Hagazussa -

To enjoy this film, you must enter with the right mindset. Do not expect jump scares, gore, or a fast-paced plot.

Aleksandra Cwen delivers a raw, often wordless performance that anchors the film. Albrun is not immediately sympathetic in a conventional sense; she’s stubborn, sullen, and socially ostracized. But through Cwen’s physicality and muted expressions, Feigelfeld invites identification with her vulnerability and increasing isolation. Supporting performances — notably the hostile villagers and Albrun’s ambiguous mother — flesh out a community that oscillates between cruelty, fear, and religious fervor.

At its core, Hagazussa is about otherness, inherited stigma, and how patriarchal and religious structures label, persecute, and internalize deviance. The film interrogates the intersection of mental illness, grief, and superstition: is Albrun truly touched by witchcraft, or is she collapsing under the weight of trauma and social alienation? Feigelfeld resists tidy answers, preferring to let ambiguity linger. The mountainous setting also functions metaphorically: the landscape both isolates and shapes cultural belief, suggesting that geography and hardship can harden communities into superstition and cruelty.

Hagazussa premiered at the Fantastic Fest in 2017 and later streamed on Shudder. It holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics but a significantly lower audience score.

Critics praise it as a "visceral masterpiece" and "the real Witch." Audiences often decry it as "pretentious misery porn."

The controversy centers on Chapter Three: the infanticide. Unlike Hereditary (which uses a child’s death as a plot engine), Hagazussa forces you to watch Albrun methodically, slowly, and lovingly place her baby on a stone and cover it with a woven basket. The camera does not cut away. We hear the child’s muffled cries fade. For some viewers, this is an unforgivable act of narrative cruelty. For others, it is the logical endpoint of a woman who has been dehumanized so thoroughly that her maternal instinct has twisted into murderous paranoia (she believes the baby is a changeling—a demon replacement). Hagazussa

Feigelfeld offers no moral judgment. He simply presents the act as a fact of the Hagazussa’s existence. This ambiguity is why the film remains a cult touchstone for hardcore folk horror enthusiasts.

Sound is Hagazussa’s secret weapon. Rather than relying on a conventional musical score, the film uses environmental textures — wind, animal cries, the creak of timber — to build tension. When music appears, it’s sparse and uncanny, amplifying the sense of unease. The sonic landscape complements the visuals to create a sustained dread that is psychological more than spectacle-driven.

Yes, it's a solid feature—but with a clear warning label. It's a film that excels at what it sets out to do: create a folk horror tone poem about isolation, superstition, and a woman's unraveling. If you have patience for its deliberate rhythm and stomach for its grim subject matter, you'll find it a memorable, powerful, and unsettling piece of work. If you need a traditional story with a fast pace, look elsewhere.

Rating Equivalent: 3.5/5 or 7/10. A confident, beautifully made, but deliberately alienating film.

In its earliest form, a hagazussa was a creature of two worlds. The "hedge" (hag) represented the physical and metaphorical boundary between the safety of the civilized village and the wild, untamed dangers of the forest. To enjoy this film, you must enter with the right mindset

Liminal Identity: A hagazussa sat on this fence, existing neither fully in human society nor fully in the spirit world.

Evolution to "Hexe": Over centuries, this nuanced role of a boundary-dweller was flattened into the negative stereotype of the malevolent witch.

Modern Reclaimed Meaning: In contemporary contexts, researchers note that the term is sometimes reclaimed to describe herbal healers or ritual experts who utilize medicinal and hallucinogenic plants. Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017)

Directed by Lukas Feigelfeld, this film is a cornerstone of the "folk horror" revival, often compared to Robert Eggers’ The Witch for its slow-burn atmospheric dread. Plot and Themes

Setting: The story unfolds in the 15th-century Austrian Alps, a landscape that is as beautiful as it is desolate. In the shadow of the Alps, where the

Narrative Arc: It follows Albrun, a young goatherd who is ostracized by her community after her mother’s death. As persecution mounts, Albrun begins to experience a dark, ancient presence lurking in the woods.

Themes of Isolation: The film focuses on the psychological toll of social exile and the blurred line between external supernatural forces and internal madness. Cinematic Style

HAGAZUSSA (2017) - Psychedelic mushrooms and well-cooked children

In the shadow of the Alps, where the mist clings to the peat bogs like a shroud, lies the world of Hagazussa. Unlike the jump-scares and gore of mainstream horror, this Austrian film, written and directed by Lukas Feigelfeld, offers something far more unsettling: a slow, beautiful, and utterly relentless descent into madness, ostracism, and the terrifying ambiguity of witchcraft.

If you are a fan of The Witch (2015) but wished it were slower, more atmospheric, and bleaker, Hagazussa is your next obsession.