Razzennest

{{Infobox film

| name = Razzennest

| image =

| caption =

| director = Johannes Grenzfurthner

| writer = Johannes Grenzfurthner

| music = Alec Empire

| country = Austria

| language = English

| producer = Jasmin Hagendorfer, Guenther Friesinger, Julianne Gabert, Johannes Grenzfurthner

| cinematography =Aman Pooni

| released = {{Film date|2022|09|29|df=y|Fantastic Fest}}

| runtime = 81 minutes

| studio = monochrom

| distributor =

| budget =

}}

Razzennest is a 2022 Austrian supernatural, satirical horror film written and directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner.{{cite episode |title=Top FM4 |series=Top FM4 |network=FM4 |date=24 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=Razzennest Trailer präsentiert euch eine andere Art Horror |url=https://www.thrillandkill.com/news-razzennest-trailer-anderer-horror/ |website=Thrill and Kill |date=3 August 2022 |access-date=4 August 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016164753/https://www.thrillandkill.com/news-razzennest-trailer-anderer-horror/ |url-status=live}} The film was produced by art group monochrom.

Horror and sound play an essential role in the film. Grenzfurthner says that Razzennest forms a trilogy with Masking Threshold (2021) and Solvent (2024).{{cite web |url=https://fm4.orf.at/stories/3031930/ |title=Sound ist das Wichtigste beim Film! |date=19 March 2023 |language=de |access-date=19 March 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kino-zeit.de/film-kritiken-trailer-streaming/razzennest-2023 |title=Kino-Zeit: Razzennest |language=de |access-date=3 April 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://keyframe.fandor.com/interview-johannes-grenzfurthner-on-razzennest/ |title=Fandor Keyframe: Razzennest |date=5 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=5 May 2023}}

Plot

South African filmmaker and enfant terrible Manus Oosthuizen meets with film critic Babette Cruickshank in a Los Angeles sound studio. With key members of Manus's crew joining, they record an audio commentary track for his new "elegiac feature documentary Razzennest" that cryptically deals with the legacy of the Thirty Years' War. Strange incidents occur during the recording session; one by one, the film crew members are possessed by the ghosts of soldiers and peasants from 1645, and history repeats itself.{{cite web |title='Razzennest' Trailer Introduces an Entirely New Kind of Horror Film From 'Masking Threshold' Director |url=https://ihorror.com/razzennest-trailer-introduces-an-entirely-new-kind-of-horror-film-from-masking-threshold-director/ |website=iHorror |date=29 July 2022}}{{cite web |title=B3 Biennale in Frankfurt: Die Kunst der bewegten Bilder |url=https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/b3-biennale-in-frankfurt-die-kunst-der-bewegten-bilder-91849137.html |website=Frankfurter Rundschau |date=13 October 2022 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016164753/https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/b3-biennale-in-frankfurt-die-kunst-der-bewegten-bilder-91849137.html |url-status=live}}

Cast

Sophie Kathleen Kozeluh as Babette Cruickshank
Michael Smulik as Manus Oosthuizen
Anne Weiner as Ellen Zampaglione
Roland Gratzer as Hetti Friesenbichler
Jim Libby as Pat Kirkpatrick
Bob Rose as Bob
Joe Dante as Joe Dante, narrator

Themes

Razzennest combines elements of satire, tragicomedy, drama, horror, and ghost story,{{cite web |title=Horror Writer/Director Johannes Grenzfurthner Unveils 'Razzennest' |url=https://staticmultimedia.com/horror-writer-director-johannes-grenzfurthner-unveils-razzennest/ |website=Static Multimedia |date=29 August 2022 |access-date=29 August 2022 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829210508/https://staticmultimedia.com/horror-writer-director-johannes-grenzfurthner-unveils-razzennest/ |url-status=live }} but can also be considered a film about filmmaking and a self-reflexive film. In a statement for Daily Dead, Grenzfurthner said:

Razzennest not only gave me the unique opportunity to write a love letter to genre films and rain ridicule on pretentious arthouse films, but also to write a love letter to arthouse films and mock the inherent problems of genre films. It allowed me to realize my decades-old dream of making a film about the Thirty Years' War and its endless atrocities without needing a budget of millions of dollars to depict the war's bloody significance. [...] Given the political climate in the United States and other Western societies, the film is a necessary reflection on the undead legacy of murderous Christianity.{{cite web |title=Interview with Filmmaker, Writer, Artist and Performer Johannes Grenzfurthner |url=https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/interview-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |website=Grimoire of Horror |date=27 July 2022 |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001060006/https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/interview-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |url-status=live}}

Grenzfurthner cites Nikolaus Geyrhalter's 2016 documentary film Homo Sapiens as an aesthetic template for the kind of arthouse film that he wanted to satirize or "emulate."{{cite web |title=Interview with Filmmaker, Writer, Artist and Performer Johannes Grenzfurthner |url=https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/interview-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |website=Grimoire of Horror |date=30 September 2022 |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001060006/https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/interview-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Shrimp Night! #22, Johannes Grenzfurthner |url=https://thundergrunt.com/e/shrimp-night-o22-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |website=Thundergrunt |date=5 September 2022 |access-date=6 September 2022 |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906141324/https://thundergrunt.com/e/shrimp-night-o22-johannes-grenzfurthner/ |url-status=live |last1=Development |first1=Podbean }}

