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Antichrist (2009)
WARNING! This movie is not for everyone. In fact, I would have to say this movie is not for most people.
This movie has affected me like no movie has ever affected me before. It is difficult for me to say whether that is a good thing or a bad thing however. Some movies are made with the goal of touching the viewer emotionally, which was clearly the intent of this movie, and there is no doubt that for me, it succeeded.
This movie does have some very specific uses of hypnosis in it, and when I discovered this group I immediately checked to see if it had already been reviewed. When I saw that it had not yet been reviewed I spent several hours contemplating whether or not I should review it here. My decision to ultimately write this review was not to give this movie my recomendation. I decided that a hypnosis group, about movies where in some way hypnosis was involved, would benefit for the record, to have this movie incluced.
I am neither suggesting people go see this movie, nor am I recommending against it. I might suggest that before seeing this movie, if it sounds like something that interests you, consider reading some reviews first. I am not sure that is a good idea either though, because since seeing this movie I have read some of the reviews, and they give away things that I would not have wanted to know before I saw it.
I suggest against looking up this movie on Wikipedia if you think you may want to see it, because there are spoilers throughout the listing. I will quote some details about the movie from Wikipedia below however.
This movie was directed by Lars von Trier. There is a cast of only two people, Willem Dafoe, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who won 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award for her part.
According to Wikipedia the film premiered during the Competition portion of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival to a mixed response from the audience. At least four people fainted during the preview due to the film's explicit violence.
The ecumenical jury at the Cannes festival gave the film a special "anti-award" and declared the film to be "the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world". Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux responded that this was a "ridiculous decision that borders on a call for censorship" and that it was "scandalous coming from an 'ecumenical' jury".
The film has come under attack for its explicit and often disturbing sexuality, and has also invited controversy for its graphic sexual violence.
Be warned, this movie has some jaw dropping, shocking scenes, that will make you squirm. When I say this, I do not mean scenes such as were in the movie Hostel, or other so called torture porn films. This movie was different.
The movie is about a couple who experience a very serious tradgedy, and the wife is stricken with grief. The husband is a therapist, and is distrustful of the psychiatric care his wife is receiving, so he takes it upon himself to talk his her through the grief process. Part of his therapy includes hypnosis and visual imagery. Through the therapy he learns that her greatest fear has to do with a cabin called Eden, so they go to the cabin to help her work out her fear.
Description from IMDB.com: A grieving couple retreats to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
The movie is split into a Prologue and 4 Chapters. It is a very "artsy" type of movie, with a lot of stylish cinematography, and has the aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Rinaldo as it's main music theme. The first 30 minutes or so seemed to pass very slowly, but then it reached a point where I found it to be riveting. There were scenes where I had a strong urge to turn away, but I couldn't quite make myself do so.
More from Wikipedia: In Denmark, the film became an immediate hit with both critics and audiences. Politiken called it "a grotesque masterpiece," giving it a perfect score of 6 out of 6, and praised it for being completely unconventional while at the same time being "a profoundly serious, very personal ... piece of art about small things like sorrow, death, sex and the meaninglessness of everything.
In closing let me share with the readers of this review that after seeing this movie I mentioned it to a friend, and strongly cautioned him about his seeing it. He did go see it, and afterwards told me that he has wished I had never mentioned it to him, and wished that he had not gone to see it.
I cannot say the same for me however. Though I find myself feeling very uncomfortable just thinking about it as I write this review, I also know that it was just a movie, and one that has stirred me emotionally like no movie has ever done before.
I repeat, this movie is definitely not for everybody. Some who have seen it absolutely hated it. Others thought it was great. You are on your own as to whether or not you choose to see Antichrist (2009).
This movie has affected me like no movie has ever affected me before. It is difficult for me to say whether that is a good thing or a bad thing however. Some movies are made with the goal of touching the viewer emotionally, which was clearly the intent of this movie, and there is no doubt that for me, it succeeded.
