JOSEF FRITZL: STORY OF A MONSTER

In April 2008 the world was stunned by a breaking story in Amstetten, Austria. Josef Fritzl, a respected businessman, husband and father, was arrested and accused of sexually abusing his daughter over the course of 24 years. During this time, she bore him seven children while living in the cellar of the family home – imprisoned and unable to see sunlight. Until she first became pregnant in 1988, her only company was her father, who would come downstairs to repeatedly torture and rape her.

This unique film seeks to find out what drove Josef Fritzl to commit this act, speaking to childhood friends, relatives, former tenants, his best friend, his psychiatrist and a woman he attacked and tried to rape as a young man. Josef Fritzl’s only statement - made shortly after his arrest and read by an actor - demonstrates how he tried to justify his brutal actions.

Accompanied by previously unseen video clips, holiday footage and archival and personal photographs, Josef Fritzl: Story of a Monster builds a dramatic picture of how he could commit this atrocious crime, one that shocked the entire world.