Synopsis
The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, 1969) is a Czech black-comedy horror directed by Juraj Herz that you can watch online on iFILM. Rudolf Hrušínský plays Karel Kopfrkingl — the most serene man in Prague, and the most dangerous.
Kopfrkingl runs a crematorium and considers himself a benefactor: fire, he believes, liberates the soul from suffering. His wife is Jewish, his children too. None of that troubles him — until the Nazi occupation arrives and Kopfrkingl quietly begins reconsidering his position. The shift is gradual, polite, almost reasonable. That is what makes it so difficult to watch.
Shot in the year of the Soviet crackdown on Czechoslovakia, the film reads as both horror and political anatomy — a portrait of self-delusion precise enough to explain something real. Hrušínský's performance is central: warm, calm, and utterly chilling. Watch The Cremator online on iFILM.
Starring
Recommendations
Comments 0