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FEAR CHAMBER (2008) with Christoph Draeger.
Video loop, 16:9, 34 min.

Fear chamber is an investigation of the underworld using scenes from more than 150 movies: a mind-boggling horror trip through caves, abysses and endless tunnels to the dark corners of the subconscious, where primeval fear slumbers. A psychedelic nightmare through film history, a roller coaster ride that keeps spiraling downwards, final destination: hell.
The piece is spliced together using snippets of movies to analyze notions of fear, horror, religion, death and the afterlife through the fractured lens of cinema and critical theory. Draeger/Holzfeind utilize montage to mine the history of horror films, Hollywood and others, creating sequences that address the representation of fear, murder, torture, Armageddon and the destruction of all things beautiful. This monumental work becomes a thought-provoking journey into the collective memory and subconscious. By careful composing paradigmatic moments found in these films, the piece allows us to rethink and reposition the implicit meaning of these brief filmic moments. (SVB)

commissioned and produced by OK Centrum Linz