Thursday, May 13, 2010

A GRUESOME LIST

My friend asks for the list of films in which a middle-class family is killed in their own home, such as FUNNY GAMES, THE STRANGERS, ORPHAN, so this is my answer in his Facebook:

I'm not sure if these films fit your descriptions or not:

1.SISTER MY SISTER (1994, Nancy Meckler, A)
It is inspired by the same case as LA CEREMONIE.

2.L'ARGENT (Robert Bresson, A+++++++++++++++)
I'm not sure if the massacre occurs in a middle-class family or a lower-class family.

3.KHON JORN (1999, Attaporn Thaihirun, A-)
The family members are attacked, not murdered, by Burmese laborers in this film, if I remember it correctly. HOSTAGE (2005, Florent Emilio Siri, A-) and DESPERATE HOURS (1990, Michael Cimino, A+) also deal with the "attack" on middle-class families.

4.STORYTELLING (2001, Todd Solondz, A+)
Like what happens in KHON JORN and SISTER, MY SISTER, the attack in this film is perpetrated by the labor class.

5.SCREAM (A+)

6.FLESH AND BONE (1993, Steve Kloves, A+)

7.LA MADRE MUERTA (1993, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, A+)

8.LÉON (1994, Luc Besson, A+)

9.GLORIA (1980, John Cassavetes, A+)

10.WONDERLAND (2003, James Cox, A-)

LÉON, GLORIA, and WONDERLAND may not be what you're looking for, because the murdered families in these films are not totally innocent. These families had been involved with criminals before they were killed, if I remember it correctly.

11.BEYOND RANGOON (A+)
The family members of the heroine are murdered in their own home, though it is just a small point in the story.

FLESH AND BONE, LA MADRE MUERTA, LÉON, GLORIA, and BEYOND RANGOON don't focus on the murder, but focus on the survivor from the murder.

I exclude films in which the bourgeois people kill their own family, such as TENDERNESS, LOVELY RITA.

The reversal of the films in the list above may be LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972, Wes Craven, A+/A).

3 comments:

celinejulie said...

THE GUARDIAN (1990, William Friedkin, A-/B+)

MAN BITES DOG (1992, Remy Belvaux, A+)

THE KILLERS (1984, Patrick Roth)

I haven't seen THE KILLERS yet, but I got to know about it from BOOKVIRUS 1.

celinejulie said...

THAT DAY (2003, Raoul Ruiz, A+)

pc said...

Oh yeah ... MAN BITES DOG (1992, Remy Belvaux)

I still remember the scene when those Belgian chavs broke into a house where a couple was having sex. They beat up the husband, then some of them screwed his wife while the other interviewed him.

Watching these guys went on killing spree for no purpose other than to avoid boredom, sooner or later I had become engrossed in the fun and laughter, then started to enjoy seeing them murder and dehumanize anyone on their way.

Alahhh ... this film, along with A Clockwork Orange, left me wishing to experience having this much power to abuse.