‘Hysteria’ review: Tense German satirical thriller eyes breakout status

Dir/scr: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay. Germany. 2025. 104mins

It needs to be a golden alternative. Current college graduate Elif (Devrim Lingnau) has scored an intern place on a movie directed by a rising star filmmaker, Yigit (Serkan Kaya), and produced by Elif’s idol and inspiration, Lilith (Nicolette Krebitz). It tackles weighty themes, revisiting a interval of infected racism in Germany – particularly a 1993 arson assault on the house of immigrants within the city of Solingen. However through the shoot, a burned Quran is discovered on the set. And Elif finds herself caught within the crossfire of quickly escalating tensions, on this wonderful satirical thriller which deftly handles probably the most inflammatory of sizzling button subjects.

As thought upsetting as it’s entertaining

Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay returns to Berlin together with his second function, having received the pageant’s greatest first function award for his 2019 debut Oray, which went on to futher awards. He’s additionally energetic as a producer, with credit together with Cem Kaya’s award-winning 2022 documentary Love, Deutschmarks and Dying. With its taut pacing, darkish humour and astringently satirical tone, Hysteria ought to significantly enhance Büyükatalay’s profile. Sharp-witted works that cope with filmmaking are a no brainer on the subject of pageant programming, so Hysteria is more likely to have a wholesome life on the pageant circuit. However it’s can also be nicely positioned for crowd-pleasing arthouse breakout success – there’s a contact of Ruben Ostlund’s satirical venom, however the movie takes a measured, clever method to its probably incendiary themes.

One other reference level is Naqquash Khalid’s In Digicam: each footage interrogate the concept of ‘otherness’ and query the function of artwork and media in creating photos and shaping views. However Hysteria additionally weaves in a critique of sophistication and privilege for good measure. It sounds heavy going however, whereas Büyükatalay’s observations are biting, the flashes of humour and the brisk pacing makes for a viewing expertise that’s as thought upsetting as it’s entertaining.

Lingnau, who brilliantly nails the rabbit-in-the-headlights gaze of somebody who is continually realising new depths and gravity to their fuck up, is a key asset. Elif is bold, so tries to cowl her tracks when, after the fateful book-burning taking pictures day, she is tasked with driving the extras again to the asylum centre the place they stay, and to take the reels again to Lilith’s residence. The issue is, she has misplaced the keys to Lilith’s pad. Unwilling to confess her mistake, she places up flyers and will get a textual content from a stranger claiming to have discovered them. In a flood of reduction, Elif texts again the handle – solely to understand that there’s now a stranger with a set of keys and the handle to make use of them.

The anger concerning the Quran has additionally quickly change into superheated, with Yigit self-righteously claiming that he’s being censored, and the extras, significantly playwright and aspiring filmmaker Mustafa (Aziz Çapkurt), deriding his mission as low cost and the Quran incident as offensive. Then, simply when Elif thinks that she may need nearly obtained away with the important thing debacle, the movie footage goes lacking.

Büyükatalay incrementally builds the strain, each by standard means – Marvin Miller’s rating of itchy, paranoid plucked strings sounds much like his composition for Ilker Catak’s The Trainer’s Lounge, and it really works simply as successfully – and by weaving telephone, web and surveillance footage into the story. Like all Gen Z child who has been backed right into a nook, Elif is aware of easy methods to weaponise her tech: paranoid a few potential break in, she turns her laptop computer right into a movement delicate spy cam, contributing a number of chilling sequences. And YouTube clips, tiktok and telephone messages are additionally integral all through.

There’s a sense of nervy mounting paranoia, of a stress cooker about to blow. Even so, little can put together us for the beautifully staged explosive confrontation within the horribly humorous closing act.