Funny Games

Haneke's new film is a near shot-by-shot remake of his 1997 film, only this time set in upstate New York with Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as George and Anna, a couple who arrive at their lakeside summer house with their young son, Georgie (Devon Gearhart) and are held hostage by Peter (Brady Corbet) and Paul (Michael Pitt), two clean-cut young men in white gloves who come knocking at their door looking for eggs. Those familiar with the Austrian original may find themselves distracted by the inevitable search for the (very few) differences between this and the original but should be thankful that Haneke has altered nothing of the distressing provocation of his earlier film by offering it up to a new, surely wider audience. As before, Haneke makes the viewer complicit with the screen horror in very creepy fashion, and his cast alll do justice to the original players. It's just a shame we have to wait a little longer for a genuinely new Haneke film.