both have cellphones for the small talking with people outside.
She is resisting skying companies that are cutting the holy lands were she and her son inherit and don't want to sell, while being bullied and harassed by them, especially by drones that comes from a hole high in a mountain that she calls "hell".
All seems to be very normal reading here, but I assure it it isn't - the way of life they have is the strangest hardcore early Christian (and yes, Austria is one of the main Catholic countries in the world) mixed with heavy Natural Pagan ways to interact with each other and the nature around them. Almost no line of dialog of them makes sense.
The cinematography by Peter Flinckenberg is very haunting, again similar to "Lamb", but darker in the use of shadows, light, fog and composition and by itself something to see. The same about the OST, almost non-existent and consisted of sober sounds made by acclaimed electronic musician Peter Flinckenberg (from "INfinity Pool").
* Spoiler ahead:
At some point the aggressiveness of the company reaches the top that it cans forcing his mother in alcoholism again, sickness and death, then realized in it's full form by her son.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
11/28/23
Full Review
Noel P
The two lead performances and the cinematography are definitely the highlights of this film. This film echoes the A24 formula where it uses atmosphere instead of generic jump-scares to terrify the audience, which worked for me. Where I think the film lacks is in its screenplay; it's not very clear to me what the Director and Writer were trying to say in this story...but hey, maybe that was the point.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/15/22
Full Review
júlio a
Tem filme que você se pergunta, porque fizeram isso? Qual o propósito?
São poucos.
Este é um deles.
Que porcaria foi essa que eu assisti?
Que filme *******, não assusta, não tem sentido nenhum, horrível.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
isla s
Its quite a haunting and spooky film. The most sinister bits I felt were the noisy drones flying around the isolated area (which reminded me a little of an episode of Black Mirror set in the countryside with lots of drones chasing a character), like sheepdogs pinning sheep down.
There are some nice shots showing moonlight and sunset, plus many murky shots, showing the rural setting in deep fog. There's also quite a lot of religious symbols featured too.
It's an uncomfortable watch at points with some sexual elements - what's implied is more unsettling than what's fully shown perhaps. This is undoubtedly a strange, quirky watch which won't appeal to all, especially if you don't like blood, sexual imagery or are especially squeamish (it's not constantly gorey but it has its moments) but otherwise, as a sort of a slow chiller film, it's not bad. The lead actor gives a decent performance for one thing, seeming both vulnerable and someone to fear.
The filmc ertainly left me with unanswered questions and the plot is a bit weak but it's worth a watch if it sounds of interest I suppose yes.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Luzifer is a work that is certainly open to be interpreted in many ways, and Brunner does not provide clear answers. There's no doubt, though, that this is daring filmmaking in both directing and acting skills, and potent commentary on the ambiguity of faith. Descriptive words that come to mind include: disturbing, poetic, enigmatic, enraging, twisto with the mother/song physicality, nearly unwatchable. Like the killer robodogs in War of the Worlds, the drones are the signifiers of the apocalypse. In some ways, Luzifer has elements of ecological horror. But it is also a meditation on faith, mental health, superstition, and certainly fanaticism.
It's impressive work that, together with Rogowski's and Jensen's performances, sometimes makes the dubious premise feel more significant than it is. Luzifer offers complex images but it also lacks a similarly substantive philosophy or greater statement.
It did not go at all where I expected, or really wanted, it to go. The pacing was too slow, too draggy for me. Couldn't you take out at least one of those damn drones with a club? We should at least get that for all the gnarly nudity and twisted flesh on flesh action with mama.
3.1 stars for now
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Locarno has one of the true teasures of indie cinema.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
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