Thriller,Drama,Horror
Czech Republic,Czechoslovakia
Kopfrkingl is a man who is obsessed with death and the idea of being purified through cremation. He is married and has two children, but he is disconnected from his family and spends most of his time at the crematorium. As the political situation in Czechoslovakia begins to change, Kopfrkingl becomes increasingly swept up in Nazi ideology and begins to see his work at the crematorium as a way to cleanse society of impure elements.
He becomes involved with a group of Nazi sympathizers and begins to espouse a twisted version of Buddhist philosophy that justifies the extermination of those who are deemed unworthy. As his behavior becomes more erratic and dangerous, his family begins to fear for their lives. Kopfrkingl's wife tries to escape with their children, but they are caught and sent to a concentration camp.
In the end, Kopfrkingl himself is betrayed by his colleagues and sent to the same concentration camp as his family. As he is led to his death, he clings to the belief that his cremation will ultimately purify him, even as the reality of his own mortality becomes starkly clear. The Cremator is a horror film that explores the ways in which individual beliefs can become twisted and distorted in the face of fascist ideology.
