Film thrills with terror, violence

Psychological thriller fans will be intrigued by the English remake of Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games.”

Haneke, who is Austrian and one of the world’s most respected filmmakers, created the original film in German but felt it “didn’t reach the audience for which it was intended.”

That is a very important factor in Haneke’s films because his techniques involve the viewers, making them think about what they are watching, and reminding them it is a movie, by having the actors direct remarks to the audience.

“The film was always intended for an English-language audience because the subject matter — the consumption of violence — is most prevalent in English-language filmmaking,” said the writer-director in a phone interview with Mark Olsen of The Los Angeles Times.

If Haneke’s objective was terror and violence, it was met in this movie.

Naomi Watts and Tim Roth play an affluent middle-class couple on vacation with their son, at their summer home. They played their roles with so much honesty, I almost forgot they were actors.

Two young men in tennis-whites, and wearing white gloves, approach the house under the guise of asking to borrow eggs for a neighbor. The sociopathic boys, played all too realistically by Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet, proceed to take the family prisoner and terrorize them by “playing a game.”

Watts insisted on the realism of performing her own stunts, so she spent most of the movie undressed, bound and gagged. Amazingly, her anguish and determination to save her family are in the forefront of each scene.

The cold-hearted brutalities, and the mental and physical agony are severe enough to make the viewer wonder why they would continue to watch this film. At times it seemed to be focusing too long on a scene of extreme agony, and that caused me to have to leave the screening room for a few minutes.

Another odd fact is, although you are aware of what is happening, and are exposed to the aftermath, the actual acts of violence are not shown except in one scene.

I kept hoping the hero would get loose, or the police would come to save the day. I even wondered why the neighbors didn’t help, since the boys had been to their home first.

I will say no more other than, as difficult as this film was to sit through, it also was oddly compelling. That is Haneke’s trademark, push you away with violent acts, and pull you back in to see the results. I wanted to know how it would end.

If you have a strong constitution and enjoy horror movies, “Funny Games” will entertain you.

Rating: B

—Cynthia Praefke
Staff Writer

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