Funny Games (2007)

A pointed critique at American pop culture’s depiction of brutal violence as entertainment, Funny Games (1997) was meant to be set and filmed in the U.S. until various constraints forced Michael Haneke to make the film in Austria. That’s why unlike Gus Van Sants's recreation of Psycho, Haneke's shot-for-shot English-language remake of his controversial original (it was even filmed at the very same house as the original) is more of a long-awaited fulfilment of a creative vision than a mere stylistic experiment. Coincidentally, the rise of the 'torture porn' horror game in the mid-aughts only make Haneke's criticism of horror as popular entertainment - about a wealthy family who are terorised by two young men with no intention other than torturing them for kicks - even more valid than before.

28/11(Sat): Film talk with David Chan