Don't See Antichrist If You're Squeamish

One of the Best Films of the Year is by far the Grossest

Nov 11, 2009

They can remake every horror movie three thousand times but they will never come close to horrifying an audience like Lars Von Trier does with this mesmerising film.

Nothing could prepare anybody for the violence of Antichrist. Even Von Trier's other films, which have always been incredibly bleak and depressing, don't hold a candle to this one. Disturbing sequences involving human genitalia and graphic infant death create lasting images that haunt the audience after leaving the theater. Accompanying these disturbing images are beautiful ones. For all of its gross-out, sickening violence it's just as pure and beautiful.

The film centers around a couple whose characters are nameless in an effort to make them seem to be Everyman and Everywoman. The opening scene is introduced as the prologue and it plays in black and white, super slow mo to a gentle yet creepy tune. It depicts the couple having passionate sex while their baby leaps out of his crib, climbs up onto the kitchen table and then jumps out of the kitchen window to his death. The fact that the baby leaping into a picturesque, winter snowfall while his parents make love is a set up that the audience is about to see something that is grotesque and beautiful at the same time.

After this, the stages of dealing with the death of a loved one unfold in titled segments: Grief, Pain and Despair. She can't cope with the guilt of having enjoyed sex while her son fell to his death. He takes on the role of therapist trying to calm her thoughts and moods which find her slamming her head onto their toilet seat, violently seeking sex and being unable to breathe. It seems that he is attempting to help but when he suggests that the two of them retreat to the place that scares her most in the world it becomes clear that he blames her for their son's death subconsciously and he is harming her.

The place that she fears is a great forest where the couple have a log cabin that they call Eden. At Eden, she shifts from extreme moments of terror to moments of happiness and normalcy. He opens a letter from the Doctor and the audience is not made aware what the information is in it. But it is clear from his reaction that he begins to be afraid of his wife. The information in the doctor's letter is revealed and should remain unspoiled but he confronts her about it. She becomes convinced that he will abandon her and let's just say she makes it impossible for him to do so.

The final scenes of the film are terrifying as this loving couple becomes monster versus man and the audience watches them tear each other and themselves apart. People will have strong reactions to the violence and dismiss the film as being one that aims to shock but it has a deep, dark soul that deserves...demands the attention of anyone who can look past that. Gainsbourg has been awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her powerfully real portrayal of a woman losing her mind. Dafoe leaves a bit to be desired in his portrayal, but only because he is sharing the film with Gainsbourg who falls apart before the audience's eyes. Von Trier is one of the greatest filmmakers out there because his films have no Hollywood to them. They are like paintings, very personal, very much the work of their creator and he deserves more respect than he's given.

The copyright of the article Don't See Antichrist If You're Squeamish in Independent Films is owned by Kevin Crowley. Permission to republish Don't See Antichrist If You're Squeamish in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.