The House That Jack Built
IFC Films | Release Date: December 14, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
14
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzDec 5, 2018
The only truly shocking thing about this new work, though, is the fact it took this long for von Trier to make a movie about a serial killer. For a man who loves blunt provocation, the subject should’ve been first on his hit list. Read full review
35
TheWrapSteve PondMay 16, 2018
The House That Jack Built is kind of a bore. As much as von Trier loves to push our buttons with graphic imagery, he also wants to get under our skin by talking, talking, talking. And while the gore got the headlines, the talk is what sinks the movie. Read full review
30
The New York TimesWesley MorrisDec 13, 2018
Something feels off with von Trier’s sense of artistry now. Something feels stuck, like his head’s wound up lodged in his rear, which brings the movie closer to “The Human Centipede” than I would have thought. But this isn’t cinematic horror. It’s proctology. Read full review
30
Village VoiceBilge EbiriMay 16, 2018
As a longtime admirer of the director’s work, I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but the most shocking thing I found about The House That Jack Built is how tedious it is. A shame, because The House That Jack Built feels like a genuinely sincere attempt on the filmmaker’s part to wrestle with the legacy of his creation. Read full review
30
Vanity FairRichard LawsonMay 16, 2018
The House That Jack Built is a tediously navel-gazing exercise in von Trier trying to explain, and make half-hearted atonement for, his “totally twisted, man,” worldview, an explication of his personal psychology that is almost heartbreaking in its conflicted self-regard. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 10, 2019
A tedious picture about a remorseless serial killer, played by Matt Dillon. Read full review
20
Rolling StoneDavid FearDec 14, 2018
Jack proves he’s (von Trier) also capable of making a failed act of provocation. The fact that he ends the movie in hell seems superfluous. We’ve already been there for two and a half hours. Read full review
0
The PlaylistJessica KiangMay 16, 2018
Perhaps The House That Jack Built is the kind of film you make when you fervently want someone to stop you, to save you from yourself and the demons of your worst nature. Perhaps, this time, we should oblige. Read full review
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