Funny Games (2007)

(some spoilers)

Funny Games (US) (2007) is the American remake of the Austrian 1997 movie with the same name, but in an unexpected move, better than the original in every way.

The movie begins with a family of three (the parents being played by the amazingly talented Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) listening to opera music in their car while they are heading to their beautiful and luxurious vacation house in a pretty secluded area. The calming, peaceful intro of the movie is suddenly interrupted  (but only for us) by a soundtrack of a heavy and fast metal song overlapped with what we have been watching so far. This sets the tone of the movie perfectly: their lives will be disrupted in the most brutal possible way, we know about it, but they have no idea.

Once settled in their vacation house, things slowly start to turn for the worst as two young men (played by Brady Corbet and the deliciously sociopathic Michael Pitt) make their appearance under false pretenses, try to gain their trust just enough to map out the house and get a reading on their next victims and then reveal their true intentions. 

Funny Games is not your usual home invasion thriller. Its unique style of filming, editing and use of red herrings (something in a story that has no relevance to the story, except to make the audience wonder where it might fit into the plot later - sometimes it's just for fun, other times it proves to be a serious point in the plot)  , intentionally slow at first but then increasing the tension more and more, make this an incredibly realistic experience, building the viewer right into the plot. This direct inclusion of the viewer is made obvious by Michael Pitt's character as well, because on several ocassions he looks right into the camera, "breaking the fourth wall", adressing us directly and asking us questions, making it seem like they are performing a form of entertainment for us and they're checking to see if the audience is pleased.

At one point during the movie, one of the parents asks them why they are doing this. In their playful answers we finally see the just-for-fun truly sadistic nature of the events - that is especially evident when Watts' character asks "Why don't you just kill us? "and Corbet's character replies: "You shouldn't forget the importance of entertainment". 

The entire movie has a menacing dark tone to it and the moments of true horror are filmed in big unedited scenes, forcing us to watch, not being able to look away, not even for a second, no matter how uncomfortable it's making us feel.

But the chilling atmosphere would have never been complete without the exceptional acting of everybody involved - from the terror stricken Naomi Watts and Tim Roth, to the pure cruel but calm sociopathic nature of Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet.

I don't want to reveal how things unravel, because a lot of events that happen might surprise you, but I do feel the need to mention that certain scenes (especially the rewinding scene) show us exactly how in control the two are of what's happening and that the ending is absolutely fitting of the entire film, so it will not disappoint. 

The movie will force you to ask yourself: "Would I have reacted the same way they did?", "What would I have done differently?", "How do I think I would react, but how would I really react". These questions and the movie itself will undoubtedly stick with you. And not only do I recommend urgently watching "Funny Games", but I also think at least two viewings are necessary. One to be shocked and surprised by what's happening, and the other to understand the nuances, the elements beneath the surface and exactly what makes this movie so effective and brilliant.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

(possible spoilers)


There is a tradition with exorcism movies to be advertised as being based on a true story. In our case, however, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is in fact based on a real court case, of a real possesion case, of a real girl: Anneliese Michel. Obviously, the name has been changed, but the story of the movie follows the real case pretty accurately.

The movie is centered around a court case in which a priest is accused of murdering a young girl by performing a series of exorcism rituals on her. Along the way, during the trial, we get glimpses of what happened to Emily through the stories told in the courtroom and try to find out what happened to her and try to answer the main question of the movie: was Emily Rose really demonically possessed? Or was she sick with epilepsy?

During the movie we jump back and forth between the two possibilities.
The side favoring the possession arguments that the noises she was making, the inhuman voices and body contorsions, the foreign languages that she was speaking and had no way of knowing, the way her condition got worse and worse and the traumas that her body suffered can only be explained by the fact that Emily was possessed. Not to mention that to perform an exorcism, the priest needs to have permission from the Catholic Church, permission which is only granted in severe cases. So for the Church to officially recognise her condition and make a rare and very controversial decision of allowing the exorcism, means that there must be something there. They also allowed the taping of the sessions, tapes which later on proved to be essential to the case.

The opposite side argues that the young girl was suffering from epilepsy and mental disorders such as schizophrenia and psychosis, explaining the seizures and violent attacks. And that her troubled condition along with the fact that she wasn't given medication or medical supervision and that she was a victim of a grueling and abusive series of exorcism rituals eventually led to her death.

