Review: Antichrist

Seen 5/15/15

3/4

This movie is highly entertaining. It sucks one in by the sheer knowledge that it is willing to go ANYWHERE. This is a terrifying fact. The movie is extremely dark and brutal. Surprisingly, it didn't disturb me deeply enough to be shaken long after it finished, but I can imagine that for many another person it easily would. This is pure artistic horror.

I prefer Melancholia, for its fascinating premise and shatteringly beautiful ending, but the two movies are extremely similar. Antichrist is darker and tougher. It is much more difficult to stomach. But it's precisely that affect on the viewer that makes it such a great film experience. While I said I wasn't lastingly disturbed, it should be noted that during the film I was completely engaged. Both my mind and body felt like they were subject to von Trier's will, and he could do whatever horrific thing he wanted with them.

I don't regret watching this grotesque picture at all. It gave me the power of experience that I am not satisfied without in film nowadays. I don't love it, but I surely respect it and am exceedingly glad I saw it.