The House That Jack Built needs to be mentioned more, the storytelling was phenomenal and the characters were superb. Directed by Lars von Trier (Antichrist 2009, Dogville 2003, Europe 1991)

Lengthy film but well paced

The length of the film was long for sure, but they told it in a manner that it wouldn’t feel dragging. The story is divided into “5 Incidents” and the “Epilogue: Katabasis”. It dives into the psychological downward spiral of Jack. Jack is a failed architect and a vicious sociopath. Aside from his 60+ kills (as he mentioned) these 5 incidents contain 5 of the most memorable and psyche-breaking kills of Jack’s murder spree.

Verge, the narrator

Throughout the whole film, we could hear a conversation between Jack (played by Matt Dillon) and Verge (played by Bruno Ganz). Now, the Verge character was very interesting. Towards the end of the film we see who Verge really was, an angel of death. Much like Virgil was to Dante, Verge was a guide to Jack.

Underrated actor

Matt Dillon is a very underrated actor and much can be seen why on his performance here. His character had so many personal problems and add murder to that list and we’ve got a problem. He is a sociopath with and OCD. Dillon masterfully displays both so well. His facial expression had a huge impact on how he carries his character.

Divided properly

I love how the film was able to tell us his whole life story, from him being a kid, up to his death. Which is the chapter “Epilogue: Katabasis” and it did not just end with us seeing his grave, no no no., we get to travel with him and Verge all the way to Hell.

The House in all it’s glory

Towards the end of the film, we see “The House that Jack Built” standing tall in the middle of the walk-in freezer. Made up of carefully positioned bodies and limbs of all his past victims, frozen in place and curated using wires. Standing tall in all its gruesome glory. A sight that I’ll never soon forget.

Enchanting visuals

The visuals of Hell are very poetic and not the usual depictions we see of it with demons and people being tortured. This is pure cinematography and a work of art. The scene where Jack was inside a cottage looking out to what Verge described as “Elysium” (or Elysian Fields, in Greek Mythology, it is considered a paradise, often seen as an equivalent to Heaven). His eyes screams of regret to what he had done. He could only but look through the window, and see the farmers swinging their scythes back and forth, as he once did when he was a child. According to Verge, they don’t have access to that place, because they’re going the other way.

Conclusion

The kills weren’t as gore as I thought it would be. They were shown with finesse, even some of the kills during “incidents” weren’t shown. I think it was a good decision and would make others want to watch it. Just the right amount of violence and gore coupled with properly paced storytelling.