The House That Jack Built (2018)

Watched it last night.

I can't tell if it’s just because my biometrics were absolute garbage yesterday—which left me with a massive headache—or if it was the combination of that plus the fact that the movie is just exhausting. It’s draining in every sense, especially visually. It didn't hit the mark for me at all, which is a far cry from how much I loved Melancholia and Antichrist. You have to give him credit for originality, though; he has a unique way of threading his signature themes through this specific genre. Besides peppering in documentary footage whenever he felt like it, my favorite move was how he didn't even bother throwing in clips from his own previous films. That kind of ego trip actually reminds me of a certain famous American director we have here—someone I've always been fond of, specifically when looking at his controversial work, The House That Jack Built (1994).

It looks like I need to steer clear of this director in the future.

That was a grueling two and a half hours—honestly, I can't say I'm surprised people were walking out mid-screening.
And let’s be real: they weren't leaving because it was "too intense" or overwhelming; they were leaving because the movie was just a massive bore.
It felt exhausting and incredibly disjointed—the only part actually worth the runtime was that first segment featuring Uma Thurman.
Though, in all fairness, that was likely solely due to her presence; she is such a force of nature and delivers such a powerhouse performance that you—
quite literally cannot bring yourself to hate it.

That said, I have to admit, once the credits finally rolled,
the one thing that actually managed to pull a smile out of me was the closing song.
It was such a brilliant choice—the kind of selection that catches you completely off guard.

Yeah, well, Horatius pointed out over at the Aronofsky film confession booth that certain scenes actually reminded me of his work.
[the kind of director you really ought to steer clear of]

This movie is a straight-up masterpiece. The director really wants to drive the audience to the edge—to make you feel completely unhinged or furious. Honestly, any reaction is a win here. It’s the first film I’ve seen all year that actually messed with my head in such a strange way; it felt like something straight out of an 80s cult classic.

That scene with the duck, where she just coldly hacks its legs off... absolutely brutal.

The portrayal of a psychopath was executed brilliantly. This definitely isn't a film for everyone.

Great one! Not a single boring moment. Honestly, the killings were so brutal and morbid they almost felt darkly comedic... I really loved how the ending referenced Dante's Inferno. After all those murders, it’s wild to be told he didn't even land in the worst circle of hell, just a few levels above, while being a serial killer himself.

A bit too slow for me, and honestly, there were some pretty dull moments. 6/10

I tried watching it and honestly, I just couldn't do it. I’m not crazy enough to torture myself like that. It felt way too forced and pretentious. Even Uma Thurman was getting on my nerves—I felt like calling her up just to give her a piece of my mind because of how hard she was trying to be provocative and irritating. Like, what's the point? Are we supposed to feel bad for a killer? What kind of logic is that?

But man, Trier really blew me away with Dogville, now that's something else.

0🙂5

I think the whole point is that there are certain people who are just so incredibly draining
that you really ought to steer clear of them—provided you’re
self-aware enough to realize they have the potential to get under your skin.

If he had actually been decent, he could have just left her
to fend for herself, rather than making things conditional—forcing her to tie it up or else...

But since you mentioned that even you, regardless of how he might
or anyone else would 😁

All in all, though, you hit the nail on the head: the film is genuinely pretentious and an absolute slog to sit through.

Though, I have to admit—given my penchant for dark humor—that bit after the second murder,
which was handled with such clumsy ineptitude, when the rain starts pouring down... that actually gave me a genuine laugh.
Especially considering the synopsis paints him as this highly sophisticated serial killer,
when the guy practically relies more on sheer luck than actual brains.

There are also segments where the movie veers into pure absurd comedy—it essentially
jumps from genre to genre so wildly that it occasionally becomes hard to watch because of the cringe factor.

Just downloaded it! I'll get to watching soon, though I have to admit, I’m not exactly a fan of how Trier's movies tend to drag you through the mud.

hiddenorca6 said:Just downloaded it! I'll get to watching soon, though I have to admit, I’m not exactly a fan of how Trier's movies tend to drag you through the mud.

