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Funny Games 2008



This is funny in all the worst ways. Two guys confront their newest neighbors and before long they have the family tied up, pawns in a twisted game. Seamlessly you're rooting for both sides, which is a pretty uncommon thing to say about a torture thriller.

Peter and Paul's entry to the residence is sudden, eerie, and all-around humorous. You can already imagine that they've played at this a couple times, coming up with awkward mannerisms and clever schemes on the fly. The tension is pure ingenuity, playing out almost completely in real time. Everything in the hands of the violent young men.

Michael Pitt's whimsical murderer is altogether alarming and enthralling. Naomi Watts starts off a little rude and irritated, but once hope is dimming, you're authentically sitting in her place. Tim Roth just watches really.

It fights against standard horror movie figure, but for the few times it does succumb, Funny Games takes a big hit. In a situation where every action should be criticized and meticulously calculated, the family sure doesn't ever cease to do the stupidest thing possible. So I found myself cheering for both teams. The family of three didn't do anything wrong, but they marginally deserve it, just for their mind numbingly dumb survivability skills. The young men are spontaneous as they are sadistic, they're the bad guys, but they cater to the audience.

Nerve racking, like it should be done.