Hagazussa

Open on a memory: young Albrun (8) watches her mother tied to a ladder. No fire yet—just dunking in the tarn until she stops fighting. The villagers chant “Hagazussa” (hedge-rider). Albrun is spat upon and dragged to the forest edge. She watches her mother’s drowned body laid on a pyre that night. No one adopts her.

: Unlike many horror films where nature is just a backdrop, in Hagazussa , the forest and mountains are active, oppressive characters. The cinematography uses a "lingering camera" to emphasize that while nature is beautiful, it is also indifferent and often repulsive, mirroring Albrun's internal state. Hagazussa

3.5/5 or 7/10. A confident, beautifully made, but deliberately alienating film. Open on a memory: young Albrun (8) watches

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. Albrun is spat upon and dragged to the forest edge

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.

Primarily German, specifically an Austrian dialect, though the film features very little dialogue.