Hinterholz 8 1998

Herbert Krcal, Roland Düringer, and his wife Margit Krcal, Nina Proll, live a comfortable middle‑class life in Vienna with their young son Philipp, Rudolf Rohaczek, who is a big fan of Star Trek. They dream of leaving the crowded city for a greener, quieter home in the suburbs. Their first idea is a prefab house, but the price tag quickly drains their optimism. Herbert’s drinking buddies, Meier and Forstinger, try to steer him toward buying an old house and taking on renovations themselves, promising a more affordable path to a cozy family haven.

One day they stumble upon an abandoned cottage with a stunning view of the Vienna woods. The catch is that the property belongs to the local village mayor, Kandler, Herwig Seeböck. Despite the shady logistics, Kandler somehow sells the house to Herbert for a price that feels inflated, and the Krcals throw themselves into renovations to make the place livable. The dream quickly sours as problems mount: a hired worker accidentally tears down the chimney along with parts of the walls, turning the cottage into an uninhabitable shell. A subsequent attempt to hire a builder only deepens the debt, and Herbert finds himself unable to pay the mounting bills.

Compounding the strain, they must vacate their Vienna apartment because it has been promised to the neighboring doctor who needs more space. The doctor, Dr. Gerda Bleichenberg, becomes a practical but emotionally distant obstacle in their already fragile plans, and the family relocates to Margit’s parents’ summer cottage, a place that lacks heating as winter closes in. Margit’s mother, Margit’s Mutter, Erika Mottl, watches the unfolding crisis with worry, while the bank refuses to treat the ruined house as security for a loan, leaving the couple with no safety net and fewer options.

The mounting financial pressure strains the marriage to a breaking point, and Margit ultimately files for divorce. On Christmas Eve, Herbert sits alone in an old caravan beside the ruined house, a stark symbol of their shattered dream. Philipp visits him, the boy getting permission to stay with his father for a few days, and the two siblings a little later start digging a cellar out of necessity. To their shock and the community’s fear, they uncover a trove of human bones. The local police explain that the house was built atop an ancient mass grave for plague victims, a chilling reminder of the land’s dark history.

As the situation spirals, Herbert’s mental state collapses further, culminating in him taking a real estate agent hostage. When the standoff ends, the family ultimately joins him, and the trio witnesses an extraordinary, surreal moment as they appear to be beamed up by Captain Kirk on the Enterprise, all while the police look on in astonished disbelief.