The House that Jack Built is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Lars famously directed Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the boundary smashing film Antichrist. Once again, trying to find the thin line between the grotesque and art, Trier this time directs Matt Dillon as a serial killer that calls himself Mr. Sophistication.
The House that Jack Built treads on some very disagreeable ground, while threatening to be a very compelling film.
The Evolution of a Killer
Lars von Trier does a fantastic job of evolving Jack as character. We learn early on that Jack is an architect, presumably an unsuccessful one as he never seems to actual do that for a living. Jack tells his story to a disembodied man, at least for most of the film, named Virgil.
During these conversations, they wax poetic on a litany of topics including art, architecture, engineering and murder.
Jack tells his story in an ever escalating set of stories about his kills. He never gives away the reason that he chose these particular stories, but a careful observer can see that these stories move linearly through Jacks timeline.
The Faces of Jack
Jack changes through the timeline.
The House That Jack Built begins with Jack driving his highly inconspicuous fire engine red van down a lonely road. He approaches a woman, Uma Thurman, (of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & Kill Bill: Vol. 2 fame) with a flat tire and reluctantly drives her to get help. The exchange between Jack and the woman offers a glimpse into Jack’s psyche at the time. The woman relentlessly imposes on him while he tries his best to get out of the situation, until POW. Jack caves her in skull with a carjack.
During his first “incident”, Jack feels awkward and annoyed. He seems to want to disconnect from the situation with this woman, but she will not relent. He tries multiple times to leave her on the side of the road, presumably to let her live. While the film doesn’t say it explicitly, it leaves the audience with a feeling this was the very first time.
Describing his next incident, Jack becomes the aggressor by actively hunting out a woman in her own home. While Jack becomes more calculated, he is completely awkward. He gropes for anything to connect to Claire Miller (Siobhan Fallon Hogan) so that he can gain entry into the house. What stood out as interesting is that Matt Dillon’s demeanor possessed an uncanny similarity to that of his performance as Pat Healy in There’s Something About Mary (1998). His lack of confidence and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder tendencies with respect to cleaning the site of the crime almost get him caught.
As the film progresses, Jack’s methods become more calculated and more cruel. He begins to revel in the psychological trauma that he can impose on his victims before ending their lives. Jack’s actions take on a raw cruelty, much like that seen in The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007).
It’s notable that the film focuses not just on the horrors of Jack’s murders, but spends a good bit of time discussing the importance of iconography to Jack’s mode of operation. The film spends considerable time with Jack reflecting on his trophy room, an industrial freezer filled with bodies, as Jack tries to find meaning in life, architecture and art.
What About Verge
Jack’s discussions with Verge (Bruno Ganz) are a double edged sword. The conversations become a highly effective method for driving Jack’s narrative forward, and are thought provoking, despite the fact that they revel in the despicable. The film serves as stark reminder of the very real horrors of humanity through the ages. The presentation of these horrors feels somber, even as Jack tries to rationalize them.
However, this narrative device also drives into the ditch as Lars von Trier attempts to explain Verge and the real meaning of these conversations. This plot device ultimately culminates in a late reveal that feels cheap, misplaced and pretty hokey considering the gravity of what precedes. More to come on this.
Where to Watch The House That Jack Built (2018)
Matt Dillon, Serial Killer
Getting to the obvious, Matt Dillion is utterly convincing as a psychopathic serial killer. Maybe too good. His ability to appear completely dead inside creates an unsettling pit in the stomach. The performance is so basal and pure that it will likely require eyewash to unsee it as he plays other roles.
His performance shines the brightest as he commits the most cruel acts in the film. He radiates a filthy blackness as he emotionally terrorizes women that are about to die, or worse, women that just witnessed their loved ones being murdered and too are about to die.
Uma Thurman
What the hell is Uma Thurman doing in this film?
Crime and Punishment (Spoilers Ahead)
As the film wraps around to it questionable conclusion, it’s clear that Lars von Trier wants to send a departing message that even if monsters on Earth escape justice, there is a justice that awaits in the beyond.
“When the offended viewers who have moved on the wrong track hurry to the exit, Von Trier will not without satisfaction show the middle finger at their backs, and those who remain will witness the moralizing finale. Evil will be punished, thrown into the flaming abyss and will never return…”
While von Trier does send this message, he wraps it in clown shoes and a silly hat, as he takes an otherwise cold and concrete film into a cheese laden version of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
This is where the The House the Jack Built goes off the rails. The ending is so off-putting that one cannot simply disregard the end and say that it was an otherwise good film. This misfire of an ending cheapens all of the horrific violence that the audience had previously been force fed for two hours. That’s right, the film banters on for an agonizing 1 hour and 52 minutes. All of the previous story is immediately subjugated to gratuitous and opportunistic.
The Mess That Lars von Trier Built
It would be unfair to totally malign The House That Jack Built as the film has some horrific moments that really resonate. Yet, these moments are so horrific that they deserve a satisfying conclusion. Horror fans might revel in an ending that leaves Jack at large, preying on victims. They might also celebrate Jack getting his just deserts on Earth. Heck, they might even glow at the opportunity to see Jack toiling in hell…as long as hell doesn’t look like a cartoon.
The bottom line is that The House That Jack Built is not an earth-shattering film that shakes the foundations of Horror and social commentary. It is a film that takes a few cheap shots while building a seemingly bold framework, and then bulldozing it just before it comes to fruition. Fans of serial killer horror might be better served with Joh McNaughton’s morbid classic Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986). Henry is not nearly as daring, but it sticks the landing.
The House That Jack Built (2018) - Maximum Serial Killer Horror - Malevolentdark
Director: Lars von Trier
Date Created: 1970-01-01 00:33
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