FUNNY GAMES

RYAN: The new movie “Funny Games” stars and is executive produced by Aussie Naomi Watts, and it’s one of the most terrifying films I’ve ever seen. In my book, it’s up there with “No Country for Old Men” and “Misery.”

CAROLINE: After seeing the trailer, I thought it was going to be so scary I could hardly stand it. And even though I knew I would be terrified, I was like, “I have to see this.” But it’s weird; now that I’ve seen it, I wouldn’t say I wasn’t scared, but I wasn’t half as horrified as I thought I would be.

RYAN: It’s by an Austrian writer-director who made this movie in the German language in 1997, but he felt it should be made an American audience so he remade it 10 years later for us. And the movie is literally exactly the same as the German version, shot for shot, right down to the costumes. It’s even filmed in the same house. It’s kind of amazing that he was able to recreate it like that.

CAROLINE: Some of the shots were very cool; like, you’d hear someone talking, but instead of showing their face, he’d show what their hands were doing.

RYAN: Very creative. The director’s motivation in writing this movie was in reaction to American horror films and how they always have a give or a gimmick. They’re usually pretty unrealistic.

CAROLINE: We rely a lot on the supernatural or freaky monsters in our horror movies.

RYAN: But even a great movie like “Misery,” which could actually happen in real life, is a little over the top and has a happy ending. This director wanted to show what terror is in the real world.

CAROLINE: I read that he doesn’t want his audience to be entertained, but disturbed and uncomfortable. Hence the loud death metal that appears twice in the film. Even though I felt fear at times, I didn’t feel that much suspense. I felt like I could tell what was gonna happen next, and the end was lame. I saw it coming a mile away.

RYAN: All I kept thinking to myself during this movie was, “Why would anyone want to watch this?” And also, “Why would the actors want to be in this movie?” It’s so disgusting and disturbing that I don’t know why anyone would want to waste their time seeing it or being involved in the making of it.

CAROLINE: It’s definitely an unpleasant movie-going experience. It’s just not fun to watch. It’s about torture and mind games and being a hostage in your own home, and while Naomi Watts and Tim Roth are both great, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this movie even a little without the two of them.

RYAN: The two torturers, Michael Pitt and Brody Corbet, are normally somewhat attractive, but because of the heinous characters they play, I could barely even look at them.

CAROLINE: The movie’s goal is to jar you. The trailer makes it look like a really good but fairly typical horror/torture flick, but it’s far from that. It’s very slow and quiet; there’s virtually no music in the whole film. While watching the trailer, I basically thought, “This movie is for fans of things like ‘The Grudge’ and ‘The Ring,’” but now that I’ve seen it, I’d say it’s really not. I don’t think the kids will like this. It’s way too psychological.

RYAN: It’s too mature for the teens. Bottom line?

CAROLINE: I didn’t like this movie that much, but it’s definitely thought provoking. You and I been talking about it for days already. But given how awesome the trailer was, I guess I was expecting more scares and thrills; but this movie is more of a slow burn. I didn’t feel enough suspense, though I appreciate what the director’s trying to say.

RYAN: It’s the movie that you absolutely hate while you’re watching it and then a couple days later you think, “It’s brilliant.” It’s definitely slow-moving, but I still found it suspenseful. I cannot put my heart into recommending it. It’s so disturbing. I’d rather you just call me up and I’ll tell you everything that happens.

CAROLINE: It’s really upsetting.