Thriller/Horror movies are not typically my favorite. I think that genuinely good horror films are hard to come by - at least that has been my experience. Blood and gore turn me off, the supernatural is usually spooky but ridiculous and slasher films just bore me.
Antichrist, however, really scared me. Lars von Trier's masterful camera work and deeply disturbing psycho-sexual story coupled with the ridiculously good and endlessly scary acting of Gainsbourg kept me up all night. Seriously.
You know what parts of the film actually took away from the scariness a bit? The genital mutilation and the leg drilling. Disturbing as hell? Yes. Cringe-inducing? Absolutely. But compared to the rest of the film those scenes had nothing on the realization that Gainsbourg was really fucked up. I still can not get over the pictures of the child with his shoes on the wrong feet. The tension that has been building the entire film comes crashing in on that one quick moment when Dafoe walks into the shed and places the polaroids in the box. From there? Hang the fuck on because the rest of the ride is INTENSE.
This film was both horrible and a blast to watch. I can probably say that I will not see it again anytime in the near future; but after a few months when I forget just how scary it is and want to watch a masterfully-crafted film, I might venture back.
I have never been as scared and as attracted to a woman as I am to Charlotte Gainsbourg.
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I also watched Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence the other night. It is a great film with some amazing acting but it got pushed out of my mind by the experience that was Antichrist.
A Woman Under the Influence just further solidifies the fact that I need to see more of Cassavetes' films very soon. And, come on, how good is Gena Rowlands?
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Lisa, I have not seen Dogtooth but John and Brandon went back and forth on the movie back in January. The film holds some mild interest for me but I still have not got around to watching it. Right now I have a stack of DVDs from John and a whole bunch of classics that I want to see soon. Perhaps one of these days though...
Film Club has really made me start paying attention to directors a lot more. As you mention, Jeffrey, it makes sense. I read books by my favorite authors so why am I not watching movies like that? On a side note, what are some good books/blogs/websites about film that I should read? Going through the recent Believer film issue and reading The Film Club (which is a decent and very quick, easy read if anyone wants to borrow it) has made me interested in reading more about film. Right now I'm limited to Glenn Kenny (thanks John), Matt Zoller Seitz and whatever shows up in the Sunday Arts section of the NYT's. I'd love some more critics to read and some books to check out. I feel terribly uneducated here.
John, this one is for you: Classic Cowboys, Back on the Range. I need to see more Westerns so I know what you are constantly writing about.
Anyone else excited about the two hour premiere of Mildred Pierce tonight? HBO series are the only TV that I actually watch on a television when it first airs.
And, as the title notes, I'm heading back to school tomorrow. Probably will be reverting to my sporadic posting soon. Not that I don't love you all but during school I spend so much time on the computer that the last thing I usually want to do with my free time is sit back down and write some more.
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