Funny Games

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Funny Games

1997

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering), a pair of deeply disturbed young men. When the fearful Anna (Susanne Lothar) is home alone, the two men drop by for a visit that quickly turns violent and terrifying. Husband Georg (Ulrich Mühe) comes to her rescue, but Paul and Peter take the family hostage and subject them to nightmarish abuse and humiliation. From time to time, Paul talks to the film's audience, making it complicit in the horror.

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Critics Consensus

Violent images and blunt audience provocation make up this nihilistic experiment from one of cinema's more difficult filmmakers.

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David Rooney

Variety

The film outstays its welcome and is more than a little too knowing in its manipulation of standard audience expectations for the genre.

Mar 26, 2009

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

Haneke's snooty admonishments are disturbing because they're never self-critical.

Rated: 2/4

May 3, 2006

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Brilliant, radical, provocative, it's a masterpiece that is at times barely watchable.

Jan 26, 2006

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

While Funny Games takes us on an entirely unpleasant journey, it at least plays with form and forces us to question our role in the entire disturbing affair. Long takes and patient pacing force us to reckon with the horrors unfolding on the screen.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 15, 2024

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Haneke's audacious home invasion film is as confronting as it is effective. This is a masterclass.

Rated: 4.5/5

Nov 3, 2023

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

It’s a disturbing thriller that I found to be smart and compelling but also brutally painful and sometimes emotionally unbearable.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 21, 2022

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Petros T

Boasting a committed cast and evocative photography, "Funny Games" has a way of being terrifying even before the actual terror begins and of being violent without actually depicting it. Despite certain not so believable moments (e.g. Anna not making an attempt to get help when she's outside towards the start), a less tight last act and unexploited fourth wall breaking, it's an overall really engaging, unsettling thriller, which may undermine Haneke's goal of commenting on violence in the media.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/25

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Jon Q

A movie designed to upset the audience. But I respect it for its originality.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/25/24

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‎ ‎

Funny Games is quite literally a parody of itself, and how the film industry portrays violence, torture, sadism and pornography in an acceptable, and even enjoyable way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

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Leaburn O

A very decent horror film that plays out in a scary way. I saw this version after watching the Hollywood remake. What I can’t get my head around is how the remake gets terrible reviews but this version is acclaimed. They are literally identical except the language. It makes me wonder why they did a remake but either way, you can’t rate the films any differently because they are absolutely identical. Watched on DVD.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/12/24

Full Review

Delilah V

The film was so good that they felt the need to make another one

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

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John W

Anyone who enjoys this movie needs professional counseling.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

Full Review

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Michael Haneke

Director

Susanne Lothar

Anna

Ulrich Mühe

Georg

Frank Giering

Peter

Arno Frisch

Paul

Stefan Clapczynski

Schorschi

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62%

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Synopsis

An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering), a pair of deeply disturbed young men. When the fearful Anna (Susanne Lothar) is home alone, the two men drop by for a visit that quickly turns violent and terrifying. Husband Georg (Ulrich Mühe) comes to her rescue, but Paul and Peter take the family hostage and subject them to nightmarish abuse and humiliation. From time to time, Paul talks to the film's audience, making it complicit in the horror.

Director: Michael Haneke
Producer: Veit Heiduschka
Screenwriter: Michael Haneke
Production Co: Wega Film, Lucky Red
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: German
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 15, 2020
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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