The House That Jack Built (2018 film)

Lore & Background

Originally conceived as a television project by von Trier, The House That Jack Built began production in Sweden in 2016. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, marking von Trier's return to the festival after more than six years. The film received polarized reviews from critics, with positive feedback for Dillon’s performance and the film's artistic direction, but criticism for what some saw as empty provocation.

The plot follows Jack, a failed architect from Washington state, who recounts to Virgil – whom he refers to as Verge – several memorable incidents in his life as a serial killer. Incidents include bludgeoning a woman with a tire jack, killing a woman named Claire, murdering his girlfriend and her two sons, and abusing a woman named Jacqueline. The film's epilogue, in which Jack goes to Hell, was suggested by von Trier's co-writer, Jenle Hallund. Von Trier stated he was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock to give the film a 'classical ending' in which Jack is punished.

Reader's Guide

The House That Jack Built is significant as Lars von Trier's return to the Cannes Film Festival after more than six years, and for its controversial reception. The film's structure, using Dante's Inferno as a metatext, and its graphic depiction of serial murder sparked debate about artistic provocation versus empty shock. The film's production involved extensive research into serial killers, and its casting included Matt Dillon, who was initially influenced by Ted Bundy. The film's release was marked by a dispute with the MPAA over the screening of an unrated director's cut. The film's legacy lies in its polarizing nature, with some praising its artistic direction and Dillon's performance, while others criticized it as empty provocation. The film's ending, with Jack falling into Treachery in Hell, reflects von Trier's intention to give a classical punishment to the protagonist.

Did You Know?

• More than 100 audience members walked out during the film's premiere at Cannes, though a 10-minute standing ovation followed the screening.
• The film's epilogue, in which Jack goes to Hell, was suggested by von Trier's co-writer, Jenle Hallund.
• Actor Peter Sarsgaard wanted to play Jack but was forced to turn down the lead role due to the film's nature.
• The film includes uncredited archive footage from several of Lars von Trier's works, featuring actors such as Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Nicole Kidman.

Narrative Architecture & the Dantean Framework

The film's structural backbone is borrowed from Dante's Inferno, functioning as both a metatextual lens and a literal destination. Jack, a failed architect from Washington state, narrates his twelve years of killing to Virgil—whom he calls Verge—in a series of flashback vignettes spanning from the late 1970s onward. Each incident is presented as Jack's attempt to justify his crimes, framing murder as an artistic or intellectual pursuit. The narrative culminates in a descent through Hell's circles, including a passage across the River Styx piloted by Phlegyas, a scene that deliberately recreates Eugène Delacroix's painting The Barque of Dante. The final sequence places Jack and Verge at the ninth circle, beside a pit evoking the Kola Superdeep Borehole, where legend holds that human screams from the underworld were heard. A broken bridge spans the abyss, and a stairway on the far side offers escape. Jack attempts to scale a rock wall against Verge's counsel and plummets into Treachery, while Verge walks away.

From Television Pitch to International Co-Production

What began as a television concept for Lars von Trier was reimagined into a feature film by early 2016. After extensive research into real serial killers, von Trier had a finished script in hand by May of that year. The project became a four-nation co-production spanning France, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, with production kicking off in Sweden in 2016. TrustNordisk secured international sales rights while von Trier's own Zentropa handled production. Financial backing came from multiple sources: Film i Väst contributed to the budget, and the Copenhagen Film Fund provided a subsidy of 1.08 million euros. The film's world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival carried particular weight, as it represented von Trier's return to the festival after an absence exceeding six years. Critics' reception was sharply divided—praise centered on Matt Dillon's commanding performance and the film's bold artistic direction, while detractors dismissed portions of the narrative as hollow provocation lacking substantive meaning.

The Hitchcockian Ending and Von Trier's Self-Awareness

The film's epilogue—Jack's descent into Hell—was actually proposed by co-writer Jenle Hallund, a suggestion von Trier embraced enthusiastically. He noted that cinema had not genuinely depicted a journey to Hell in a long time, and that the filmmakers assembled their vision from various mythological conceptions, including references to the Elysian Fields from Roman mythology. Von Trier was candid that his constructed Hell bore little resemblance to any canonical version. What proved equally revealing was his admission that the punishing ending was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock. Von Trier described feeling a little Hitchcock-like as Jack hangs above the abyss, and explicitly invoked the principle of never letting the villain escape unscathed. He acknowledged that his own instinct would have been to let Jack survive, but he overrode that impulse in favor of what he called a classical ending. He reasoned that psychopaths operate from an irrational certainty of impunity, and that the narrative demanded Jack face consequences rather than walk free.

A Constellation of Von Trier Regulars and Artistic Homage

Beyond the principal cast of Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies, the film is threaded with a remarkable constellation of uncredited appearances drawn from von Trier's own filmography. During one of Jack's monologues with Verge, archive footage from earlier von Trier works surfaces, featuring Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kirsten Dunst, Udo Kier, Jamie Bell, Jean-Marc Barr, Emily Watson, Kirsten Olesen, and Birgitte Raaberg—each appearing in scenes from films such as Dogville, Antichrist, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac, and The Kingdom. These cameos are retained in the special thanks end credits. Additionally, Jesper Tønnes plays the uncredited role of Phlegyas, the oarsman who ferries Jack and Verge across the River Styx in the Fifth Circle of Wrath, a sequence that visually recreates Eugène Delacroix's painting The Barque of Dante, embedding the film within a broader tradition of artistic interpretation of Dante's vision.

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