Review of Funny Games (1997) by John L — 10 Aug 2011

Funny Games is torture porn in the oddest way. It shows people being psychologically tormented so that we, the audience, can enjoy ourselves. But then it asks us, why? Why do we watch these movies and enjoy people being tortured? Are we sadists? Why do we like seeing people we're rooting for being killed? Are we masochists? There's a lot of philosophy in this movie, but also many other elements of a good horror flick. I don't think I ever saw fatalism used so well to create a feeling of terror.

My one gripe, and this is an important one, is that all the violence takes place off screen. I guess it makes sense to not show violence in a movie criticizing violent movies. Of course, it does show psychological torment, in hopes that the audience won't enjoy it because of the questions it asks us. This makes me think I wasn't supposed to like the movie at all, rather just be disgusted with myself. The more I think about it, the more paradoxical I think Funny Games really is. Regardless, in judging it by entertainment value, it is very entertaining. I just wish they showed the murders and blood, since gore really does add to the ascetic value. Yes, I'm sick. That's why this movie was made.

One last thing. If given the chance to see either the Austrian or American version, see the Austrian. The awful german language makes everything more dramatic.