Although Grenzfurthner calls Razzennest "bizarre", he remarks that he thinks that it is more accessible than his previous film Masking Threshold.{{cite web |title=Der Wahnsinn unter dem Mikroskop |url=https://fm4.orf.at/stories/3023312/ |website=ORF FM4 |date=12 April 2022 |access-date=24 June 2022 |archive-date=26 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626001024/https://fm4.orf.at/stories/3023312/ |url-status=live}}

Production

=Filming=

File:Razzennest film shoot inside one of the Schwedenhöhlen (Rohrwald).jpg)]]

Principal photography started on 2 March 2022, entirely in the Rohrwald region, with most of the shots in the villages Oberrohrbach (Leobendorf), Niederhollabrunn, Niederfellabrunn, and Leitzersdorf. Grenzfurthner states that the film "provided an exciting chance to portray a fascinating landscape, the Rohrwald, which is only a few kilometers from where I grew up."

As the plot focuses on the so-called Schwedenhöhlen (Swedish Caves), earthen stables that were carved into the loess in the 16th and 17th centuries, the film was shot at these very locations, bringing their historical significance to life.

=Post-production=

Grenzfurthner edited the film himself and mentioned in interviews that he wanted to be as precise as possible with the style and pace of the fictitious director/editor Oosthuizen.{{cite web |title=Johannes Grenzfurthner, interview |url=https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ahsb8-12de865 |website=The Overlook Hour Podcast |access-date=14 October 2022 |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014135847/https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ahsb8-12de865 |url-status=live |last1=Development |first1=Podbean }}

=Music=

The soundtrack was created by German experimental electronic musician Alec Empire.{{cite web |title=Razzennest (2022) |url=https://www.monochrom.film/feature/razzennest/ |website=monochrom.film |date=29 August 2022 |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828112024/https://www.monochrom.film/feature/razzennest/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite tweet |author=Alec Empire (Atari Teenage Riot) |user=ATRiot_ |number=1553129700473638913 |title=Razzennest Trailer is out! Upcoming film with Alec Empire's soundtrack}}

Critic Richard Propes writes about the soundtrack: "Alec Empire's original score for the film is an immersive creepster that complements the visuals without dominating them. Empire never tells us what to think or feel, a refreshing approach consistent with Grenzfurthner's own artistry."{{cite web |title=Razzennest (2022) |url=https://theindependentcritic.com/razzennest |website=The Independent Critic |date=2 October 2022 |access-date=2 October 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002032120/https://theindependentcritic.com/razzennest |url-status=live}}

Release

Razzennest had its world premiere on 29 September 2022 at Fantastic Fest as part of the Burnt Ends showcase. Festival curator Annick Mahnert calls it "an audio commentary feature film filled with surprises and inside jokes."{{Cite web |title=Film lineup |url=https://2022.fantasticfest.com/burnt-ends |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=2022.fantasticfest.com |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005053654/https://2022.fantasticfest.com/burnt-ends |url-status=live}} The European premiere took place at the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image in Frankfurt.{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/kultur/nft-und-neuer-film-bei-der-frankfurter-biennale-b3-18388796.html |title=Frankfurter Biennale B3: Kunst für Goldgräber |website=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |access-date=15 October 2022 |last=Magel |first=Eva-Maria |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014204241/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/kultur/nft-und-neuer-film-bei-der-frankfurter-biennale-b3-18388796.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Razzennest |url=https://b3biennale.de/en/works/razzennest |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=B3 Biennial of the Moving Image |language=en |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010011755/https://b3biennale.de/en/works/razzennest |url-status=live}} Festivals such as Nightmares Film Festival, A Night of Horror International Film Festival,{{Cite web |title=Program 2022 |url=http://www.anightofhorror.com/2022-program |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=A Night of Horror International Film Festival |language=en-US |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014193421/http://www.anightofhorror.com/2022-program |url-status=live}} South African Horrorfest, Cucalorus Film Festival,{{Cite web |title=Cucalorus Film Festival |url=https://cucalorus.eventive.org/schedule/633deab9430cc4006a349d59 |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=cucalorus.eventive.org |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006202009/https://cucalorus.eventive.org/schedule/633deab9430cc4006a349d59 |url-status=live}} Feratum Film Festival (Mexico),{{cite web |url=https://encuadres.com.mx/nota/2706/Feratum-XI-listo-para-aterrorizar-calles-y-plazas-de-Patzcuaro |title=Feratum XI listo para aterrorizar calles y plazas de Pátzcuaro |language=es |access-date=26 October 2022}} and BizarroLand Film Festival have screened the film. The Austrian premiere was at Diagonale 2023 in Graz.{{Cite web |url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000144332497/diagonale-2023-zwischen-schraegen-liebesfilmen-und-horrorpornofilmen |title=Schräge Liebe und Horror-Porno auf der Diagonale 2023 |language=de-AT |access-date=10 March 2023}}