This movie does have some very specific uses of hypnosis in it, and when I discovered this group I immediately checked to see if it had already been reviewed. When I saw that it had not yet been reviewed I spent several hours contemplating whether or not I should review it here. My decision to ultimately write this review was not to give this movie my recomendation. I decided that a hypnosis group, about movies where in some way hypnosis was involved, would benefit for the record, to have this movie incluced.
I am neither suggesting people go see this movie, nor am I recommending against it. I might suggest that before seeing this movie, if it sounds like something that interests you, consider reading some reviews first. I am not sure that is a good idea either though, because since seeing this movie I have read some of the reviews, and they give away things that I would not have wanted to know before I saw it.
I suggest against looking up this movie on Wikipedia if you think you may want to see it, because there are spoilers throughout the listing. I will quote some details about the movie from Wikipedia below however.
This movie was directed by Lars von Trier. There is a cast of only two people, Willem Dafoe, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who won 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award for her part.
According to Wikipedia the film premiered during the Competition portion of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival to a mixed response from the audience. At least four people fainted during the preview due to the film's explicit violence.
The ecumenical jury at the Cannes festival gave the film a special "anti-award" and declared the film to be "the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world". Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux responded that this was a "ridiculous decision that borders on a call for censorship" and that it was "scandalous coming from an 'ecumenical' jury".
The film has come under attack for its explicit and often disturbing sexuality, and has also invited controversy for its graphic sexual violence.
Be warned, this movie has some jaw dropping, shocking scenes, that will make you squirm. When I say this, I do not mean scenes such as were in the movie Hostel, or other so called torture porn films. This movie was different.
The movie is about a couple who experience a very serious tradgedy, and the wife is stricken with grief. The husband is a therapist, and is distrustful of the psychiatric care his wife is receiving, so he takes it upon himself to talk his her through the grief process. Part of his therapy includes hypnosis and visual imagery. Through the therapy he learns that her greatest fear has to do with a cabin called Eden, so they go to the cabin to help her work out her fear.
Description from IMDB.com: A grieving couple retreats to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
The movie is split into a Prologue and 4 Chapters. It is a very "artsy" type of movie, with a lot of stylish cinematography, and has the aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Rinaldo as it's main music theme. The first 30 minutes or so seemed to pass very slowly, but then it reached a point where I found it to be riveting. There were scenes where I had a strong urge to turn away, but I couldn't quite make myself do so.
More from Wikipedia: In Denmark, the film became an immediate hit with both critics and audiences. Politiken called it "a grotesque masterpiece," giving it a perfect score of 6 out of 6, and praised it for being completely unconventional while at the same time being "a profoundly serious, very personal ... piece of art about small things like sorrow, death, sex and the meaninglessness of everything.
In closing let me share with the readers of this review that after seeing this movie I mentioned it to a friend, and strongly cautioned him about his seeing it. He did go see it, and afterwards told me that he has wished I had never mentioned it to him, and wished that he had not gone to see it.
I cannot say the same for me however. Though I find myself feeling very uncomfortable just thinking about it as I write this review, I also know that it was just a movie, and one that has stirred me emotionally like no movie has ever done before.
I repeat, this movie is definitely not for everybody. Some who have seen it absolutely hated it. Others thought it was great. You are on your own as to whether or not you choose to see Antichrist (2009).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Mooney on -
When I read the title of your post I was immediately hooked. I am totally interested in anything paranormal, and of the such. I've seen The Exorcist numerous times, I've read the book even more times and have read the book the The Exorsist was based on called Possesion. I can't remember, off hand, who wrote it. However, I can remember getting the "warnings" about the movie, which, of course, only made me want to see to that much more, And, of course, the first time I watched it, I was scared shitless! But, of course, after growing up and watching a few times, I've now find it almost funny. But, there is still that element of truth that still kinda scares me.
Your "review" of this movie has me intrigued. First, I'd like to know, is it English or are there subtitles? This makes a difference to me. I've watched some Japanese horror movies that just weren't the same due to the subtitles.
