I am back! For those who don’t know I have been suffering from depression for the last few months which is why I stepped back from doing the film reviews. And while I am definitely on the mend, I can’t say how I will feel in the coming weeks and months so I may take more breaks at points. But for now, I will try to get back into my old routine, so my own pick on Wednesdays, the Filmography Fridays, and Mark Kermode’s pick of the week on Monday which is what we are kicking off the reboot with. And it is almost as if Mark had no idea that I was jumping back in while dealing with depression because he gave me a bloody stonker of a film to get started with Lars Von Trier’s controversial and polarising film, ‘Antichrist’ (2009). The film follows a couple who retreat to an isolated cabin in the woods in order to grieve for their child who was killed in an accident. However, the grief turns into madness as the couple begin to turn on each other.
That synopsis only really describes the bare bones of what the film offers. I am not a Von Trier expert by any stretch of the imagination, but what I do know about him is he is an artistic director who pushes the envelope, and this often leads to the polarising opinion of him and his films. Ironically the only other film of his I have seen is ‘Melancholia’ (2011) which is seemingly really liked across the board, but I can see with ‘Antichrist’ his polarising nature coming through. I personally thought it was great, although I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it. It is a proper artsy-fartsy film which is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and in some cases, it isn’t mine. But in the case of this film, I think it really works because of the atmosphere and tone that the film creates. The tone and mood are reminiscent of ‘The Witch’ (2015) or ‘The Shining’ (1980) in that it creates a feeling of dread, and this is helped brilliantly by the camera work which is often distorted, or in the editing style which uses quick jump cuts and extreme close-ups to make you feel uncomfortable as an audience member. The film also manages to look bloody great with some incredible cinematography and some brilliant visuals that will stick with me for a long while. And of course, I could not do this review without mention the two performances of Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg who are both superb. Gainsbourg especially is brilliant. She is completely believable, hugely sympathetic, and also shit your pants terrifying. It is one of the best performances I have seen in a horror film for a while, and it was one that really got under my skin in the best kind of way.
I am a little jaded when it comes to horror films now. That is not to say there are not some good ones, and in recent years there has seemingly been an increase and great horror films being released. But I rarely see a horror film that really affects me anymore, less so that truly scare me. This one managed to do both. Okay, it isn’t exactly a scare every minute but that sense of dread that it creates really worked for me and it meant I was constantly on edge. And it also managed to get me to jump. Jump scares have become so diluted in horror films that if you know what to look for you can tell when they are coming. This film allows for you to think that jump scares will happen but because of the type of film, it is you’re never sure if they will, so when they do, they bloody work. There is one in particular which made me almost jump out of my seat. It is impossible to talk about this film without mentioning that it is not for the faint-hearted. I mentioned earlier that Von Trier is one for pushing the envelope and this film pushes the audiences’ capabilities of what they can sit through. The violence is genuinely horrific, mainly because it never becomes too much or over the top in terms of believability. I’ll just say genitals and we can leave it there in terms of that. But the relationship between the two characters and how it deteriorates is also horrible to watch and makes you feel really uncomfortable as a viewer. And while that may be too much for some, for me it really worked in creating a great piece of horror cinema.
Now we come to the part where I say whether I recommend the film or not. In the case of this film, although I really like it (for lack of a better word) this is not going to be a people pleaser on a larger scale. I will recommend it if you are a horror and art-house film fan because I think it ticks both those boxes. It can be pretentious (which I don’t mind) in its art-house style, but it also allows for an interesting film visually and thematically, and it also really works as a great piece of horror film. But for the general filmgoer, this is one to avoid because it is grim and horrific and I think a lot of people will leave more disturbed and disgusted in a negative way than a positive way which is how I feel towards it.
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