Ruzowitzky cross-breeds a war picture with a frothy horror flick, though between his over-reliance on CGI-splashed backdrops and a surprisingly superficial script, one suspects the end result resembles actual schlock far more than he intended.
Set in the aftermath of the First World War, Ruzowitzky’s film follows Captain Peter Perg (Murathan Muslu), who alongside his squad of surviving Austrian POWs, returns to Vienna in the hope of piecing his life back together. But as Peter attempts to make sense of how life has changed since his departure, one of his men is savagely killed, kickstarting a spate of grisly murders seemingly targeting his outfit, forcing Peter to chase down the killer before his own number comes up.
Hinterland continues its director’s peculiar post-Oscar career, largely failing to meet the dishy appeal of its premise. Expressionistic art design is fatally undermined by distractingly mediocre VFX and a thin script in this disappointing offering from acclaimed filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky.
Callum
Hinterland
Sydney Film Festival