To celebrate Arrow Video‘s stunning Blu-ray release of Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse, we here at STARBURST sat down with Director Lukas Feigelfeld and Cinematographer Mariel Baqueiro to talk about the film that they shot over four years ago finally getting a UK home disc release, the ideas behind the story and what makes it stand out from other modern horror films.
STARBURST: Congratulations on the film, I loved it – it’s incredibly atmospheric and poses a very unique approach to narrative. How proud are you to finally have a home disc release coming courtesy of the powerhouse that is Arrow?
LUKAS FEIGELFELD: Very, very happy. To be honest, we didn’t expect to be able to release it all over the world in the way that it has and especially getting a UK release is a huge deal as the English-speaking market is massive. When Arrow came to me and worked alongside me to create such a beautiful limited-edition version for people it was really great. I can’t wait to get my hands on it [laughs].
Lukas, you also wrote the film. Have you always been inspired by Gothic folk tales?
LUKAS: I wouldn’t say always, I think the source for the whole story came from folklore stories and traditions that come from the area where parts of my family are from in Austria which is also where the film was shot. When I was a kid I was confronted with a lot of these traditions, these kinds of horned masks and old pagan festivities and rituals that people still perform today. I was always terrified by stories of witches that were written in these woods around me so I just dove into my old nightmares to write the film. It kind of naturally evolved that it would be set in the middle ages and set in nature and didn’t turn into a horror film until later on.
I think we can both agree the Aleksandra’s central performance was absolutely inspired. How important was it to have someone that talented and captivating in the lead role to sell this character of Albrun?
LUKAS: I knew her before from a short film that we shot together, and she was a discovery by chance. She’s a Polish actress so her German is limited, she’s actually from Polish theatre. What I’ve seen is that she really brings a physical intensity to her performances. I discovered when shooting the short with her that she has a wide range of acting style in terms of physical performance and that she doesn’t shy away from doing weird shit [laughs]. She did everything with passion. You could put a camera in front of her and she would convey so much with limited or no dialogue by just using her eyes and face. She is amazing. I was so lucky.
Mariel, another standout aspect of the film was its cinematography. Every frame was oozing with atmosphere. How did you approach finding the perfect shots to truly capture the tense and mysterious elements of Lukas’ script?
MARIEL BAQUEIRO: Well I guess it was a long journey of discovery. Lukas and I worked together to really find the best places to shoot as we went scouting twice along with Aleksandra too. Lukas knew the area quite well so he had plenty of ideas of where we should shoot. For me, I didn’t grow up with any kind of folklore or fairytales, so it was really Lukas who had great ideas and I just used those to find the beauty and atmosphere in these locations. We also used a storyboard a lot during production and spent a lot of time together doing research which helped prepare for everything.
Lukas, it’s safe to say that the film is most certainly not your typical modern horror film. How important was it to create something that was ambiguous and treated the audience as intellectuals rather than hand-holding them through the experience?
LUKAS: I think it naturally evolved into this throughout production. The style and way that I approach anything aren’t entirely plot-driven anyway, there’s a lot of mood involved. I was listening to the music of Mohammad who did the soundtrack whilst writing so the whole bubble of everything had to be a complete package so of course the story is there but it didn’t dictate and I think that the way you remember a movie is similar to how you remember a dream. It may not be as exciting for other people but for you, it is an experience that stays with you. I like to trigger some kind of experience for the viewer and that they come out of the film with a certain feeling – it could be through the plot, or sound, or a particular shot.
Mariel, what other cinematographers inspire you?
MARIEL: It’s difficult because there are so many different styles and many cinematographers have many different styles themselves, it depends on the movie or project. Probably those who are very versatile and those who aren’t overly flashy and more human in the way that they work rather than ultra-technical.
What was your favourite shot in the film?
MARIEL: It’s a hard question but I’d definitely say that I remember that when we were shooting the swamp scene and she gets into the water it was really magic because everything was there from the frogs jumping around to natural lighting and colours – we just placed the cameras and everything came naturally! It was perfect.
LUKAS: We did that in one take, it was amazing. We scouted the location and it was full of mosquitos at the time, so we were lucky when we shot it. I’d say my favourite is the very last shot which I won’t spoil for those who have not seen it [laughs].
Lukas, another thing that we love about non-English horror films is that they are typically able to push the boundaries of gore – and this film certainly pushes the boundary. What shocking horror moments throughout history defined you as a horror fan?
LUKAS: I don’t know if I can state any particular film but we were trying to get a base of realism for sure. I tried to add that realism to the gory scenes without making them cheesy. I can say that more realistic films can be truly shocking that your typical horror movies in that regard. Michael Haneke is a good example of that. They seem to go too far because of how real it is – it’s less of a gimmick essentially. This film in particular plays on that real fear of witches being women who eat children.
Are either of you able to talk about any upcoming projects?
LUKAS: There are a few things that I’m working on – some that I can talk about, some that I can’t. I have an English speaking script in development and a German Horror series in development but I can’t say too much more than that right now, unfortunately.
MARIEL: Same for me really, I’ve got a proposal for a few projects that are at various stages but as of right now with the current worldwide pandemic, I’m unsure when or if these projects will happen.
HAGAZUSSA: A HEATHEN’S CURSE is out now on VOD and May 11th on Blu-Ray via Arrow Video.
