Antichrist

Danish director Lars von Trier's controversial horror film. After the death of their young child in an accident, a married couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) retreat to a cabin in the woods to try and come to terms with their grief. There, their relationship deteriorates from petty bickering to genital mutilation.

Kevin Maher, the Times: Is it worth the price of admission? The answer, typically, is both yes and no. "No", if you are of a nervous disposition and suspect that you might be psychologically traumatised by the sight, in momentary close-up, of an ersatz vulva being manhandled by the props department. But "yes" if you believe in the profound possibilities for personal expression that the medium can offer, or if you've ever sensed the eerie shadow of bestial individualism that haunts all human relationships. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Nigel Andrews, Financial Times: With Antichrist my advice is to bypass the counsellors of despair or derision and say yes to everything. Is the film beautiful? Yes: extraordinarily so in the tracking imagery, shot like a moving negative, through the sinister forest as the couple hike towards their cabin named, with throbbing symbolism, 'Eden'. Is the film misogynistic? Yes, but as part of a larger distrust of humankind, amplified by the depression Trier confessedly suffered before the film's making. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: What can we take away from it? A troubling but refreshing sense of an artist uncloaked. A violent conflict of ideas and images. A certainty that von Trier loathes therapists. A suggestion that a man can do his worst to a woman and still come across as a messiah. But any logical, unified theory? Any neat conclusions? Any satisfaction from loose ends tied and questions answered? Forget it. It's just not that sort of film. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·