Antichrist

Genre: horror 

Director: Lars von Trier

Release: 2009

Studio: Zentropa Entertainments, Slot Machine, Memfis Film et al.

Rating: R (for graphic sexual situations)

MBiS score: 7.3 or 7.8/10, depending on your familiarity with the genre

Show Your Love With An Anklet, Darling!

Wintertime in the State of Washington. While his parents are making love, little Nic opens a window of their high-rise apartment, climbs out and falls to his death. Such a loss leaves both parents shattered and guilt-ridden; the father struggles to understand, the mother is hospitalized. Is there any way for these people to pull through? With Willem Dafoe (He), Charlotte Gainsbourg (She) and Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm (Nic).

Lars von Trier often stirs up controversy  with his movies but ANTICHRIST, despite a hair-raising title, didn’t seem very threatening to me; it deals much more with mental breakdown than religion, satanic doings or some rendering of the Apocalypse. It’s basically a slow-cooking horror flick (think MISERY, THE MUSIC OF CHANCE or THE SHINING) that also echoes TREE OF LIFE and MELANCHOLIA with its arty, intellectual bent. If you’ve already seen these other films, von Trier’s may feel like déjà vu (which explains the two scores above) but it does present original insights and is faithful to its intent ’til the very end. In the first act, I liked those long sequences without dialogue, the impressive use of Handel’s music and von Trier’s efforts to demonstrate the psychological aspects of grief. Then, as the movie builds tension, it does deliver healthy jolts and darkly funny moments… which was also fine by me. In the last act, however, the screenplay’s attempts at symbolism failed to convince me and, dare I say it, I was quite relieved when it all ended on an abrupt, merciful climax.  

As you can see, I wasn’t bowled over by ANTICHRIST, a well-acted and solidly produced film that offers shock value but modest enlightenment. Though Willem Dafoe’s character claims that ‟ thoughts distort reality”, I’d say reality does catch up at some point, especially toward the movie’s dénouement. In von Trier’s defence, I’d rather recommend MELANCHOLIA (if you’re not feeling too depressed) and especially BREAKING THE WAVES, his morally worthy and superior work from 1996.

MBiS

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