Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Matt Dillon | ... | Jack | |
Bruno Ganz | ... | Verge | |
Uma Thurman | ... | Lady 1 | |
Siobhan Fallon Hogan | ... | Lady 2 | |
Sofie Gråbøl | ... | Lady 3 | |
Riley Keough | ... | Simple | |
Jeremy Davies | ... | Al | |
Jack McKenzie | ... | Sonny | |
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Mathias Hjelm | ... | Glenn |
Ed Speleers | ... | Ed - Police Officer 2 (as Edward Spleers) | |
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Emil Tholstrup | ... | Young Jack |
Marijana Jankovic | ... | Female Student | |
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Carina Skenhede | ... | Little Old Lady |
Rocco Day | ... | Grumpy | |
Cohen Day | ... | George |
USA in the 1970s. We follow the highly intelligent Jack over a span of 12 years and are introduced to the murders that define Jack's development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack's point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork. Along the way we experience Jack's descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verge - a grotesque mixture of sophistry mixed with an almost childlike self-pity and psychopathic explanations. The House That Jack Built is a dark and sinister story, yet presented through a philosophical and occasional humorous tale. Written by Zentropa Entertainments
Matt Dillon should not have any difficulty in scaring the beejeebies out of his audience by getting under your skin, literally and figuratively. At a recorded (longer than most feature films) run time of 155 minutes, don't be surprised if a few of your fellow movie goers abruptly leave the screening before Jack's series of mutilations and serial murders ends. As a suspense film that runs for over 2 1/2 hours, it is obviously hard for the novice fan of any serial killer themed film to hang in there without heaving up their popcorn, or dampening their seat with a puddle in their pants.
Danish born Writer/Director Lars von Trier is no slouch when it comes to captivating an audience's attention. He has been engaged in film making for close to 40 years now and with a combination of mastering his dreamlike visual effects and maintaining his key subjects persona with abnormal behaviors (as is the case with our serial killer Jack) that intrigue his audience to wonder "what's to come next?"