It was released on the US streaming service Fandor on 2 May 2023.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

=Reception=

=Critical response=

Critical response has been positive. The film holds a 93% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with a weighted average of 7/10.{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/razzennest |title=Razzennest Movie Reviews |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=2 December 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011162437/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/razzennest |url-status=live}} Film Threat awards Razzennest 8/10 and summarizes: "The listener is drawn into the horrific eventualities as the story charts a course from banal film banter to eventually painting the darkest expressions of one's own imagination. The soundscape and voice acting create an alternate world. Pairing that aural experience with abstract but related visuals brings another level of engagement to the viewer/listener. This is truly madness, but the method behind it creates an effective and unique filmic (and audio) experience."{{cite web |title=Review: Razzennest |url=https://filmthreat.com/reviews/razzennest/ |website=Film Threat |date=7 October 2022 |access-date=7 October 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007192750/https://filmthreat.com/reviews/razzennest/ |url-status=live}} Daily Dead calls Razzennest "genuinely thought-provoking, scary, a bit satirical and bitingly funny."{{cite web |title=Fantastic Fest 2022 Review: Razzennest is a Crazy, Fun Outside-the-Box Horror Story |url=https://dailydead.com/fantastic-fest-2022-razzennest-is-a-crazy-fun-outside-the-box-horror-story/ |website=Daily Dead |date=26 September 2022 |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926033757/https://dailydead.com/fantastic-fest-2022-razzennest-is-a-crazy-fun-outside-the-box-horror-story/ |url-status=live}} iHorror writes that the film is "an entirely new kind of horror film."

Daily Grindhouse{{'s}} Katelyn Nelson states that the film is "a novel approach to the forced confrontation with history we occasionally seem to need. Not in our faces enough to be decried as obvious or too on-the-nose, but impactful enough to make us think and remember. Is it worse to watch the horrors of war unfold before our eyes, or to hear them reinhabited in the present?"{{cite web |title='Razzennest' Blends Ghost Story and Satire in Avant Garde Fashion |url=http://dailygrindhouse.com/thewire/fantastic-fest-2022-razzennest-blends-ghost-story-and-satire-in-avant-garde-fashion/ |website=Daily Grindhouse |date=27 September 2022 |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926221059/http://dailygrindhouse.com/thewire/fantastic-fest-2022-razzennest-blends-ghost-story-and-satire-in-avant-garde-fashion/ |url-status=live}} Melissa Hannon of Horror Geek Life states that "the sharp satirical dialogue rarely misses a beat."{{cite web |title='Razzennest' Review: A Uniquely Horrifying Auditory Experience |url=https://www.horrorgeeklife.com/2022/09/29/razzennest-johannes-grenzfurthner-review |website=Horror Geek Life |date=29 September 2022 |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001055135/https://www.horrorgeeklife.com/2022/09/29/razzennest-johannes-grenzfurthner-review |url-status=live}} Timothy Glaraton of Horror Obsessive writes: "The highest form of praise I can give to Razzennest—and the highest form of praise I'll personally give to any film—is that it is truly unlike anything I've ever seen—not simply at Fantastic Fest, but anywhere."{{cite web |title=Fantastic Fest 2022: My Top Five Films From The Fest! |url=https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/10/01/fantastic-fest-2022-my-top-five-films-from-the-fest/ |website=Horror Obsessive |date=1 October 2022 |access-date=5 October 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005060826/https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/10/01/fantastic-fest-2022-my-top-five-films-from-the-fest/ |url-status=live}} Louisa Moore of Screen Zealots says: "From the vivid and violent descriptions to the bloodcurdling screams, Razzennest is the stuff of nightmares."{{cite web |title=Razzennest |url=https://screenzealots.com/2022/10/07/razzennest/ |website=Screen Zealots |date=7 October 2022 |access-date=9 October 2022 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009105840/https://screenzealots.com/2022/10/07/razzennest/ |url-status=live}} Screen Anarchy's Kyle Logan writes: "It not only effectively brings a horrific audio drama into cinema without losing any of the power of its images or its audio-only narrative, but also succeeds in exploring the themes of the far more self-consciously artful film-within-a-film. There are moments throughout that are not only scary, but also evoke a real sense of pathos for those who lived through the horrors of a 400-year-old war. That the film also manages to be hilarious at several points only adds to how special it is."{{cite web |title=Panic Fest 2023 Review: Razzennest Successfully Brings an Audio Drama to Film |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2023/04/panic-fest-2023-review-razzennest-successfully-brings-the-audio-drama-to-film.html |website=Screen Anarchy |date=24 April 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023}}

=Awards=

Best Director for Johannes Grenzfurthner for Razzennest at Nightmares Film Festival 2022
Best Screenplay for Johannes Grenzfurthner for Razzennest at South African Horrorfest 2022
Best Editing for Johannes Grenzfurthner for Razzennest at South African Horrorfest 2022
Special Jury Mention for Razzennest at Film Maudit 2.0 (Los Angeles) 2023
Antonio Margheriti Award for Razzennest at the TOHorror Fantastic Film Fest (Turin, Italy) 2023