The film is a period piece set in the 15th-century Austrian Alps and is widely cited as a pinnacle of modern .
The keyword has grown in search traffic over the last three years due to the rise of "analog horror" and "folk horror revival." Curious viewers who have exhausted mainstream lists are turning to this Austrian masterpiece for its uncompromising vision.
The film is structured in four named movements: Hagazussa
Unlike many witch films, Hagazussa includes no coven, no devil’s sabbath, no inverted prayers. Its witchcraft is silent, solitary, and organic—a return to animism rather than a pact with Satan.
Is there a witch? Are the visions real? Feigelfold never confirms. The moor woman in Chapter 1 might be a demon; she might be a delusion. The parasite might be a supernatural mark; it might be a disease. The stillborn child might be a monster; it might be a traumatized mother’s vision. This ambiguity is the film’s strength. Hagazussa operates in the space between folk belief and psychosis—a space where both are indistinguishable. The film is a period piece set in
Released in 2017 (though making festival rounds in 2018) and directed by Lukas Feigelfeld, Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse is not merely a film; it is an experience in elemental isolation. For seekers of esoteric cinema, the keyword has become synonymous with "slow cinema horror," Alpine witchcraft, and the terrifying collapse of a human soul under the weight of medieval superstition.
The film establishes a tragedy early on. Albrun’s mother is accused of witchcraft by the local villagers, who are desperate for a scapegoat for their hardships. We witness the brutal reality of medieval isolation: the villagers are not caricatures of evil, but terrified people whose superstition manifests as cruelty. When Albrun is left alone after her mother's agonizing death, she becomes the sole focus of the village's ire and lust. Its witchcraft is silent, solitary, and organic—a return
Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (2017) is a German-Austrian folk horror film directed by Lukas Feigelfeld. Set in the 15th-century Austrian Alps
Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse is not a film for everyone. It offers no catharsis, no hero, no explanation. It is a sustained mood of misery and beauty, like staring into a peat bog until you see your own reflection—and it doesn’t blink. Lukas Feigelfeld has created a work that respects the historical reality of witch accusations: that they were not about magic, but about power, poverty, and the terror of the female outsider. By the time Albrun lights the fire, you may not understand what you have witnessed, but you will feel it—like a curse settled into your bones.