Funny Games (2007 film)
Imagine watching a film, only to have the characters themselves acknowledge your presence and manipulate the very narrative you're witnessing. Michael Haneke's 2007 film, Funny Games, is not just a psychological thriller; it's a chilling, shot-for-shot remake of his own 1997 Austrian original, meticulously crafted to provoke a deeper, uncomfortable conversation about violence in media. It asks us to confront our own complicity in the spectacle of suffering, blurring the lines between observer and participant. Funny Games (2007) is a shot-for-shot, English-language remake of Michael Haneke's 1997 film, serving as a direct and uncompromised artistic statement. The film deliberately breaks the fourth wall, directly challenging the audience's voyeurism and critiquing the media's trivialization of violence. Despite its brutal depiction of a family's torment, the film's true horror lies in its meta-commentary, forcing viewers to reflect on their own consumption of violent entertainment.
AI Summary
Imagine watching a film, only to have the characters themselves acknowledge your presence and manipulate the very narrative you're witnessing. Michael Haneke's 2007 film, Funny Games, is not just a psychological thriller; it's a chilling, shot-for-shot remake of his own 1997 Austrian original, meticulously crafted to provoke a deeper, uncomfortable conversation about violence in media. It asks us to confront our own complicity in the spectacle of suffering, blurring the lines between observer and participant.
- Funny Games (2007) is a shot-for-shot, English-language remake of Michael Haneke's 1997 film, serving as a direct and uncompromised artistic statement.
- The film deliberately breaks the fourth wall, directly challenging the audience's voyeurism and critiquing the media's trivialization of violence.
- Despite its brutal depiction of a family's torment, the film's true horror lies in its meta-commentary, forcing viewers to reflect on their own consumption of violent entertainment.
A Provocative Remake
In 2007, Austrian director Michael Haneke did something highly unusual: he remade his own controversial 1997 film, Funny Games, shot for shot. This English-language version, set in the United States, starred Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, and Brady Corbet, bringing its unsettling premise to a new, wider audience.
Despite its title, Funny Games U.S. was an international collaboration, pulling resources from the United States, UK, Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. This unique production choice allowed Haneke to realize his original vision for an American setting, which he couldn't achieve with the 1997 version due to practical reasons.
More Than Just a Horror Film
Haneke insisted that Funny Games was never meant to be a horror film. Instead, he designed it as a 'reflection and criticism of violence in media,' crafting an incredibly violent, yet deliberately pointless, narrative to expose our desensitization. He even penned an essay, 'Violence + Media,' explaining his complex intentions behind the film.
The Farber Family's Ordeal Begins
The story opens with the affluent Farber family — George, Ann, their young son Georgie, and their dog Lucky — arriving at their idyllic lake house for a vacation. The peace is soon shattered when their neighbor, Fred, introduces two seemingly polite, well-dressed young men, Paul and Peter, who offer to help with the boat. Fred's strangely withdrawn demeanor is the first hint that something is deeply amiss.
The Unsettling Request
While Ann prepares dinner, Peter appears at their door, asking to borrow eggs. She obliges, but he drops them just out of sight, returning for more. This happens again, escalating Ann's frustration. The situation turns sinister when Paul coaxes Ann outside with a golf club, and Peter, with an unnerving calm, requests yet more eggs.
When George arrives and tries to dismiss the persistent young men, he slaps Paul in exasperation. In retaliation, Peter brutally bashes George's knee with the golf club, instantly incapacitating him. The veneer of politeness shatters completely, revealing the duo's true, terrifying intentions as they take the family hostage.
Sadistic 'Games'
Paul cruelly forces Ann to play 'Hot and Cold' to find Lucky, only to reveal he has already killed their dog with the golf club. When their unsuspecting neighbors, the Thompsons, stop by, Ann is compelled to maintain the pretense that Paul and Peter are merely friends, lest her family suffer further.