Even though the movie wants to leave that question unanswered, it is pretty obvious through the depictions of the events that they are pointing towards the demonic possession. There are two main movies based on the tragic case of Anneliese Michel - The Exorcism of Emily Rose and a German movie called "Requiem". Unlike the movie we are talking about now, the German film chooses the opposite side and explores the mental disorders explanation. I recommend watching both movies if you want to get a well rounded view on her case.

As a big fan of exorcism movies, I am very picky when it comes to the acting and the special effects because in movies like this it's very easy to make it look cheap and completely fake. But The Exorcism of Emily Rose gets top grades in all departments.
The acting is spectacular, especially from our leading lady, Jennifer Carpenter (you might know her now as Deb, the serial killer's sister from the Showtime series Dexter) - her dedication to the role and her acting chops have been praised by fans, critics, as well as her fellow cast mates. As a matter of fact, one of her co-stars, Laura Linney says this about her: She's physically capable and she's an athlete, really. This girl is thin and very willowy but she's strong. All that stuff in the film she did on her own and she's also vocally really expert. You cannot scream like that without losing your voice for 14 hours a day. You really have to know what you're doing and you know, I just think she's fantastic. 


Along with the acting, the visual and audio special effects are exquisitely well done - nothing looks fake or overdone, everything is believable, effective and frightening in the best sense of the word. The infamous "6 names" scene, which even freaked out the crew during filming because Jennifer's delivery is so formidable, will absolutely make your blood run cold.

My only criticism is that I wish the movie had more creepy scenes than courtroom ones, but maybe the anticipation of those few but spine-chilling moments, makes the eerie and suspenseful atmosphere of the movie all that more effective.
I recommend this movie wholeheartedly to all horror fans, to everybody who has a strong heart and wants a good scare, and to anybody who wants to see a good movie that will definitely stay with you, make you think and raise a lot of questions about your beliefs.

10/10

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

From the director of Saw II, III and IV, Darren Lynn Bousman, comes a movie that's not only one of a kind in its genre but managed to become a cult-classic over the years.

In Repo! The Genetic Opera the story might seem a bit complicated at first, but it's actually quite simple: we have a worldwide epidemic that threatened to wipe out the entire population of the Earth (and managed to do so with most of it), a so called saviour of humanity - a biotech company called GeneCo that came up with a solution to save humans by offering organ transplant on a debt to be paid later, and a hitman called the Repo Man that makes sure that all the indebted either pay up or become victims of the fine print of the contract.

We also have one of the most unique blend of actors ever to be put on screen together: Terrance Zdunich - the creator of the story, writer of the movie script and all other adaptations of this story ever made, composer of the soundtrack, producer of the movie and last but definitely not least, the narrator in the movie, called The Graverobber,
the most beloved character in this world of Repo.

Paul Sorvino - father of Oscar winning actress Mira Sorvino, this is his first role where he gets to show everybody a quite little known fact about him, his extensive training as an opera singer, playing the founder of GeneCo, Rotti Largo.

Anthony Head - best known as the professor from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the British actor surprises everybody with a dark role far different from his others by playing the Repo Man and a singing voice that resonates with the entire vibe of the movie.

Sarah Brightman - the world-wide known soprano proves her acting chops by playing Blind Mag, the opera singer with the most unique "gift" from GeneCo and the poster girl of the company.

Paris Hilton - now I know what you're thinking and what you're going to say because it's the first reaction everybody gets when they see her being cast in this film, but as a matter of fact, she's the perfect choice to play Amber Sweet - the heiress of the GeneCo company. Why? Because Paris is playing the gothic version of herself. Surprisingly, she can also carry a tune, all of this making it acceptable for her to be cast in the film.

Nivek Ogre - the Skinny Puppy lead singer in his first movie role as Pavi Largo, the womanizer, face transplant enthusiast, narcissist and rapist son of Rotti Largo and one of the male heirs to the throne of GeneCo.

Bill Moseley - an actor well known for his memorable roles in multiple cult classic horror films, such as Rob Zombie's House of a 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Night of the Living Dead and Halloween, in Repo he plays the oldest sibling in the Largo family, the anger management lacking sociopath and the other male heir (next to Pavi) to the GeneCo company.


Like all cult films, Repo has the mark of being an either love or hate movie. These movies are usually the most interesting, because they're the most discussed and debated. And Repo has the advantage of being the only horror musical worth mentioning since The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). My advice is watch it because it might pleasantly surprise you, even though you might go into it with the slightest doubts. And it also helps that the movie has a killer soundtrack that will surely find a spot in your mp3 player.


My grade: 10/10