Review of Funny Games (1997) by Nickl. — 14 Mar 2008
I am positively shocked at the number of reviewers who are completely missing Haneke's point. Having seen both the original as well as the American remake (at Sundance), I must say: Both films are utter perfection, they aren't meant to be entertaining, they are meant to call into question the artifice of modern torture-porn horror filmaking as well as our penchant for voyeurism.
If you are trying to choose which version to see, I might recommend the remake because, as Cinematical's James Rocchi points out, "this new iteration isn't merely intellectually faithful to the original but also, in some ways, even more emotionally fearsome.
You don't get to, as you did with the original, blunt the fear and terror of the movie by filtering the dialogue through your rational mind as you read the subtitles; instead, with every whimpered plea for mercy and sobbed demand to know why, the panic and fear leaps right into your reptile brain.
This review of Funny Games (1997) was written by Nickl. on 14 Mar 2008.
Funny Games has generally received positive reviews.
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