The Cremator: Juraj Herz

Juraj Herz's The Cremator may not have any jump scares, killers with knives behind their backs, or haunted castles, but it is a hauntingly effective horror film.  Karl Kopfrkingl works at a crematorium in Prague near the start of World War Two.  He firmly believes in reincarnation and that his work frees the souls of the dead from their bodies.  He is a harsh, controlling man.  Notice how he almost never stops talking throughout the film.  There is a sense of finality in everything he does.  He is a rampant hypocrite, consorting with prostitutes while proclaiming himself a model husband.  But when Nazis invade Czechoslovakia, he finds himself at the bottom of the social order due to his Jewish wife and son.  It is fascinating to watch how suddenly and swiftly his allegiances shift.  In one shot he's laughing at the concept of Nazis invading Europe.  In the next he is at a party celebrating the Nazis' success.  But he slowly starts to lose his mind when the true horrors of the Nazi party start to identify themselves.  His mind tricks him into seeing himself as some kind of prophet who must give eternal happiness and an end to suffering to all unfortunates who are not of pure blood...even his own family.  The Cremator is a shifty, uneasy film.  It has been likened to German Expressionism with its stark, disorienting visuals and editing.  But I think there is another link to that great genre.  Just like Francis from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, it was easier for Karl to invent his own fantasy world with him as the hero than to admit to the reality of the outside world.

7/10