Because both films are slow-burn, period-piece folk horrors about ostracized women, comparisons to Robert Eggers’ The VVitch (2015) are inevitable. However, the differences are vital for appreciating Hagazussa.
The film is divided into four distinct chapters, following the life of a young woman named Albrun in the 15th-century Austrian Alps.
To appreciate Hagazussa, you must abandon conventional narrative expectations. The film is structured in four chapters, tracking the life of a woman named Albrun in the Austrian Alps during the Middle Ages.
Chapter One: The Shadow We open in 15th-century Austria. A young girl, Albrun, lives with her mother, a woman already ostracized by the tiny mountain community. Her mother is sick—perhaps with the plague, perhaps with madness. She speaks of a "black thing" that visits her at night. The villagers keep their distance, already treating the hovel on the hill as a plague house. In a devastatingly slow sequence, Albrun’s mother dies. The little girl, utterly alone, places stones over her mother’s corpse in a futile attempt to keep her in the ground. This chapter establishes the film’s core thesis: isolation is the true curse.
Chapter Two: The Horn Years later, Albrun is a young woman (played with haunting physicality by Aleksandra Cwen). She lives alone with her infant daughter, surviving by grazing goats and selling trinkets. She is a Hagazussa in practice: she lives on the hedge of the town’s tolerance. Here, the horror shifts to social paranoia. A local villager, Swinda, feigns friendship with Albrun. But in a cruel act of "baptism by fire," Swinda accuses Albrun of using a goat’s horn as a phallic idol. The film’s most shocking sexual assault sequence occurs not as a jump scare, but as a muddy, realistic violation. Swinda and her husband hold Albrun down, smear her with filth, and beat her. The Hagazussa is not powerful here; she is a victim.
Chapter Three: The Witch This is where the film abandons reality for hallucination. Broken by the assault and starving in the winter snow, Albrun’s grip on sanity shatters. She begins to believe that a demon lives in the reflection of her water bucket. She mistakes a dead rabbit for a sign. In the film’s most controversial sequence, Albrun—convinced her own infant has been corrupted or is not human—kills her child in a trance-like state. This is not a jump-scare horror movie. It is a slow, agonizing observation of psychosis. Feigelfeld forces us to watch the disintegration of a soul. Is she a witch? Or a traumatized woman accused of being one until she becomes the monster they always saw?
Chapter Four: The Hagazussa The final chapter is a five-minute static shot of Albrun, naked and covered in soot, sitting in a burning hut. She does not scream. She does not run. As the flames consume the wooden structure, Albrun reaches a state of ecstatic transcendence. She is no longer Albrun. She is the Hagazussa—the one on the hedge, finally crossing over into the spiritual fire.
Before discussing the film, we must understand the word itself. Hagazussa is an Old High German term. While the modern German word for witch is Hexe, Hagazussa (or Hagzissa) is a linguistic ancestor with a much darker connotation.
It breaks down into two parts: Hag (meaning "hedge" or "enclosure") and Zussa (related to "sitting" or "spirit"). Put together, Hagazussa does not simply mean "magic user." It literally translates to "the one who sits on the hedge."
In pre-Christian Germanic and Celtic traditions, the hedge represented the boundary between the civilized world (the village, the home, the church) and the untamed wilderness (the forest, the mountain, the spirit world). A Hagazussa was a liminal being—a woman who straddled the line between life and death, sanity and madness, humanity and animal.
Unlike the stereotypical broom-flying witch of the Renaissance, the Hagazussa is closer to the classical "shaman" or "night-hag." She is a creature of solitude, plague, and raw nature. This distinction is vital to understanding the 2017 film, because Feigelfeld does not make a movie about Satanic pacts or black magic spells. He makes a movie about a lonely woman dissolving into the landscape.
Do not watch Hagazussa for entertainment. Watch it as an experience, a meditation on alienation, or a challenge.
Watch this if you appreciate:
Avoid this if you need:
Hagazussa (Old High German for "witch" or "hedge-rider") is not a film about a witch. It is a film about what society creates when it abandons a woman to the wilderness. By the time the fire consumes the final frame, you won't know if you’ve witnessed a tragedy, a revenge fantasy, or a damnation. You’ll just know that the silence afterward feels far too loud.
Suggested Social Media Caption (Instagram/Twitter): Hagazussa
"A haunting meditation on isolation and the slow poison of superstition. #Hagazussa is not a horror film—it’s a descent. For fans of #TheWitch who want something darker and slower. 🖤🌲🔥”
Hagazussa
In twilight's hush, where shadows dance and play, A figure stirs, with secrets of the day. Hagazussa, a name that's whispered low, A weaver of spells, with magic to bestow.
Her eyes gleam bright, like stars on a moonless night, As she mixes potions, with a witch's delight. The air is thick with mystic scents and smoke, As she conjures powers, that only a few invoke.
With a wave of her staff, the wind begins to sway, And trees lean in, to hear her incantations say. The creatures of the forest, gather 'round her feet, Entranced by her wisdom, and the secrets she'll repeat.