2nd. Is the movie relevant to what the title suggests? I hear Antichrst and I have an image in my mind that I'd like to see lived up to... and 3rd... Having said what I have... Would you reccomend this movie to a person that considers The Exorcist (The book) one of his top 5 favorite books and The Exorcist (The Movie) also one of his top favorite movies? -
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Permalink Reply by Jay N. on
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Well, I saw the Exorcist in the theater the week that it opened, and I was 12 years old. I was definitely scared shitless! I have also watched it a couple more times since then, but I am not really sure this movie can be compared.
This movie has a very dark and foreboding feeling all throughout. It is very difficult to explain why without giving away parts that could take away from your experience of watching it. I started to write three different things, and realized that each time I was telling something of the movie that I would not have wanted to know ahead of time.
Yes the movie is in English.
In regards to the title, there is a religiously evil theme within the movie, and you could say that it is a driving reason for the darkness of the movie, but this is not a classic horror flick. After the first part of the film which sets up the wife's mental illness the rest of the story is pretty much just about the two of them......sort of.
Also, as I mentioned before, the first 30 minutes or so of the movie moves rather slow. But, when I look back on it I believe that was all part of setting up the overall mood of the story. Had the beginning been faster paced, or more cluttered, it would not have had the same feeling to the "big picture" in the end. I think it was the directors plan to get the viewer to be rather focused and calm before things really started developing. It's hard to explain, but as I sit here typing I just get this really creepy feeling as I think back on the movie.
In regards to your question about whether or not I'd recommend it to you as compared to your enjoyment of the Exorcist, that is such a hard call. There are several very gruesome scenes, but more in a painful, squirm in your seat sort of way, than in a frightening way. This movie was definitely frightening in parts, but not like a jumping out of your seat from a sudden bang type of frightening. It is much more of a cerebral, deep, emotional cloud that hangs over you as you watch the story unfold.
I guess the best I can tell you as to whether or not I would recommend you see it is this. If you have the patience to sit through a movie that starts off very slow and "artsy", if you think you'd enjoy a movie where you have to allow yourself to be in the moment (sort of like us tists talk about going into a state) tuning out everything else, if you can handle some very graphic sexual images where some are also very gruesome (but not pornographic per se), then I think you will like this movie.
If on the other hand you are looking for the appearance of Satan to shock you and wreak havoc then you may be disappointed by this film.
If you do decide to watch it I will be very interested in hearing your thoughts after. Especially in regards to whether or not you understand why I have said the things I have said about the movie, and if you think I missed the mark. -
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on -
Hi Jay,
I saw this movie a couple years ago and it still haunts me at times. It is beautiful in places and dark and horrifying. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone either-heck wouldn't recommend it for most people. I think most people will come away from it feeling they wished they hadn't seen it. It is utterly engaging and deeply disturbing like few other movies I have ever seen. I'd say it is a mind bending movie. And I would agree that there is a dark, cerebral, visceral, emotional, deep cloud that hangs over this movie. For me it was like a nightmare put to film.
The parts that used hypnosis were one of the very few that didn't make me roll my eyeballs in embarrassment and cringe.
This movie is skillfully done-which is both good and bad. Cerebral and will make one think about the nature of good and evil afterwards. I don't regret seeing it at all but it's emotional affect is very intense and not for everyone. I thought it was going to be a supernatural horror flick based on the title and stretching the blurb about it but it is profoundly a psychologically intense horror film. This one touches madness and horror like few others can.
It is definitely a piece of art and a "grotesque masterpiece". I have always loved horror movies and not much surprises or shocks me. This movie is an experience. Most horror movies seem exploitative and silly to me-this one-this movie is horrifying in ways I just hadn't expected. You might want to have Scary Movie or the entire Airplane series ready after you see this one ;) Not that you'll be paying much attention to them after this movie...
gentle day,
Lisa
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