Back inside, the Farbers are subjected to a series of increasingly sadistic 'games' designed to torment them. They are forced to participate in rituals of humiliation and pain, including Georgie's head being covered and Ann being forced to strip naked to spare her son further harm. Georgie, in a desperate attempt to escape, flees to Fred's house, where he discovers a gruesome scene: Fred and his family have been brutally murdered.
A Fleeting Hope
While Paul hunts for Georgie, Peter guards Ann, who questions why they don't just kill them directly. Peter's chilling response — that they shouldn't 'forget the fun of the games' — underscores their purely sadistic motives. Georgie, meanwhile, finds a shotgun at Fred's house, a momentary glimmer of hope.
Paul, knowing the gun is empty, taunts Georgie to shoot him. When it fails to fire, Georgie is brought back to the living room. Paul hands the shotgun, along with the two missing shells, to Peter, revealing their absolute control. The men then propose a deadly new 'game' where one of the family members will be shot.
During this horrific 'game,' Georgie panics and runs. Peter, without hesitation, shoots and kills the boy. Paul feigns anger at Peter's 'trigger-happiness' before they casually decide to leave, allowing the grief-stricken George and Ann a brief, agonizing moment alone. In their despair, they resolve to survive.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Ann manages to free herself and escapes the house while George desperately tries to make a 911 call on a sabotaged phone. Her freedom is short-lived; Peter and Paul recapture her and bring her back to face the next level of their cruel games. They stab George, leaving him to bleed.
As Paul deliberates the manner of George's inevitable death, Ann seizes a nearby shotgun and shoots Peter. In a moment of shocking meta-fiction, Paul calmly searches for the television remote, finds it, and rewinds the film itself — undoing Ann's act of defiance. He admonishes her, stating she's 'not allowed to break the rules,' directly addressing her and, by extension, the audience.
The Inescapable Ending
With the timeline reset, Paul snatches the shotgun before Ann can reach it. The two tormentors then proceed to kill George. They take Ann, bound and gagged, onto the family's boat. With chilling indifference, Paul pushes her into the lake, where she drowns.
The final scene sees Paul and Peter, unfazed by their atrocities, arrive at the Thompsons' house — the next potential victims — asking for eggs. Paul glances at the camera with a subtle smirk, a final, unsettling acknowledgment of the audience's role in witnessing, and perhaps enabling, their 'funny games.'
Key Players
The cast delivered chilling performances that amplified the film's uncomfortable themes.
Actor Role Naomi Watts Ann Farber Tim Roth George Farber Devon Gearhart Georgie Farber Jr. Michael Pitt Paul Brady Corbet Peter
Crafting the Critique
Haneke's vision extended to every detail. Cinematographers Jürgen Jürges (for the 1997 version) and Darius Khondji (for the 2007 remake) executed Haneke's precise instructions, proving his unwavering control over the film's entire aesthetic. Exterior scenes for the remake were primarily filmed on Long Island.
Release and Reception
The film premiered at the London Film Festival in October 2007 and then at Sundance in January 2008. Despite its critical ambition, Funny Games received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure, grossing just over half of its $15 million budget. This lack of box office success even contributed to the closure of co-producer Tartan Films.
Critics were deeply divided. IGN praised it as 'unrelenting and brilliant,' while Time Out New York called it 'a sour project that defines anti-imaginative.' Some, like A.O. Scott of The New York Times, even drew parallels to 'torture porn' films, a label later echoed by The Times of London in its '100 Worst Films of 2008' list.
The film's poster, designed by Akiko Stehrenberger, gained significant acclaim, with one professional designer calling it his favorite film poster of the 2000s, proving that even divisive films can inspire iconic imagery.
Soundscape of Discomfort
The film's unsettling atmosphere is further amplified by its sparse yet impactful soundtrack. Both the introduction and closing credits feature the jarring track 'Bonehead' by the avant-garde band Naked City, perfectly setting the tone for the brutal and analytical experience that unfolds.
Article
Funny Games (2007 film)
Funny Games (alternatively titled Funny Games U.S.) is a 2007 satirical psychological thriller film written and directed by Michael Haneke. The film is a shot-for-shot remake of his own 1997 film of the same title, albeit in English and set in the United States with different actors; Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, and Brady Corbet star in the main roles. Like the original, the film follows an affluent family as they are captured and tortured by two young criminals on their vacation.
Despite the film title labeled as "U.S.", Funny Games is an international co-production between the United States, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. It is the only Haneke film to not premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, instead premiering at several film festivals outside of Cannes including London and Sundance.
Unlike the original, the film received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. Haneke has stated that the film is a reflection and criticism of violence used in media.
Plot
Funny Games (2007 film)
George and Ann Farber, their son Georgie, and their dog Lucky arrive at their lake house. Their next door neighbor Fred comes over with two young men, Paul and Peter, to help put the boat into the lake, though Fred is behaving strangely.
While Ann is cooking, Peter visits and asks to borrow some eggs. She gives him the eggs, he leaves, and once out of sight drops the eggs, then returning to apologize for his clumsiness and ask for more. She gives him four more eggs and he leaves, but Lucky jumps on him, breaking the eggs. To Ann's frustration, Paul implores her to test one of his golf clubs outside, and Peter requests more eggs. George arrives and tries to oust them, ultimately slapping Paul. In retaliation, Peter bashes George's knee with the golf club. The two men then take the family hostage.
Paul guides Ann on a game of "Hot and Cold" to find Lucky, whom he had killed with the golf club. When their neighbors, the Thompsons, visit, Ann claims Paul and Peter are simply friends of theirs. After returning home, the Farbers are forced to participate in a number of sadistic games in order to stay alive, during which they put Georgie's head in a pillowcase and ask Ann to strip naked. Georgie is hurt by Paul until she complies. When released from the pillowcase, Georgie escapes and goes to Fred's house, where he discovers bloody corpses.
Meanwhile, Paul ties Ann up before going out to search for Georgie, leaving Peter to watch over the Farbers. Ann asks why they do not directly kill them, and Peter answers that they should not forget the fun of the games. When Peter goes to the kitchen to get eggs, Ann jumps to George but George fails to free her before Peter comes back, and Peter beats her and breaks the eggs again. Ann begs Peter to let them go, but he refuses. Georgie finds a shotgun in Fred's house and Paul tells him to go ahead and shoot him with it, but the gun fails to go off, revealing the gun to be empty. Paul returns him to the living room, and gives the shotgun to Peter, and reveals the two missing shotgun shells.
The men play a new game, saying whoever gets counted out will be shot. While Paul is in the kitchen getting something to eat, Georgie panics and runs, which results in Peter shooting and killing him. Paul berates Peter for being trigger-happy, and the two men decide to briefly leave. George and Ann are grief-stricken over their loss, but they eventually resolve to survive. Ann is able to free herself and flee the house while George desperately tries to make a 911 call on the malfunctioning phone. Ann fails to find help, only to be re-captured by Peter and Paul, who bring her back to the house.
The next level of games begin with Peter stabbing George. They tell Ann to say a prayer before making a choice for her husband; a painful and prolonged death with the "little" knife, or a quick and brutal death with the "big" shotgun. While Paul is talking, Ann seizes the shotgun on the table in front of her and kills Peter. An enraged Paul grabs the shotgun and starts looking for the television remote. Upon finding it, he rewinds the last occurrences back to a moment before Ann grabs the shotgun, breaking the fourth wall. On the "do over", Paul snatches the shotgun away before she can grab it and admonishes her, saying she is not allowed to break the rules.
Peter and Paul kill George and take Ann, bound and gagged, out onto the family's boat. Ann tries to free herself but is caught by Paul and Peter. Paul nonchalantly pushes her into the water to drown. They knock on the door of the Thompsons' house and request some eggs. Paul glances at the camera with a smirk.