Her heart beats strong, with a power that's ancient and true, A connection to the earth, that only a few pursue. The cycles of life, and death, and rebirth she knows, And with each step, her magic grows.
In a world of chaos, she stands as a guiding light, A beacon of hope, in the dark of night. Hagazussa, a guardian of the old ways, A keeper of the mysteries, in a world that's lost its gaze.
This piece is a reflection of the mystical and enigmatic figure of Hagazussa, a witch or sorceress from ancient cultures. I hope you enjoyed it!
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.
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.
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. Because both films are slow-burn, period-piece folk horrors
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
Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse - A Psychological Horror Film Write-Up
Introduction
"Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse" is a psychological horror film written and directed by Lukas Feigelfeld, set in 15th-century Austria. The film premiered in 2017 and has garnered attention for its unique blend of folk horror and psychological terror. This write-up aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the film's themes, plot, and cinematic techniques.
Plot Summary
The film follows the story of Ayleen, a young woman living in the remote Austrian Alps. She resides in a secluded hut with her ailing mother, who is struggling with a mysterious illness. As the story unfolds, Ayleen's isolation and her mother's condition lead to a descent into madness, fueled by superstition, fear, and the harsh environment.
Themes
Cinematic Techniques
Conclusion
"Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse" is a thought-provoking and visually stunning psychological horror film that explores themes of isolation, superstition, and feminine empowerment. Through its use of atmospheric setting, effective camerawork, and haunting sound design, the film creates a sense of unease and tension, drawing the viewer into Ayleen's world of madness and terror. As a work of horror cinema, "Hagazussa" is a significant contribution to the genre, offering a unique blend of folk horror and psychological terror that will leave viewers unsettled and disturbed.
Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (2017) is a German-Austrian folk horror film directed by Lukas Feigelfeld. Often described as a "pagan death trip," it is a dense, atmospheric slow-burn that explores the thin line between religious superstition and psychological breakdown. Plot Overview
Set in the remote Alps during the 15th century, the story is divided into four chapters:
Shadows: Young Albrun lives in isolation with her mother, who is ostracized by the village as a witch. After her mother dies a slow, agonizing death from the plague, Albrun is left alone.
Horn: Years later, Albrun is a mother herself, still living in the mountains and tending to goats. She remains an outcast, subjected to the cruelty and sexual violence of the local villagers. Avoid this if you need:
Blood: Following a brutal betrayal by a woman she thought was a friend, Albrun’s mental state begins to fracture. She experiences disturbing hallucinations, possibly fueled by local flora or deep-seated trauma.
Fire: The film culminates in a harrowing descent into madness. Consumed by her "curse," Albrun commits unthinkable acts before meeting a surreal, fiery end on the mountaintop. Thematic Elements
(also known as Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse) is a 2017 German-Austrian folk horror film that serves as the feature debut for director Lukas Feigelfeld. The title itself is an Old High German word for "witch". Plot and Setting
Set in the remote Austrian Alps during the 15th century, the film is divided into four distinct chapters: Horn, Blood, Fire, and Wind. It tracks the tragic life of Albrun, a woman living in profound isolation: OHMC 2021 Day 12 - Hagazussa - Blasphemous Tomes
Hagazussa is a "meditative nightmare." It is a film about the terror of being alone and the cruelty of human prejudice.
The film is an atmospheric "pagan death trip" set in the 15th-century Austrian Alps. It is celebrated for its haunting cinematography and sparse dialogue, often drawing comparisons to Robert Eggers’ The Witch.
Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (2017) is a haunting piece of folk horror that trades jump scares for a slow-burning, visceral descent into madness. Set in the 15th-century Austrian Alps, it explores the life of Albrun, an isolated goat-herder whose existence is defined by the weight of a societal "curse" she never asked for. Thematic Foundations: The Birth of a Witch
The film's title, "Hagazussa," is Old High German for "witch," but it originally referred to a "hedge-sitter"—someone existing on the boundary between civilization and the wild. The essay below examines how this boundary defines Albrun’s tragic arc.
Isolation and Inherited Trauma: Albrun's life is a cycle of exclusion. Growing up with an outcast mother, she inherits the community’s fear and hatred before she even understands it. Her "witchhood" is not a supernatural choice but a social label forced upon her by a community gripped by misogyny and superstition.
Nature as a Witness: 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.
The Absence of the Demonic: What makes the film truly "useful" for study is its lack of traditional demons. The horror is entirely terrestrial—found in the bubonic plague, sexual violence, and psychological fracture. The "magic" Albrun eventually embraces is a desperate reaction to a world that has already condemned her. Structural Analysis: A Four-Chapter Descent
Lukas Feigelfeld structures the film into four distinct chapters: Shadow, Horn, Blood, and Fire.
Shadow: Establishes the core trauma of Albrun’s childhood and her mother's illness.
Horn: Depicts Albrun as a young mother herself, still shunned, whose only "friendship" leads to a devastating betrayal.
Blood & Fire: Represents the total collapse of Albrun’s psyche, leading to the film's most infamous and grotesque scenes of hallucination and vengeance. Critical Comparison
If you are sensitive to certain imagery, be aware of the following: