Funny Games Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

Utter rubbish! Avoid!!

This film has no redeeming qualities at all - I wouldn't want to waste any more of my life even trying to begin to explain how bad this film is - it was like watching a rusty nail descending through a jar of honey - totally pointless. I only gave it one star because there's no option to give no stars.

Anti-Hollywood at its finest

As Haneke said : Some people leave before the end of my films and thats fine, they obviously didnt need it, its those who see it through that not only need it but will ultimately understand my work.

I feel sorry for those in the former catagory, for Haneke offers so much more than the dreary, big budget, happily ever after Spielberg style that we have become bogged down with. This is the antithesis of the sickly, schmultzy Hollywood crap which we are becoming more and more tired of. This is quite simply a great film and my advice is simple. Watch it, its good to be shocked, thats how boundaries are pushed and Haneke is most certainly doing that (even if you agree with nothing else).

What a waste of time

WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!!!!!. I'VE SEEN MORE FRIGHTENING SPIDERS!!!!!

TERRIBLE!

NOT GOING TO BOTHER! ENOUGH SAID.

2 stars for disturbing 5 for shock value

Always watch a film first without reading or knowing of any hype surrounding it and you always get your freshest opinion... well, I certainly did in this case. I was genuinely uncomfortable viewing this as I realise you are supposed to (if not, then you should be in a cell of the padded kind). Every family's nightmare of the harshest invasion to your home and loved ones. Mental and physical cruelty abound as the two glove wearing intruders torture a family in their holiday home. I appreciated this film certainly more AFTER watching it rather than during!!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Boring, slow and uneventful

The idea of a violent and disturbing film that does not actually show any violence on screen sounded like an interesting concept to me. Based on some of the reviews on this site, it sounded like the film pulled it off well and still remained to disturb or shock viewers.

Well here's the other side of the fence for you...this film was total crap and not worthy of renting at all! Two poncy white glove wearing teenagers put a wife, husband and their child through hell for a day by playing 'funny games' with them, that all starts by dropping some eggs or something or other. Things turn nasty, but not interesting, as the film slowly struggles along and you sit there wondering why this was labelled as a controversial film?! And i can't see the message about real life violence that the director has intended either...sorry mate.

In conclusion....if you're after realism or a controversial film, rent something like Nil By Mouth, that is actually believable and extremely well directed / filmed / acted! But this film is a load of Jane Horrocks!

Disturbing, controversial and very interesting.

The lack of explicit violence does not make this film any less disturbing, but adds to the eerie atmosphere of the film, and consequently makes the film even more subversive. Directly after I’ve watched this film I felt appalled and considered “Funny Games” to be the worst film I’ve ever seen. But it didn’t take long before I realise that this is the effect the director tries to achieve, and even though disturbing seems to be Haneke’s trademark, this film is so original and heart wrenching that I would sincerely recommend it to anyone interested in extremely subversive cinema (I am aware of the pretentiousness of that phrase, but don’t let that stop you from hiring this film). Even though the film is quite horrific, and perhaps not for the faint hearted, its high level of realism and emotional tension involve the reader more personally than most other films manage to do.

Who's laughing?

I'm a big fan of horror, but this is just trash - a bad teen movie without the self-awareness. It plays on the fear of invasion of privacy, and contains a twist which is supposed to be a comment on filmic reality, but ultimately its unsophisticated and fairly painful to watch. Whether you're after something silly and fun, or something a bit higher brow (like I was), I wouldn't bother if I were you.

can't read the subtitles

Had to abandon this movie after about 10 minutes as the flakey white subtitles were illegible whenever the action had a white background. This was too annoying to bear.

A Sadistic Study In Violence

You'll need a strong stomach and nerves of steel to withstand this chilling film, an ice-cold study in violence and voyeurism from Michael Haneke, director of "The Piano Teacher". A nice middle class couple and their young son drive to their country house for the weekend, and are attacked by two young intruders who subject them to a night of physical and psychological torment. Unusually, he refrains from showing violence onscreen, leaving us to infer the worst from shots of splattering blood or the victims' screams, and reminds us of our complicity in the action by having the torturers wink conspiratorially at the audience. The family are offered a means of escape only to have Haneke literally rewind proceedings and drag them back into the inferno. Haneke's desire to reawaken his audience to the horror of violence is commendable, but his direction has a sadistic rigour rivalling his fictional psychopaths.