Review of The House That Jack Built (2018) by Legitsalt — 25 Feb 2020

While the film had been billed, and presented, partially, as a horror film, watching it as an extremely dark comedy makes many of the decisions, and the end-product, seem higher quality and more cohesive.

Additionally, the film serves as a self-dissection of von Trier’s oeuvre, one that is notably indie, depressing, and sometimes gruesome, e.g. Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 + 2, Antichrist, and Dogville. The House That Jack Built is almost an anthology film, only that it has enduring themes, content, and an overarching pseudo-narrative.

The eponymous character, Jack, is a serial killer, who enters the field out of his misogyny, killing women and their acquaintances for his pleasure or peace. Conceptually, this film is a gut-wrenching piece of fiction, that follows up on this promise with several cringingly violent scenes, most notable are the butchering of a woman’s breasts, and the sport hunting of a woman’s prepubescent children.

The film also serves as a character study of Jack, a tortured soul, who suffers from extreme OCD. Where the film regains its credibility is from its unintended humour, the absurdity of Jack’s actions and the townspeople’s consistently dimwitted natures seem to lend to the film being interpreted as a dark comedy.

This aside, the film does succeed by its implementation of many subtleties, from the names and scenes chosen for characters, to the clips chosen to be shown. This is one of the least accessible films on the list, but if you are intrigued by morbidity or by the darkest of humour, then maybe give this a shot.