Hinterland

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky
Film Movement
2021
99 Minutes
Austria, Luxembourg
German
Thriller, Action, Crime, Mystery
Not Rated
play trailer
DVD
$19.95 Members
$29.95 Non-Members
Watch Now with Streaming Subscription
Start your 14-day FREE TRIAL

The year is 1920. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has fallen and what remains has devolved into social unrest and political turmoil. Peter Perg (Murathan Muslu), a soldier of the Great War, returns home to a nightmarish Vienna he no longer recognizes. A serial killer is on the loose, and Perg soon discovers that he is personally connected to the victims. Pulled back into his old duties as a former police detective, he finds an ally in the cool-headed forensic doctor Theresa Körner (Liv Lisa Fries), and their investigation leads them into the darkest corners of the city.

From the director of the Oscar-winning film The Counterfeiters, Hinterland is a visually audacious work of Expressionistic cinema that received the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Cast

  • Murathan Muslu
  • Liv Lisa Fries
  • Marc Limpach
  • Max von der Groeben
DVD Features

BONUS FEATURES:

- Commentary by director Stefan Ruzowitzky
- VFX Featurettes

Bonus Short Film
Haute Cuisine
Directed by Merryl Roche
France
French with English subtitles
24 minutes

While toiling away in the highly competitive kitchen of a top-rated restaurant, Marie (Joséphine Japy) inadvertently discovers a strange new ingredient that wins her the admiration of the chef but with frightening consequences.

Discs: 1

  • Highest Rating
    "The Third Man meets Se7en amid the chaos of post-First World War Vienna in atmospheric serial-killer thriller Hinterland, a welcome return to the limelight for director Stefan Ruzowitzky some 13 years after his The Counterfeiters landed the international Oscar. Built around a powerhouse performance by Murathan Muslu as a battle-scarred veteran enmeshed in a nightmarish murder-mystery, the film imaginatively deploys green-screen technology to conjure off-kilter visions of the Austrian capital a century ago."
    Neil Young, Screen Daily
  • Highest Rating
    "Shot almost entirely on blue screen, this return to Expressionist cinema impresses with its boldness...."
    Jay Weissberg, Variety
  • Highest Rating
    "This immersive and wildly imaginative crime thriller thrives thanks to director Stefan Ruzowitzky’s (The Counterfeiters, Cold Hell) bold vision. "
    Rob Aldam, Backseat Mafia
  • Highest Rating
    "Dazzling digital visuals are a key selling point for this stylish retro-noir serial killer thriller."
    Stephen Dalton, The Film Verdict
  • Highest Rating
    ""Stylish noir thriller...evocatively seedy but highly enjoyable murder mystery."
    Meredith Taylor, Filmuforia
  • Highest Rating
    "Expressionist painters like Ludwig Meidner spring to mind, as does Lars Von Trier’s post-World War II journey into the abyss, “Europa,” with its own looming back-projections and moral swamps. "
    Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times
  • Highest Rating
    "Shot in the style of Sky Captain or The Wanting Mare, with backdrops which hark back to early German expressionism, looking for all the world like a Robert Wiene or FW Murnau set, Hinterland is a visual treat. This does nothing to hamper the excellent cast, who capture their classic archetypes perfectly yet still deliver performances with a human dimension."
    Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
  • Highest Rating
    "Dizzying post-war perfection…visually imaginative… Hinterland may be gloomy, but its brief editing, great performances, thoughtful ideas, and elaborate visuals make it a perfect post-war rumination. "
    Matthew Mahler, MovieWeb
  • Highest Rating
    "Director and co-writer Stefan Ruzowitzky (“The Counterfeiters”) has created a lurid, teeming ancient city of gloom, tilted buildings, narrow streets and striking (canted floors) interiors, the visual embodiment of an empire broken and revived as a republic, a ruling class stripped of its nobility but not power and a world turned upside down. "
    Roger Moore, Movie Nation
  • Highest Rating
    "Although there have been films with extraordinary production design and cinematography…rarely has production design been elevated to becoming a character within the scenario. Here, it is…. Ruzowitzky…has created another film of depth and interest. His ability to tell a story visually is exceptional."
    Neely Swanson, Easy Reader
  • Highest Rating
    "A stunner and a must-see...."
    Steve Kopian, Unseen Films

Awards & Recognition

You May Also Like...