Out of most of the new Horror/Thriller movies that are presented to us these days, it seems there are few that I truly anticipate, being extremely fussy when it comes to music and film it’s just the way I feel, however, due to what I had read about Lars Von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’, it most certainly had me interested, and keen for a watch to say the least. There was many a discussion on forums and magazines about it being quite a disturbing film, with scenes that were nothing short of repulsive, and at times, uncomfortable to watch. Maybe it was the cliché ‘being talked up to much’, and that I had greater expectations that failed to deliver that damaged it for me, but I really didn’t see what was suppose to be so disturbing about this film, or maybe I have a higher tolerance than most.

It was one of those scenarios where I waited and waited for these so called ‘shocking’ scenes to appear and make me squirm in my seat, and then thought to myself, “Is that it?” Hey, sure it has its moments, and particular scenes, that for the average person could be quite unsightly, and possibly scenes they could easily not want to view. But my honest opinion is there is far more shocking films out there that would probably never even get a mention, not alone a second look.

There are a few boundaries that are crossed for a modern day film that will screen on Australian cinema screens this month, areas not really ventured into that much with the likes of box office R18+ films. One of which is a sexual penetration scene at the opening prologue of the film, of Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg having intercourse in the shower, and another being Charlotte Gainsbourg snipping off her clitoris with a pair of scissors whilst in a moment in ‘Eden’ later in the film. Now, some may say “And cutting off a clitoris with a pair of scissors isn’t shocking?” Yes it is, but I didn’t find the way that it was filmed and portrayed really all that shocking at all, it was quickly shot, minimal use of agony, and over before you could say ‘snip’. The penetration scene was nothing either, shot in slow motion to ‘Rinaldo, lascia ch’io pianga’ Composed by Georg Friedrich Händel & Performed by Tuva Semmingsen and Barokksolisteneis made it far from shocking. It was a masterpiece of film, creative, poetic, and total art in motion. I found the overall prologue amazing, and was sure I was in for a beauty with this film; however, my feelings were to soon take a steady down turn.

The entire film in my eyes was one big ‘artistic expression’, if you’re really looking for any sort of easy to follow story line, or confident plot out of this film, your barking up the wrong tree. It is a psychological journey into the unknown, you make of it what you want to, and then you come out of it with your own perception on what the film meant. This is fine by me, I love films like this, but not when I have to keep looking at the minutes on the DVD player to see when the film is actually going to get me the slightest bit interested. Opening prologue, breath taking! Truly a remarkable piece of cinema, deep, intense, and had me thinking “This film is going to be what everyone said, I can’t wait to get into it.” However, the next 50 minutes would probably be one of the most boring 50 minutes of movie history for me, but that’s just my opinion.

It was quite vacant and dark, very little dialogue, but unlike ‘No country for old men’ it seemed to drag out, and didn’t seem to capture my interest the same way. There is minimal use of camera angles and effects, but the slow motion approach was used pretty frequently throughout the film, which did at least give it a little bit of break up. I really did love the sounds in this film though, quite erry, good use of deep base, aswell as the animal visions in certain parts of the movie, and whether they are all an illusion? or what message they are really suppose to portray? These were high on my ‘likes’ list.

I watched Antichrist twice in 2 days to see if I had any different thoughts the second time around, but unfortunately, I didn’t. I wouldn’t say I disliked the film, but it certainly wouldn’t be one I would rush out to buy, or one that I could really enjoy 4 to 5 times over. I think everyone needs to make up their own minds, and recommend seeing it just for the prologue, which without a doubt was the highlight of the film for me. Keep an open mind, and give this one a watch, it may just make you think about certain things in life in a slightly different way, which could never be a bad thing.

Written by ‘Von Gore’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.