10 Even More Insane Over The Top Horror Movies
6. The House That Jack Built
Controversy tends to follow Lars von Trier wherever he goes, with the Danish filmmaker's work often exploring abuse, mental illness, depression, and graphic sexual themes. And his visceral horror, The House That Jack Built, is no exception.
The prologue depicts the titular psychopath (Matt Dillon) bludgeoning a woman with a tire jack, caving her head in. As brutal as this moment is, it's nothing compared to what follows.
For the next two-and-a-half hours, we are subject to all of Jack's darkest desires, which involve chopping off breasts, turning his victims into sculptures, and fashioning a house from dozens of corpses. It's messed up, even by von Trier's standards (which is saying a lot).
Just when it feels like things couldn't get any more shocking, it's revealed the overarching narrative takes place in a Dante's Inferno-inspired metatext. After watching the Roman poet Virgil (Bruno Ganz) guiding Jack through the nine circles of Hell, it's easy to forget The House That Jack Built started off as an artsy slasher.
Also, concluding such a twisted movie with the upbeat Hit the Road Jack was a stroke of genius.