Antichrist is a beautifully shot but ultimately too confusing horror film that tries too hard to make a point. Although director Lars von Trier brings great skill in shooting the film, his script fails to make a coherent point.
The film follows He and She, played respectively by Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, as they try to recover from the death of their son. Initially, the film seems like it will be a study of someone slipping into insanity, like Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Its examination of the couple's differing reactions is genuinely compelling, with it initially being a matter of debate which character has been more damaged by their loss.
However, once they get to the woods as part of Gainsbourg's therapy, the film enters bizarre, even surreal territory. It goes from a character study to a borderline incomprehensible horror film.
Much has been made of the film's graphic violence and torture. Although Antichrist received coverage from horror magazines such as Fangoria, it is not really a film for gore hounds. The character study portion goes on for roughly half the movie, and will bore anyone seeking a shot of gore. To exacerbate the matter, much of the horror is played as metaphor, so that many horror buffs (and many art house fans) will be looking at the screen scratching their heads.
The film is good on a technical and performance front. The cinematography is genuinely beautiful, with some scenes evoking classic paintings such as those of Hieronymus Bosch. Defoe and Gainsbourg both do well with their roles. However, von Trier's tendency towards pretension prevents this film from getting a higher rating.
The film follows He and She, played respectively by Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, as they try to recover from the death of their son. Initially, the film seems like it will be a study of someone slipping into insanity, like Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Its examination of the couple's differing reactions is genuinely compelling, with it initially being a matter of debate which character has been more damaged by their loss.
However, once they get to the woods as part of Gainsbourg's therapy, the film enters bizarre, even surreal territory. It goes from a character study to a borderline incomprehensible horror film.
Much has been made of the film's graphic violence and torture. Although Antichrist received coverage from horror magazines such as Fangoria, it is not really a film for gore hounds. The character study portion goes on for roughly half the movie, and will bore anyone seeking a shot of gore. To exacerbate the matter, much of the horror is played as metaphor, so that many horror buffs (and many art house fans) will be looking at the screen scratching their heads.
The film is good on a technical and performance front. The cinematography is genuinely beautiful, with some scenes evoking classic paintings such as those of Hieronymus Bosch. Defoe and Gainsbourg both do well with their roles. However, von Trier's tendency towards pretension prevents this film from getting a higher rating.