Cast
Funny Games (2007 film)
• Naomi Watts as Ann Farber • Tim Roth as George Farber, Ann's husband • Devon Gearhart as George "Georgie" Farber Jr., Ann and George's son • Michael Pitt as Paul • Brady Corbet as Peter • Boyd Gaines as Fred, the Farbers' neighbor • Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Betsy Thompson • Robert LuPone as Robert Thompson • Susanne Haneke as Betsy's sister-in-law • Linda Moran as Eve
For 2007's American remake, the character of Gerda was renamed "Betsy", the second family to fall victim to Paul and Peter were given the surname "Farber" and the third family were given the surname "Thompson".
Development
Funny Games (2007 film)
Michael Haneke wanted to make a film set in the United States, but for practical reasons he had to set the original 1997 film in Austria.
After the 2007 film used the same house including props and tones, Robert Koehler of Cineaste wrote that this "proves for certain that—whether he uses the great cinematographer Jürgen Jürges (for the 1997 version) or the great Darius Khondji (for the new film)—Haneke is fundamentally his own cinematographer exercising considerable control over the entire look of his films."
Exterior scenes were filmed on Long Island.
Release
Funny Games (2007 film)
The film made its British premiere at the London Film Festival on 20 October 2007. Its United States premiere was at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2008. It began a limited release in the United States and Canada on 14 March 2008, distributed by Warner Independent. A wider release to more theaters came on 8 April 2008. The film was shown at the Istanbul Film Festival in April 2008. It did not receive a wide theatrical release in the United States before coming out on DVD. Funny Games was a box office failure, grossing a little more than half of its $15 million budget. Guardian writer Geoffrey Macnab included Funny Games's lack of success among the reasons for the closure of Tartan Films, which co-produced the film and released it in the United Kingdom. In Germany, the film was released under the title "Funny Games U.S.".
The film's poster, done by Akiko Stehrenberger, is considered by professional poster designer Adrian Curry to be his favorite film poster of the 2000s.
Home media
The DVD was released on 10 June 2008, in the US. The DVD does not contain any extra material but instead it includes both widescreen and full screen editions on one disc. In the UK, the DVD and Blu-ray were released on 28 July with the extra material being the original theatrical trailer, Q&A with producers Hamish McAlpine and Chris Coen, interviews with the cast, viral video clips and film notes. In July 2025 the film was included in the Michael Haneke Collection Blu-ray which was put out by Umbrella Entertainment. On October 6 2025 Curzon included the film in their Haneke collection box-set.
Haneke states that the entire film was not intended to be a horror film. He says he wanted to make a message about violence in the media by making an incredibly violent, but otherwise pointless movie. He had written a short essay revealing how he felt on the issue, called "Violence + Media." The essay is included as a chapter in the book A Companion to Michael Haneke.
Reception
Funny Games (2007 film)
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 53% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 146 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though made with great skill, Funny Games is nevertheless a sadistic exercise in chastising the audience." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 44 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Todd Gilchrist from IGN called the film "Unrelenting and brilliant, Funny Games is a truly great film – an incisive, artistic triumph that doubles as a remarkably thrilling and unique cinematic experience." Conversely, Joshua Rothkopf from Time Out New York called the film "a sour project that defines anti-imaginative." A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "At least with the remake Funny Games, Mr. Haneke shows a certain kinship with someone like Eli Roth, whose Hostel movies have brought nothing but scorn from responsible critics." The Chicago Sun-Times review of 13 March 2008 gave the film a mere half-star out of a possible four.
The Times of London ranked it #25 on its 100 Worst Films of 2008 list, calling it "art-house torture porn."
Soundtrack
Funny Games (2007 film)
The music in the introduction and the closing credits is "Bonehead" by the band Naked City from the album Torture Garden.