Directed by Thomas Vanbrabant and Jordi Ostir, the horror film Duyster (2021) was presented as the first Belgian found footage and traces, homage to it, The Blair Witch Project - The Mystery of the Blair Witch.
Like the 1999 film, Duyster is directed by a pair of filmmakers and features three students who decided to make a school documentary with which to shed light on a mysterious local legend.
Added to this, already in the first minute, is information inherent in the disappearance of the three boys and the discovery of some films and audiovisual tapes made by them and preceding their disappearance.
As well as being a tribute to one of the major exponents of the found footage genre, Duyster channels itself into a personal journey in which a solid, full-bodied script emerges where historian, screenwriter and director Thomas Vanbrabant's passion for stories of the past, legends and ancient rituals come to life.
In Duyster in fact converges the interesting phenomenon of witch hunts and the subsequent atrocious tortures inflicted on women accused of witchcraft, up to the mention of the Malleus Maleficarum.
A sad and searing dimension, this one gives depth to the former executioner, the fictional character to whom the protagonists have shifted their attention and thus also greater viewer involvement thanks in part to an unexpected and engaging ending.
Duyster drags the phenomenon of superstition to the present day by instilling a fascinating aura of realism to the supernatural story experienced by the protagonists. The film by young Thomas Vanbrabant and Jordi Ostir is a good example of found footage as it is able to give the audience a pungent sense of reality.
In the cast of Duyster featured some big local names such as those of Stefaan Degand and Sven De Ridder. They were joined by newcomers Maïmouna Badjie, Louise Bergez, Charles De Meester and Tristan Feyten.
The song "Deathsman" featured in the closing credits is by Belgian metal band Your Highness.
Plot: students Nora, Bas and Milan are making a documentary for school about Johannes Duyster, the executioner who executed 100 witches in the city of Antwerp in 1600. Learning about some aspects of his dark life, the children will come across strange incidents.
Duyster is the winner of the BEST HORROR FEATURE FILM at DarkVeins Horror Fest 2021.
