is a "moody, atmospheric masterpiece" that uses folklore to critique the historical dehumanization of women. Key Resources for Research Film Reviews: Critical perspectives from The Hollywood Reporter Sight & Sound highlight its stylistic debt to German Expressionism. Thematic Analysis: Academic discussions on Frames Cinema Journal
In medieval folklore, the Hagazussa was deeply tied to the natural landscape, European paganism, and ethnopharmacology. Rather than the cartoonish villain of later fairy tales, the historical archetype was grounded in the harsh realities of rural isolation.
Upon its release on the festival circuit, Hagazussa received praise from horror purists and cinephiles for its uncompromising vision, stunning cinematography, and powerful lead performance by Aleksandra Cwen. It stands as a landmark entry in the 21st-century revival of folk horror, proving that the genre can be used to explore deeply complex psychological and historical truths. It remains a challenging, deeply unsettling piece of art that lingers in the mind long after the final frame burns away.
Swinda’s butter churn explodes overnight. Her milk turns to clotted black curds. Her husband walks into the forest and doesn’t come back. The village sends three men to Albrun’s hut. They find the goats standing on two legs, chewing something that looks like rope but smells like hair. Albrun is gone. But her footprints in the snow lead in a circle—and end. Brother Markus, writing in his final journal entry: “The hagazussa does not ride the hedge. She becomes the hedge. We have not burned a witch. We have fertilized one.” Hagazussa
At its core, Hagazussa is about otherness, inherited stigma, and how patriarchal and religious structures label, persecute, and internalize deviance. The film interrogates the intersection of mental illness, grief, and superstition: is Albrun truly touched by witchcraft, or is she collapsing under the weight of trauma and social alienation? Feigelfeld resists tidy answers, preferring to let ambiguity linger. The mountainous setting also functions metaphorically: the landscape both isolates and shapes cultural belief, suggesting that geography and hardship can harden communities into superstition and cruelty.
This chapter contains one of the film's most talked-about and deliberately uncomfortable sequences: an erotically charged scene where Albrun masturbates after milking one of her goats. The director has stated that her intimacy with the animals is meant to be sensual and ambiguous, reflecting her profound isolation and the blurring of boundaries between the human and the natural world.
The story follows Albrun, a goat herder living in extreme isolation who is tormented by her community and haunted by her mother’s traumatic death. Review: HAGAZUSSA is an Unsettling Piece of Folklore Horror is a "moody, atmospheric masterpiece" that uses folklore
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.
However, with the resurgence of interest in ancient cultures and mythologies, Hagazussa has experienced a revival of sorts. Modern pagans, scholars, and enthusiasts have sought to reclaim and reexamine her significance, exploring her potential connections to contemporary issues, such as environmentalism, feminism, and spirituality.
: Establishes the core trauma of Albrun’s childhood and her mother's illness. Rather than the cartoonish villain of later fairy
Walking between the safe, orderly village (Hag) and the chaotic nature surrounding it.
: Traditional herbalism was rebranded as malicious sorcery ( malefium ).
Hagazussa relies heavily on pure cinema—visuals and sound—rather than dialogue to convey its narrative. The film's pacing is deliberately slow, forcing the audience to sit with uncomfortable imagery for extended periods.
Assuming you are referring to the 2017 atmospheric horror film (directed by Lukas Feigelfeld), this guide is designed to help you understand, appreciate, and navigate the film.