Funny Games

Director- Michael Haneke

Cast- Arno Frisch, Susanne Lothar

Country of Origin- Austria
 

Distributor - Criterion

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 06/06/2019

     Funny Games involves itself with a family lead by parents George and Anna, they are going to their lakeside home for a vacation with their son Georgie.   Almost immediately, two young men Peter and Paul come over under the guise that their neighbor needs eggs for her recipe. They begin to do things to tease the family, such as repeatedly breaking the eggs, before they begin their true assault by hitting George in the leg with a golf club.  At this point the family are now being held prisoner in their own home by Peter and Paul who make the family play games for their very lives.

     Michael Haneke has long stated that he does not believe himself to be a director of horror films. Yet, he makes films that express horror better than many filmmakers actually working within the constraints of the genre itself. Haneke throughout his film's blends domesticity with death and in doing so creates a potent film cocktail.
   

   Michael Haneke is truly one of my favorite directors and while Funny Games is not my favorite of his films it is very close to the top.  The film starts out innocently enough, before descending into a true sense of dread and terror. Of course, Haneke is using the template of the horror film, and the violence inherent in the form not just to make another horror film for audiences, but to call viewers out on their violent viewing habits. He does this with Peter and Paul specifically breaking the fourth wall, and calling attention to the over the top nature of their misdeeds.

    Haneke's direction gives a stark and cold vibe to Funny Games. This is a film that opens feeling like a Bergman film, but gives way to such terror and carnage it will imprint itself easily in the viewer's mind. The film is well-paced and never drags, that being said if there was even anything that could be called a slow moment, Haneke's grip on the audience throughout Funny Games would keep most viewers interested through to the end.

    Criterion present the film in a splendid 1:85:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the film. Everything here looks great, detail is fine, colors though muted are well reproduced, and grain is natural, but never overwhelming. Audio handled with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in German that sounds crisp and clear without issue. Extras include interview with Haneke and actor Arno Frisch, another interview with film historian Alexander Horvath, and video footage from the Cannes' debut of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.