Directed by Sándor Reisenbüchler • 1978 • Hungary

One of Sándor Reisenbüchler’s most playful and politically pointed shorts, Panic weds his familiar dazzling colour palette and engagingly naive visual style to a parable about the dangers of unchecked technology. An advanced civilisation takes three reptilian creatures prisoner in order to conduct experiments on them – unleashing startling destructive power in the process. Drawing on the kaiju tradition of Japanese icons like Godzilla, as well as Reisenbüchler’s deeply held ecological beliefs, this is a deceptively grown-up take on the monster movie.

PANIC • PÁNIK
Written and directed by Sándor Reisenbüchler
Cinematography by Irén Henrik
Music by András Nyerges

In Hungarian with English subtitles