Few contemporary filmmakers embrace the grotesque, cerebral, and transgressive quite like Johannes Grenzfurthner. The Austrian director has carved out a unique space in independent horror, using extreme imagery and unconventional storytelling techniques to explore philosophy, politics, and the human psyche. His latest film, Solvent, completes an unofficial trilogy alongside his previous features Masking Threshold and Razzennest, and it may be his most ambitious and thematically rich work yet.

Grenzfurthner approaches horror with a distinctly European sensibility, pushing boundaries both narratively and visually. Solvent is no exception. The film immerses viewers in a surreal and deeply unsettling experience, blending body horror with horrifying Nazi ideology and psychological unraveling. Its gruesome, unflinching imagery serves a purpose beyond mere shock value - every grotesque detail is meticulously designed to support the film’s themes.

Set against the haunting backdrop of his family’s own farmhouse in Austria, Solvent is a deeply personal project for Grenzfurthner. The location itself carries significant weight, not only serving as the eerie, desolate setting for the film but also acting as an extension of the film’s themes of inherited trauma, decay, and paranoia. Grenzfurthner’s connection to the space runs deep - his family has owned the property for generations, and it became both an inspiration and a logistical advantage when crafting the film’s oppressive atmosphere. The familiarity of the environment allowed Grenzfurthner to meticulously design the film’s unsettling visual and auditory landscape, transforming a place of personal history into a nightmarish liminal space where reality and delusion blur.

The film follows Holbrook, an American expatriate who joins a group on the search for old Nazi documents, only to become increasingly focused with the particular case they’re following. Played with feverish intensity by Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite, The White Lotus), Holbrook finds himself unraveling inside the decaying farmhouse, obsessing over cryptic documents and arcane theories. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that his mental state is deteriorating, and the horrors lurking within the walls may not be entirely imagined.

One of the film’s most discussed aspects is its use of explicit, often grotesque, practical effects. As Grenzfurthner explains, authenticity in horror can be a powerful tool. "Of course, the mutilated dicks are not real. We had our special effects guy make them for us," he laughs. "A friend of mine from the States immediately said, ‘You can tell this is a European film because the dick is not circumcised.’ But I actually researched that! Since the main character is a former Catholic, I wanted to make sure it was accurate. I asked Catholics in the U.S., and they all told me, ‘No, we’re not circumcised.’ So it’s all fine!"

Grenzfurthner’s willingness to put himself into his work - sometimes quite literally - is a testament to his dedication. "There are some real dicks in the film, and that’s my dick, because nobody on my team wanted to film all that stuff, so I did it," he says matter-of-factly. His commitment to raw, personal filmmaking extends beyond the explicit. "That toenail scene? That’s my actual toenail. I hit a wall while filming, and it started to fall off. So I thought, why not use it for the film? Production value!" He even included footage of a real hemorrhoid he developed during production, much to the dismay of his editor.

Beyond its visceral horror, Solvent is a film deeply shaped by its production constraints, with Grenzfurthner turning obstacles into creative opportunities. Gries recorded his performance remotely while filming in Thailand under brutal conditions. "It was in the beginning of summer, and the air conditioning in the sound booth wasn’t working properly," Grenzfurthner recalls. "So it was nearly 30 degrees Celsius [about 86°F], and we had to take breaks every 45 minutes. But it actually worked in our favor. The exhaustion and frustration you hear in his voice? That’s real. It was almost method acting."

The physical toll extended to the crew as well. The film’s intense, first-person cinematography required a custom rig built from an old motorcycle helmet to support the heavy Red Komodo camera. "At some point, our camera guy, Flo, was so exhausted that he just collapsed onto the table while shooting some B-roll. We didn’t realize for five minutes that he was stuck there with his head down, unable to lift it back up," Grenzfurthner recounts with a laugh. "But in the end, he built muscles he never had before!"

While Solvent brings a sense of closure to the thematic arc begun with Masking Threshold, Grenzfurthner shows no signs of slowing down. He has multiple horror concepts in mind, ranging from micro-budget experiments to larger productions requiring serious financial backing. "I have an idea for a Krampus movie because I feel like American cinema hasn’t done him justice. The 2015 Krampus film was interesting, but it wasn’t my Krampus," he says. "But for that, I’d need at least a million dollars."

For now, Solvent is set to make waves in the horror scene, with a U.S. distribution deal already in place. Grenzfurthner is proud of how far he’s come, especially considering the skepticism he once faced from Austrian film funding agencies. "They saw me as this weird artist suddenly poaching in ‘their’ grants. But now, after seeing the reception of my films, they trust me a little more."

Whether working with a skeleton crew and a few thousand euros or securing larger budgets, Grenzfurthner’s commitment to provocative, boundary-pushing horror remains unwavering. Solvent is a film that lingers, crawling under the skin and into the mind - just as he intended.