Funny Games (2007)
A direct, shot-for-shot remake by the same director of his previous movie of the same title from roughly 10 years prior.
The whole reason I decided to watch this is that I remember back when it first came out I used to have a friend who was a film major that watched it and it ruffled his feathers in an uneasy way. So naturally, because I was thinking of my old friend, I decided to pull it up and finally throw it on. Film is what he did. Lol. I mean, not only was he majoring in it in college (and is now somewhere in California) but he also worked at the local, now-closed movie theater for quite some time. Enough that he was able to collect a considerable amount of promotional material from working there, which he used to theme his bedroom with. It reminded me of how music enthusiasts will have walls of records and CDs, or the classic battle jacket or patch vest from the old metal days. Anyway, onto Funny Games.
The movie is fvcked up, he isn't wrong about that at all. Not AS fvcked up as things that came out after it, but for its time, yes, it's fvcked up. While most movies about teenage psychopaths are fvcked up, Funny Games pushes the pre-2008 uneasiness of it. I went into this mostly blind, mind you, not knowing much about it at all. The acting was great, aaaannndddd admittedly, no, I haven't seen the original....but it's by the same director and is supposedly a shot-for-shot remake. I'm also easily sold on Naomi Watts. Normally when I sit down with a horror movie I end up at some point thinking "why didn't they X" or "why is Y that way?" I didn't really have many questions like that with this movie. It was very thorough and straight.
The only downside is, I wouldn't really call it particularly scary. Uneasy and Disturbing? Yes. Suspenseful? At times. Scary? Hardly. Unless of course slasher/killer stuff gets to you, okay then yeah, then it's probably scary.
The only other thing I can think of is that it's not really something I'd rewatch. Unless I'm either watching the original for a comparison (which I will eventually do), or if I know someone who likes shock value. The movie was made by the director as "a reflection and criticism of violence used in media," and it does that actually pretty well with a couple of fourth wall breaks along the way which make for some uneasy moments.
