[Antichrist]
Plot:A couple lose their young son when he falls out the window while they have sex in the other room. The mother's grief consigns her to hospital, but her therapist husband brings her home intent on treating her depression himself. To confront her fears they go to stay at their remote cabin in the woods, "Eden", where something untold happened the previous summer. Told in four chapters with a prologue and epilogue, the film details acts of lustful cruelty as the man and woman unfold the darker side of nature outside and within.

Cast:Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

My Thoughts:Didn't really work for me.

Review:"Antichrist" is probably one of the more interesting and dynamic horror/thriller movies to come along in quite some time. The film follows a couple, who lose their young son to a tragic accident. An accident which could've been prevented if they weren't busy doing..."other" things. The husband (Dafoe), doesn't take it as hard as his wife (Gainsbourg). He decides to treat her depression over the loss of their son by himself, thus taking her to their remote cabin in the woods.

But while there, they find themselves beginning to change on the inside, and a violent spark begins to build as the animosity between the couple begins to reach a simmering boil. So the gist of this movie is, we're supposed to believe that there's some force in the woods that's caused this couple to become violent and angry with one another. But this story is flawed because it just doesn't make much sense.

For starters, a trip to a cabin in the woods isn't going to help depression over a lost child. It just doesn't work that way. Second, the movie, which clocks in at almost two hours, slowly builds this tension between the couple. Which is sexually-charged, and also sadistically-charged in other areas. When I say slowly, I do mean "slowly". This movie doesn't really get anywhere until the final 30 minutes or less. Before that, we have to watch what basically amounts to a lonely, depressing, acting class being conducted between two people.

I also wonder if films like "Antichrist", and before it..."Nature's Grave", are signaling a new underline of horror called the "violent couple genre". Where horror films set up a scenario where a couple go off on a vacation or getaway somewhere, and then realize that no psycho hillbillies, or crazy hermits are a threat to them, but instead, they themselves are a threat to each other. This film really explores how a place can perhaps affect two people negatively, and that, coupled with a tragic loss, can create an atmosphere of violence.

And how that atmosphere can override the love two people have for one another, and turn them into primal beasts bent on killing the other to survive. This movie however leads us to believe the woods hold some sort of satanic power that is slowly creeping into the minds, hearts, and souls of these two. And it's making them change as people. Of course that thesis is never truly proven, despite some trippy illusion scenes, and some ominous moments of dialogue where Dafoe's characters wife tells him she has a bad feeling about what will happen in the woods, but the film expects us to buy into the "what if?", and the "maybe" of the dark power that might be lurking in the woods.

Personally, while I found the film very artsy and visually fantastic, I thought it did not deliver anything beyond that. The story is dark, intriguing, and sad and depressing in most areas, but it doesn't deliver scares, terror, or any suspense. It's rather a film that will disturb on the surface, and may unsettle you in a few areas. But beyond that, it's not good at scaring the viewer. Although it does just enough to keep you interested all the way throughout.

The films conclusion doesn't really fit with what came before it, but in the end, it's very predictable from a story arc point of view. "Antichrist" is a good horror/thriller for people looking for something new. But if you're looking for scares, terror, and suspense at high optimum levels, you won't find it with this movie.

Positives:Visually, the film is very edgy, moody, dark, and well-filed. The story is intriguing, and there are some disturbing scenes sprinkled throughout.

Negatives:It builds up tension but never gives enough of a good fright. Also the ending was too predictable, and the richness of the story was wasted.

Overall:Two out of four stars.





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