In that case, you might be better off watching something else entirely. 🤦

To be perfectly honest, the only reason I might actually sit through this is to see how Matt Dillon handles playing a serial killer—mostly because, up until now, I’ve only ever seen him in comedies. The trailer didn't look half bad, especially once I realized Uma Thurman was in the cast; I wouldn't say she's my absolute favorite, but the woman is undeniably talented. However, looking through the reviews, I haven't stumbled upon a single person saying anything remotely positive about this thing.

I guess I would’ve trimmed it down a bit; it gets a little slow in some spots, but overall, it's actually pretty good!

Justin Garcia7 said:Great one! Not a single boring moment. Honestly, the killings were so brutal and morbid they almost felt darkly comedic... I really loved how the ending referenced Dante's Inferno. After all those murders, it’s wild to be told he didn't even land in the worst circle of hell, just a few levels above, while being a serial killer himself.

The highlight of the movie. 🤣

An excellent film—really. Aside from Buster Scruggs, it's the only one from 2018 I actually want to revisit. 🍿

EDIT: A friend downloaded it, and apparently, it's the censored version. It's missing a few shots they showed in theaters. The Blu-ray comes out in March, so the full cut should be available online then...

Justin Garcia7 said:Great one! Not a single boring moment. Honestly, the killings were so brutal and morbid they almost felt darkly comedic... I really loved how the ending referenced Dante's Inferno. After all those murders, it’s wild to be told he didn't even land in the worst circle of hell, just a few levels above, while being a serial killer himself.

As for 🙂 me, I was squirming during that first murder. Such a stupid woman, haha...

I think my absolute favorite movie of 2018 was

hiddenorca6 said:Just downloaded it! I'll get to watching soon, though I have to admit, I’m not exactly a fan of how Trier's movies tend to drag you through the mud.

I’ve always had a massive soft spot for director ego trips—those movies where the filmmaker basically uses the screen to take a massive, unapologetic dump on everything else. And honestly, when you look at the sheer number of directors out there, it’s only natural that some will occasionally pull it off with real class, like a true gentleman, while others just end up making a complete and total mess of the whole thing.

Honestly, when you look at how Lars von Trier handled movies like Breaking the Waves, Dogville, or Dancer in the Dark, it’s pretty clear he absolutely loves to mess with people. He’s got this way of just twisting the knife right when you think you're safe.

And honestly, he’s a bit too much of a mess now. Then again, he was high out of his mind back then, so you can hardly blame him.

I'm gonna go dive into some medical journals and see what they have to say about how drugs affect the quality and volume of bodily fluids. There might actually be some kind of cause-and-effect relationship there worth looking into.

Whatever, honestly, I don't hate this at all. Despite all the messy, side-tracked nonsense along the way, he somehow managed to vomit his way to the finish line without completely tripping over his own feet.

Most of his peers can barely hold an audience for an hour or two before everyone starts checking their phones, let alone actually keeping them hooked. But those guys? They’re out there raking in the cash at the multiplexes.

As far as I'm concerned, that’s pretty much it for the Europe trilogy—it's probably the best example of Trier's intense style.

Nymphomaniac felt like a total slog to me—way too slow...

As for Antichrist, I saw it in a theater and... yeah, it was okay, I guess.

Jack is fine, nothing special... though I honestly can't stand how modern movies have titles that imply they're over two hours long.
I watched this one... over the course of three days 😁 It’s not that it’s a bad movie, it’s just that whenever I see those chapter headings, I tend to hit pause instead.
Long story short: it's a good film, but it's way too long—it could easily lose at least 45 minutes and still work. 😁
7/10

I honestly feel like I just threw my life away watching this. It’s high time Lars von Trier gets back on some heavy substances because he clearly can't function like this anymore.

People head to the theater expecting a masterpiece by Lars von Trier, only to walk out halfway through because they found it boring. You’d think you’d actually check the genre before buying a ticket. Maybe some people hear his name and assume he’s some kind of architect building houses, so they figure it might be visually interesting.

Honestly, in this day and age, movies just shouldn't run longer than 90 minutes.
We aren't living in an era where people have nothing better to do than sit in a dark theater for hours on end.

Look, if you're talking about family entertainment—cartoons, comedies, those big superhero blockbusters—that's fine. That's okay.

But these... "artists"... they’re a hard pass for me.
Keep the real stuff to 90 minutes for the theater, and if you want that 150-minute slog, save it for a Blu-ray at home.