Antichrist--a VERY provocative horror film

one of van Trier's most unusual films

Director: Lars van Trier

 

This is a very bizarre and strange horror film. There are only three main actors: Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A.) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Cement Garden, Melancholia), and the child who portrays their son.

 

Please note that this is not a film that focuses upon the traditional religious idea of an antichrist.

 

The opening of Antichrist is accompanied by the Handel aria Lascio ch’io pianga. For the duration of the aria we witness a scene of Dafoe and Gainsbourg shot in super slow-motion (1000 frames per second) while they make love. In their distracted state, they do not see their toddler get on a chair, climb on top of a table and fall to his death from a window as snow falls.

 

Both parents are grief-stricken, and Dafoe (playing a psychologist) attempts to help his wife deal with the tragedy. She interprets his performance of this role as unfeeling toward her. Eventually, they travel to a remote cabin in a beautiful forest called Eden, (apparently in Washington state) where they confront their demons head-on. Their moods vacillate between desperate love and hostility. Evidently, the Gainsbourg character traveled to Eden with their late son several years before, in order to work upon her thesis. The subject of it was the history of gynocide. Some of the demons are part of the natural world.

 

There are scenes of torture and self-mutilation which are difficult to watch.  However, it is one of the most unusual cinematic presentations you will ever see.

 

Certain aspects of the film are open-ended, so the viewer may interpret the film as he or she wishes.

 

Reviews

[Scytheriax]

I don't really know if this is a story or a review, but if this happens to be a review then I have some questions or pointers. I suppose I'll review the review.
I found this review a bit helpful, but it's too generic to make me really want to watch the film or says whether or not the film is worth watching.
Other than that, the basic plotline seems interesting, but you don't really color the review to say if it's worth seeing or not. Other than that, I suppose it's well-written. More description would have been nice, though.