The House That Jack Built

The House That Jack Built is a disturbing artistic horror movie. The film is about a psychopathic serial killer named Jack, played by Matt Dillon, who describes his murders in five episodes of his life that he refers to as “incidents”.

Matt Dillon is horrifying as Jack. He perfectly captures the inhumanity of a person completely lacking empathy. He feigns emotions to deceive people into thinking he’s normal. He targets lonely insecure woman like a tiger who preys on the weak and vulnerable. Dillon portrays Jack as a twisted artist, an architect of destruction. He convincingly justifies Jack’s internal need to kill and sheds some light on his monstrous mindset.  

The House That Jack Built is a stomach turning horror film. It is extremely hard to watch as the murders are depicted in excruciatingly gory detail.  Director Lars von Trier paints a very nihilistic portrait of life. He forces you to sit and squirm while you helplessly watch these atrocities happen. You’ll cringe every time you hear the bone chilling piano music play. The movie is a sickening look into the mind of a psychopath.

4 out of 5 stars

2018 R, 2hr 32min