The final third of the film involves the kind of eye-wateringly brutal and unflinchingly horrific scenes of sex, violence and despair more in keeping with Asian extreme directors such as Takeshi Miike, the mood invoking the darker body horror days of David Cronenberg. Far more is it allied to these auteurs than the torture porn sub-genre of Saw and Hostel that some less imaginative or less informed critics have compared it to. The reason that it always manages to remain on a higher plateau than Eli Roth and his contemporaries is because it never strays from its strongly psychological foundation. No matter how violent or surreal the action becomes, there is always the thread of grief and loss running deep within its core, and this is in no small part down to the two mesmerising central performances. Gainsbourg draws from the darkness she reached in the wonderful The Cement Garden to create a truly powerful portrait of a woman in mental collapse that puts me in mind of Gina Rowlands' bravura performance in Cassavetes' A Woman Under The Influence, one of my all time favourite films. Willem Dafoe has no trouble equalling this with a quiet and masterful gravitas that he manages to sustain throughout his ordeal. Probably the strongest male character written by Von Trier to date. The Antichrist (not to be confused with Lars von Trier’s Antichrist from 2009) is the creation of writer/director Alberto De Martino ( 100.000 dollari per Ringo) and writers Gianfranco Clerici ( Cannibal Holocaust) and Vincenzo Mannino ( The New York Ripper).

The Three Beggars - animal handler Ota Bares talks about the animals used in the film. In English, with optional Italian subtitles. (9 min). The sound mix has a tendency to sound a little tinny and harsh here and there, but it’s strong for the most part—particularly when Morricone’s score is at the front of the mix. Released in 1974, it tells the story of Ippolita Oderisi (Carla Gravina), a young woman who became paralysed as a child, following the car crash that also killed her mother. She lives with her father, Massimo (Mel Ferrer), and her brother, Filippo (Remo Girone). Her father has recently taken a new lover, Greta (Anita Strindberg), and Ippolita harbours resentment towards Greta and her father, both because Greta is taking the place of her mother, and because Ippolita herself is unable to have any sort of sexual relationship. Up until it jumps the shark (the infamous scissor moment), the movie stands as a genuinely emotional experience: a portrait of the kind of extreme grief that few movies make an attempt at portraying. With the subtler supernatural elements, the movie begins to resemble two absolutely wonderful films: Andrzjec Zulawski's 'Possession' and my very favorite movie of all time, Nicolas Roeg's 'Don't Look Now.' But then things devolve into messy horror movie clichés, which resolve with some kind of bafflingly misogynistic image of dead women, throughout the ages, coming out of the woods, in a ghostly march. And boy oh boy, this thing sounds really, really great. While those looking for the crash-smash-bang hallmarks of a truly active surround sound mix will be disappointed, if you're looking for moody, atmospheric sound that is truly enveloping without ever really pushing the surround channels, you should be appropriately impressed.

Antichrist is divided into four chapters - Grief, Pain (Chaos Reigns), Despair (Gynocide), and The Three Beggars - each focusing on the complex process of coming to terms and eventually overcoming the loss of a loved one. The film also has a short prologue and epilogue; the former chronicles the tragedy, the latter summarizes the consequences of it. This 1080p Blu-ray release of The Antichrist is solid. It isn’t a particularly gorgeous-looking film, but there are no faults with the transfer. Film grain looks natural and healthy, and in the scenes that delve into the surreal, the colours are vivid and striking. A 4K Ultra HD release might have made these scenes pop, but Blu-ray suffices. I don’t know if the film is one many will find themselves wanting to rewatch often, though I will say the film certainly benefits from multiple viewings. As to the presentation Criterion has done a rather superb job. The film looks and sounds great and the supplements, though not what I probably hoped for, are all still quite fascinating and worth viewing. A rather solid edition. The Making of Antichrist - a gallery of supplemental features, produced by Zentropa's DVD production company, Electric Parc, featuring director Lars von Trier and various members of his tech team, including director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle, sound designer Kristian Eidnes Andersen, production designer Karl "Kalli" Juliusson, producer Meta Louise Foldager, researcher Heidi Laura, etc. In Danish and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary.

Eerie religiosity and the eventual battle to cast out an evil spirit are absolutely the main course, though unlike its loftier American inspirations, The Antichristalso owes something to the garish process effects of Bert I. Gordon ( Village of the Giants).When the film’s possessed heroine telekinetically hurls a heavy piece of furniture at someone, the piece of furniture becomes a flat picture of itself that grows larger as it supposedly approaches.When the poor overtaken woman floats, it’s suddenly a discolored cutout of her “floating” with her fellow actors reacting to nothing.For these wanting results, De Martino in a later interview recalls that he had to fight a war to get her to float like that. Another fascinating feature is the 8-minute Make-up Effects and Props, which looks at the film’s non-CGI effects work. Despite the heavy use of CGI in the film there’s still a lot of use of older effects techniques, starting with the silicon leg and fake grind stone. We get a closer look at the “deer fetus” which, unsurprisingly, freaked out the deer it was harnessed to in the film. One of the more unnerving props, though, is the boy doll used in the opening. But of course the most interesting effect involves the film’s most infamous moment (which I won’t spoil here.) The effects team was under the impression that von Trier wouldn’t show the actual “act” on film and was surprised that he would end up wanting a close-up of the actual even. Humourously the effects team admit they’re probably the only people that watch the scene closely, if only to make sure there are no noticeable mistakes. To celebrate the release of The Antichrist available now on Blu-Ray, DVD & Digital, we have 2 Blu-Rays to give away! The Antichrist is an interesting little addition to the extensive subgenre of satanic/exorcism films and it certainly looks good in this new Blu-ray transfer, but perhaps only one for hardcore genre fans only. Again I was a little disappointed the supplements concentrated more on the technical aspects of the film I must admit they were all still rather fascinating and each one is still worth going through. Closing

Description: After his sister was poisend, tough cop Tony Saitta embarks an a violent journey to find her killer which turns into a whirlpool of revenge and betrayal. Directed by Alberto De Martino, and starring Stuart Whitman, John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and Oscar winner Martin Landau (North by Northwest).

Confessions about anxiety - director Lars von Trier discusses the controversial message of his film. In English, with imposed French subtitles. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080i). This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Interviews - a gallery of interviews with director Lars von Trier, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Willem Dafoe: To coincide with GDPR regulations, competition entry information will not be stored once the competition has ended and the winners have been chosen and prizes sent out. It’s not a bad set up, as these things go, and the actors really do commit to their parts, especially Carla in her portrayal of Ippolita. She foams at the mouth, she howls obscenities, she spits and bites and hawks up pea-green vomit. She absolutely gives it her all. But she’s let down by a plodding script that, while being very faithful in its replication of the process of an exorcism, takes far too long to really get anywhere. There’s a lot of “oh, it can’t really be anything bad” or “she’s just overwrought” and it’s not until she literally starts foaming at the mouth and sending plates and furniture flying around that people seem to take the whole thing seriously.The Make-Up Effects and Probs of Antichrist - a look at the special effects. In English, with optional Italian subtitles. (9 min).