Antichrist (2009) is one of the best horror/thriller movies I've watched in several years. It's unlike anything I had seen before (don't laugh at me, I have a lot to catch up on, I know). It's It's disturbing, it's sick indeed, but it's also intriguing and extraordinary. It is a horror movie, but it's not the jump scare kind (except for the self-mutilating fox scene maybe), and if you are looking for something fun and easy to watch (like IT (2017), or The Haunting of Hill House (2018), both of which are highly recommended btw), this isn't the movie. Antichristis definitely an arthouse film, so like many arthouse films, it's divisive and has a specific target audience. Someone's gonna say it's artsy-fartsy, but someone's gonna love it for its “pretentiousness” (like me with NBC's Hannibal ). You have to be into depressive and heavy stuff, perhaps even disturbing things, and you have to be in the right mood in order to really “enjoy” the movie. But nevertheless it's still difficult to watch (unless you're really a perv). I was shocked when I saw the wife smashing the husband's crotch with a wood block, but it's nothing compared to what happened next. I mean plz, I have a very high tolerance for violence and gore, but the scenes were just seared into my brain, and I was haunted for the rest of the night, but perhaps more by the increasing intensity and dread.
When I watched the film I held no expectations and was willing to let the director and actors show me whatever they intend to present, and that was very important, I think, because the storyline is very simple, there're almost no plots worth describing . Watching this film is like reading someone's diary, someone demented. At first I couldn't really tell illusions from reality (perhaps still can't). It wasn't till the end that I began to comprehend the subtle and intricate symbolism and the use of magical realism. It was all clear by the end of the film that the husband has mental problems too, but I don't know since when. However, the wife's issues obviously started long before the son's death. Maybe it's a result of her research on her thesis, maybe it's more than that. The cinematography of this film is brilliant.I especially like the slow motion prologue with music from the 18th century operaRinaldo (which allegedly is sung by castrated boys, how suitable :) ) and the scene of the wife on the train imaging herself being in the woods.
My friend laughed at me when he discovered that I don't know Lars von Trier. Well, I've only watched the two part Nymphomaniac before (which stars also Charlotte Gainsbourg and is pretty good). I've long wanted to watch Dogville (2003) and The House That Jack Built (2018), now Melancholia (2011), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Breaking the Waves (1996) and Idioterne (1998) are also on my list. I think I'll like von Trier.
My overall rating is 8/10, but I don't recommend it if you cannot handle EXTREMELY graphic depictions of sex and violence.
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