Food, and lack thereof, plays a vital role in instilling dread. Observing the volatile relationship between Stefan and Filipp becomes a source of paranoia, another significant red flag that something’s amiss.įamily Dinner applies steady pressure to the psychological horror, sending Simi from one uneasy encounter to another within an increasingly claustrophobic household. Claudia is initially much warmer and more welcoming than her son, Filipp, but falsely planted evidence of hidden snacks brings Claudia’s wrath upon Simi and accusations of not taking her nutritional advice to heart. Simi, and the viewer by proxy, are perpetually on edge as she walks on eggshells to avoid trigging the anger of Filipp or Claudia. That unfamiliarity with her surroundings and people breeds discomfort straightaway. It’s apparent from the outset that Simi doesn’t know her aunt or cousin very well, her rare visitation sparked solely by personal motivations. Hengl drops his naïve young protagonist into a tangled web. The truth behind the behavior is more harrowing than Simi could’ve ever anticipated. The closer to Easter Sunday it gets, the tenser the family becomes. Then Simi must contend with her hostile cousin Filipp ( Alexander Sladek ), while Filipp’s stepdad Stefan ( Michael Pink ) is unusually warm towards her. Claudia agrees, immediately putting Simi on strict caloric restrictions and harsh rules. Simi hopes her aunt, a renowned nutritionist and a health book best-seller, will help her lose weight, though she waits until she gets there to ask for Claudia’s guidance. Family Dinner unfurls its methodical slow-burn tale in the days leading up to Easter Sunday, centering volatile relationships and strict, peculiar holiday traditions to create deep-seated psychological dread.įifteen-year-old Simi ( Nina Katlein ) arrives at her Aunt Claudia’s ( Pia Hierzegger ) house just ahead of Easter weekend. In this instance, the holiday is Easter, a rarity in the genre space. Writer/Director Peter Hengl’s feature debut, Family Dinner, combines the discomfort and cringe of awkward family dynamics at the dinner table with holiday horror.
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