Funny Games

It's not a reassuring vision but that's not the name of Haneke's particular game.

That this relentless barrage of psychological and physical torture is extremely well made and powerfully performed -- Watts hurls herself into her physically demanding role with heroic conviction -- somehow makes it worse.

The fact that it features fine performances, talented direction and some moments of genuine suspense only makes the end product that much more grotesque and appalling.

Haneke's assault on our fantasy lives is shallow, unimaginative, and glacially unengaged -- a sucker punch without the redeeming passion of punk.

In addition to being borderline unendurable, Funny Games is inexplicable, and I don't mean in any philosophical sense. Who thought the world needed a shot-for-shot English-language version of Mr. Haneke's 1997 German-language film?

While Haneke is attacking our culture for being drawn to violent fare, he is also relishing in presenting it to us, in prolonged and detailed fashion.

A cool, calculated exercise in serious discomfort.

For an audience that willingly hands over fistfuls of cash to see men and women savagely tortured in the name of entertainment, Funny Games U.S. is just the director giving the people what they want. Enjoy.

This new version adds nothing novel, but it lacks none of the original's bite.

If you saw the original, the elements of suprise may be missing, but dread and suspense and nastiness are translated perfectly.

As an experiment in film form, Funny Games is intriguing, but the self-congratulation and post-modern trickery are at once irksome and intellectually and artistically dishonest.

We're left with the nasty taste of our own bloodlust long after the credits have rolled.