Film Review: Funny Games

Brief Plot Outline:

A family of three (mother, father, son), go to a remote holiday home. One day a man knocks on the door and asks for some eggs. The man then proceeds to get his brother, and between them, they trap the family in the house, making a ‘bet’ that the family will not be alive by 9:00am the following morning.

Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?

The scene where the boy was shot was a very impressive scene. I liked this scene as it used restricted narration to a larger extent, and didn’t just blatantly show the boy getting killed with the use of body horror. In this scene, it cut from a gunshot to a shot of a sofa with the family behind it, leaving the audience guessing which one had been shot. This creates a vast amount of tension and forces the audience to use their imagination.

Another scene which impressed me was the scene where the mother is killed, as it shows the dominance that the two brothers have over the family. It strengthens the ‘psycho killer’ role that the two brothers play, as it portrays them to have little emotion and purely interested in killing.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of filmmaking? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? How?

Watching this film has helped me understand horror films more in terms of the overall mood of the film. Funny Games has a very dark and miserable mood throughout, strengthened by the constant use of low key lighting, which is created by showing the struggle of the victims, and having very little positivity in the film. I ended up sharing emotions with the characters and feeling sympathetic towards them as the film progressed, showing the emotions that the characters felt in great depth.

The slow montage created after the boy is killed creates a strong sense of sympathy from the audience towards the mother and father, as a lot of emotion is shown.

The film starts and ends with the same music, which is contrapuntal at the start of the film when it is first played, and parallel at the end. This is achieved as the music is heavy rock, playing it at the start of the film when the family are happy in the car on the way to their destination doesn’t seem right , and sets an uneasy mood to the scene. However the music is played at the end of the film along with a close up of the two brother’s faces, which is parallel which goes well with their crazy characters.

The film also contains an aspect of misogyny, as the two brothers torture the mother the longest, drawing out her death as long as possible.

The film also gives a strong sense of isolation, as the family are trapped inside the house with very little chance to get out, and even if they did, they are in a remote area which would be hard to find help. The isolation is exaggerated by the mother’s malfunctioning phone, diminishing all contact that the family have with the world outside of the house.

The two brothers are dressed all in white, which connotes purity and innocence, which is the initial impression that the brothers give out. However the viewer quickly discovers that the purity and innocence is a cover up and the brothers are using this as a front to lure families into their grasp.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?

The general mood and sadistic nature of the film is something that I would like to include, as I found it very chilling and gave the film a creepy feel throughout. Another aspect I would like to include is the gore, as it used realistic body horror in places, which I found good, as you could painfully see the effects of the killer’s actions, and empathise with the victims.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your trailer? Why?

I would like to avoid how drawn out the narrative was, as at times I found it to get a little boring. I liked how the film was drawn out in places, as it added to the suspense, but at times it slowed the film down too much, as the slow montage was too long. I would also like to avoid lots of restricted narration as in a trailer that wouldn’t work as well, and wouldn’t add the drama and shock that body horror would.

What was the best aspect/ most enjoyable moment in the film? Can you recreate this in your film? How?

My favourite aspect of the film and most enjoyable moment was the final scene in the film, where one of the brothers goes into a house and asks for some eggs, almost identically replicating what he did with the last family. I liked it because of the sinister feel of the narrative repeating itself. I wouldn’t recreate this in my trailer as in a one minute thirty seconds timeframe.