Hungarian Director Bence Fliegauf's Unconventional Horror Film: "Jimmy Jaguar"

Bence Fliegauf is not just your average filmmaker. Known for his departure from mainstream cinema, Fliegauf has produced an array of films that often defy categorisation, making him a festival favourite for nearly twenty years. His newest work, "Jimmy Jaguar", continues this tradition of unconventional film-making, providing a thought-provoking yet puzzling psychological horror.

While the premise might sound like a Hungarian mix of Blair Witch Project and Insidious, featuring a faux-documentary pattern investigating a demonic possession, "Jimmy Jaguar" steps away from the classic horror elements. Eschewing jump scares, gore, and explicit violence, the film is more of a disquieting contemplation on horror itself and its infiltration into reality.

"Jimmy Jaguar" revolves around the strange characters Seed and Marci Balfi who have been arrested for kidnapping a hermit living in solitude in the woods. They claim their actions were influenced by Jimmy Jaguar, a demon who possessed them. However, the hermit turns out to be a Serbian war criminal, raising questions of intent and making the plot even more uncanny.

As the movie progresses, more seemingly-possessed characters are introduced and the line between reality and the supernatural becomes blurred. Fliegauf uses classic horror elements in a subtle way, making the film a horror story without explicit horror. This culminates in a deliberate absence of violence and traditional scares, resulting in a movie that appears to be a horror film in everything but name.

"Jimmy Jaguar" is not afraid of breaking the rules. Fliegauf introduces a variety of twists, including a segment filmed like a talk show panel and a dance between reality and illusion. It makes the point that horror dwells not only in chainsaw massacres or haunted houses, but also in the everyday evils that surround us. While this may not work for those expecting a traditional horror flick, it fits perfectly well within Fliegauf's broader body of nonconformist work.