Lars Von Trier is a sadistic prankster auteur. Think of The Five Obstructions and extrapolate from there. He's probably going to have several laughs about reactions to his upcoming film Antichrist. No matter what the reactions turn out to be, there's probably cause for wicked glee.
Horror freaks will likely hate Von Trier's aesthetic. I suspect Antichrist's trailer might be of the Bug variety, i.e. a horror film of the soul masquerading as traditional horror (the audiences overlap slightly, but not by a lot). Jesus freaks lured by the lurid title will undoubtedly hate whatever angle Von Trier has on religiosity... at least if Breaking the Waves is any indication. Art house patrons who didn't show up for Haneke's Funny Games probably won't venture here either. Movie blogs like this one will end up in all sorts of misleading Google searches. If you've wandered here this afternoon looking for discussions of Christ's second coming and you can't wait for the world to burn so you can experience the Rapture... run away (wrong audience!). Run right to that Knowing movie instead.
Do you like the trailer? I personally can't wait to see what Von Trier does with this concept, with the "He" and "She" (no character names apparently) couple and "Eden" as setting. But you're already feeling for Charlotte Gainsbourgh I bet. If you had to live in a cabin in the woods with Willem Dafoe, wouldn't you lose your marbles?
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related post: Places Willem Dafoe's Ass Has Been
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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15 comments:
This.
Looks.
AMAZING.
I love the horror genre, but it is a genre that is seriously neglected. It's so refreshing to see a horror film that looks to have an artistic point of view, or that isn't a sequel of something stupid that didn't deserve a sequal (the SAW movies) or a re-make of something stupid that didn't deserve a re-make (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!).
And casting Willem Dafoe is the ace in the hole. Merely his uber-creepy presence could have turned "27 Dresses" into a horror movie.
...Oh wait. That was already a horror movie... Katherine Heigl stealing my James Marsden. GAH. Terrifying. Or how about just Katherine Heigl by herself? GAH. Just as terrifying.
Tangent done.
BY THE WAY NAT. Your new puppy-dog-whimper face pic has earned you quadruple QT points. :P
Ooooh, this looks interesting! I think Lars von Trier's visual style will suit well with a horror film; already that shot of Charlotte in the fog At 0:33 is so well-done. I wonder about the concept, is it a story about the creation of an antichrist?
I'm so tired of the regular studio horror releases, actually saw "Haunting in Connecticut" last week. Looking forward to this one now for sure, been an interested observer of Von Trier since Dogville. Rewatched Dancer In The Dark over the weekend, made me cry just as hard as the first time. "There's no violins..."
Really liked the trailer, but it's not what i thought it would be.
I'm taking off Charlotte Gainsbourg (without the final h!!) of my Oscar predictions. Too much horror, not the Academys cup of tea.
and I thought he'll go for the feel of epidemic. This one looks a bit commercial compared to the true ingenuity in that flick!
Ooooh. Looks very un-dogma. Excellent. Von Trier is excellent at creating a mood, and the horror genre has the potential to be truely outstanding with the right "mood".
I can't wait.
p.s. Bless you for mentioning The Five Obstructions, its a gem of a film that doesnt get brought up nearly enough.
If this is anything like Bug I may actually die from the sheer amazement. Lars Von Trier terrorizing Charlotte Gainsbourg, in turn terrorizing Willem Dafoe? YES. Yes yes yes.
I'm hoping she kills him, actually. I don't generally like gore but I'll gladly watch Willem Dafoe being slaughtered to death by Charlotte Gainsbourg; the more blood the better, really.
it looks great.
obviously, no awards material, but still great.
As one of the said horror freaks, I think von Trier's aesthetic is perfect for this! (And I can't share a namesake with the above Adam M. who just called the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" stupid. Blasphemy!!)
You can't forget that Lars already made a pretty wicked horror film within his early sepia-tone, stripped down aesthetic. "Riget" and "Riget 2" are really great pieces on their own. Some truly creepy bits and his usual underlying sense of humor. And giving birth to Udo Kier is really scarring.
I can't wait for this!
Love a good horror movie and most of Lars' work, I am very much there.
I already really wanted to see it when I had no idea what the hell it's about, and now I REALLY want to.
Whatever genres/styles this falls under, it'll probably be incredible. At least to me. Because I'm simple like that.
LVT is still it. This looks pretty stunning. I prefer thinking playful more than prankster. He takes his shit seriously, "pranking" or not. Sad news that he's super depressed now, or something of the sort. Hopefully this will get a good reception and turn 09 around for him.
Very, very stylized. I'm liking that. I hope it's around 2.5 hours long like Breaking the Waves was. I want to experience this just as slowly and just as dreadfully.
This was my #3 anticipated title of the year so I'm glad the trailer gives me faith. I reckon Trier will fit this thing perfectly. As others have mentioned, his early work has some great horror in in.
Adam, how can you say you love the horror genre and then think The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is "stupid". Quite absurd.
I'm going to mention "The Idiots," which is a really underrated film...but, here's what I think would be truly subversive: If some US distributor picked up the movie and edited a trailer for "Antichrist" that looks like 90% of the other commercial horror films. Then all the high school kids get suckered in on opening day, and we all have a good laugh!
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