If this doesn't scream "Ax-Crazy", it's hard to conceive of what does.
- The murder scenes in this film are very ugly and brutal. It's made worse when you consider that not only are they very loosely based on the crimes of real-life torture-murderer Werner Kniesek, but are actually toned down from reality.
- Erwin Leder's portrayal of the unnamed Serial Killer who narrates the film is incredibly unsettling. There's just something... off about him, like he could just snap or kill someone at any minute. He's practically a textbook example of a low-functioning psychopath.
- The filmmakers take full advantage of Leder's gaunt facial features, twisting them into something truly terrifying through the lighting and cinematography. This Japanese poster
cranks it up to eleven by further distorting the actor's image into an almost ghostly form. - The camerawork, with its copious use of Jitter Cam and Dutch angles, is both extremely disorienting and puts the viewer right in the twisted mind of the Villain Protagonist.
- Klaus Schulze's score, while awesome, has sections that sound very intimidating, particularly in such aptly-named tracks as "Pain" and "Surrender", further adding to the grim atmosphere.
