Horror Court: The House That Jack Built
Today court is in session for The House that Jack Built (2018) written and directed by Lars von Trier.This film somewhat recently came back into my mind after seeing it on one of the many “disturbing movies” icebergs that have been making their rounds around the internet. I’d heard the name before, and this time we decided to give it a watch given the film’s divisive history. With the reputation of a ten minute standing ovation undercut by hundreds of walk-outs at the Cannes Film Festival, this film seemed like a fun one to take a look at.
The film follows Jack, an architect and serial killer, as he recounts a cross section of his murders to an elderly man named Verge. Those familiar with Dante’s Inferno will be in for a fun call-back to Virgil and Dante’s descent as the story progresses.
The Evidence
Once again I would like to warn all of you lovelies that for this section I will be bringing up evidence that may be new to you if you have not seen the film. If you would like to have the rating without potential spoilers please skip ahead to the scoring section.
There are some things that this film did really well, and some things it did very poorly. Starting with the highlights, The House that Jack Built (2018) presented their protagonist very well. Jack was able to be understandable while being reprehensible. There were no attempts to try to defend his actions and I appreciated the tone that was carried throughout. There was a good balance of levity and seriousness for me, and I particularly loved the hunting scene for how it was handled. It was horrifying in the best way.
One thing that I still don’t know how I feel about is the very literal cut to hell near the end of the film? It was a neat sequence, but it felt almost unnecessary to me. This, to me, was one of the weaker scenes mostly because I felt that the scenery and effects that they chose were really weak compared to the rest of the film and that it detracted from the overall experience.
Another issue that I had revolved around the arc with “Simple.” There’s already a lot of issues in the horror community when it comes to women. If Von Trier was hoping to make a tongue in cheek reference to the fact that that character was the stereotypical nod to characters ignoring women in danger with the police officer he didn’t quite make the mark. It was real in some ways, and I wouldn’t feel quite as strongly as I do about this arc if it hadn’t been signed off with Jack leaving a boob on the officer’s windshield. That touch just felt tacky.
Going back to one of my favorite moments in the whole thing, I’ve gotta give props to the design team for that closing shot of Jack’s house of bodies. The still image alone of that moment still gives me the tingles weeks after seeing the film. It’s just such a well framed shot and it’s such a good encapsulation of the film in a single image.
Now, going away from the film for a moment to an unfortunate side effect of writing this article. I high-key hate the promotional posters that were made for this film. They feed into this strange sexualization of violence and really fail to express what this film was about, and that’s coming from someone who genuinely enjoyed the film for the most part.
What's the Score?
Total Score - 3.4
Here’s the breakdown:
Behind the Scenes - 3
Call me overly critical, but The House that Jack Built is an example of a good outcome from a tired idea. “An intimate look into the mind of a serial killer” is something I’m rather tired of. That said, the concept was handled in an interesting and unexpected way. In addition, while I like to see some throw-backs to older literature, I think that this aspect got away from the team a little bit.
Effects - 3.5
The effects used in this film, with a couple notable exceptions, do not take away from what is happening on screen. I commend how well the crew did to keep much to the imagination, and there are a few key shots that were great. However, I didn’t exactly have my expectations blown out of the water. Solid overall though.
Threat Execution - 2.5
Given that we’re in the position of the killer in this film, this was a strange one to score for me, and this may seem more personal than some of my previous ratings for this category. For this, I tried to approximate my score for the discomfort of some of the narrator’s actions beginning to make logical sense. They did an excellent job of making me understand where a killer was coming from, but I’m not really sure if there was a threat to that, so this one took a middling score as I feel it can go one way or the other depending on the viewer.
Technical Design - 4
The cinematography staging was great. The sets and costume designs were wonderful. It was well lit, cut, and balanced and there were some really creative shots.
Personal Preference - 4
Overall, I enjoyed this film. One sub-plot in particular stops me from rating this film higher than this and it has to do with some of the consistent issues that are commonly discussed within the genre. To me, this film seemed to perpetuate rather than question some of these issues, but if you look beyond that I was very pleased with it.
The Verdict
The House that Jack Built, while certainly not for everyone, was something different from the bulk of what I end up seeing while watching horror movies. It was definitely not perfect, but it has been memorable and I would suggest it for those looking to test the shallower end of some of the more “disturbing” sides of the horror genre.
Closing Statements
Thank you for joining me for this look at The House that Jack Built here at the Horror Court. As always, if you have any suggestions or want to give your take on the film I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Until next time!
f you enjoy the material on this site please consider supporting us! If you think I missed something, found something you enjoyed, or you would like me to cover something specific make sure to leave a comment below or contact me on twitter. You can also catch our streams over on Twitch for video games, art, and tabletop gaming content. I am also the Lead Writer for the Paths: World of Adia RPG and one of the writers for Realmwarp Media's Great Cities of Magic!