Horror Vacui (film)

Horror Vacui (German: Horror Vacui - Die Angst vor der Leere) is a 1984 German avant-garde film directed by Rosa von Praunheim.^[1]

Horror Vacui
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rosa von Praunheim
Screenplay by	Cecil Brown Marianne Enzensberger Rosa von Praunheim
Produced by	Rosa von Praunheim
Starring	Lotti Huber Ingrid van Bergen Joaquín La Habana Folkert Milster
Cinematography	Elfi Mikesch
Edited by	Mike Shephard Rosa von Praunheim
Music by	Marran Gosov
Production company	Rosa Von Praunheim Filmproduktion
Release date	1984 (1984)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	West Germany

The film was shown at international film festivals and in 1985 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.^[2]

Plot

Shot in a neo-expressionist style, the film is a satire on cults of any kind. The plot follows Frankie and Hannes, a young gay couple living in Berlin. One is studying art and the other medicine. Their happy life is disrupted when Frankie attends a lecture and quickly becomes involved in a sinister cult operating as a self-help group called "Optimal Optimism". 'Madame C', a former Nazi party member, is the leader of 'Optimal Optimism'. When the cult members find out that Frankie is gay, they rape him. Hannes has to find a way to save him.^[3][1]

Awards

• 1985: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award^[4]

Reception

"If you have a soft spot for fantastic and ironic films, you won't feel any inner emptiness [horror vacui] with Praunheim's wealth of fantasy." (Cinema Film Journal)^[5]