JURAJ HERZ
Born on September 4, 1934 in Kežmarok, Slovakia
Juraj Herz directed more than 25 feature films. A number of his films have won awards at International Film Festivals. His classic film The Cremator has been mentioned in Time Magazine as one of the best films in the history of Czech and Slovak cinema. Oil Lamps participated in the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival. Morgiana won a Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. The film Sweet Worries won the audience award in Paris and his film Caught By The Night won the First Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Filmography
The Junk Shop, Cancer Sign, Hobbling Devil, The Cremator, Sweet Game of the Last Summer, Oil Lamps, Morgiana, Girls made of Pottery, A Girl Fit to Be Killed, Day for my Love, The Ninth Heart, Beauty and the Beast, The Vampire from Ferat, Magpie in the Fist, Caught by the Night, Die Dumme Augustine, The Frog Prince, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Passage
Director’s note
The genre of the film is “Psychological Horror”. This implies that the feeling of fear, which every horror film should evoke, should not be generated by artificial, shocking situations and moments. It should be evoked by the nature of our main character and the environment where the film takes place. The house, which served for Celtic rituals in ancient times, and where mentally disabled children had been euthanized during the war. The house has preserved the negative energy of these events. A young painter, who spent his childhood there, is being drawn deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of memories and situations. These memories are becoming gradually more entangled and they have a destructive impact on his psyche.
One of the most significant elements of the film is the atmosphere I create. In this type of film, the atmosphere of horror and the fear created by the environment plays an essential role. In order to create the feeling of horror in the audience, I would use a slow and continuous camera movement, subjective shots and atmosperic lighting using subdued colours.