By now, early reception to Joker is out and if you’ve been paying attention to chatter at all, you probably already know that Todd Phillips’ new DC movie is designed to ruin your day. Like many lauded and emotional movies before it, it will take you on a wild journey with emotional highs and lows, but, yeah, mostly lows.

Or as my esteemed colleague Dirk Libbey put it, “It’s the best movie I never want to see again.” It’s not alone in being a great movie that’s a hard watch, however. There are plenty of movies out there that are critically acclaimed or well-liked by audiences that you wouldn’t pop on during a first date or when you are looking for a fun, relaxing night at home.

For the purposes of this list, we really only looked at movies that are worth seeing and have inherent value, yet will absolutely eff your day up. In fact, I'll go ahead and start with the one that I kept thinking about while watching Joker, because it really did put me in the same sad and despairing headspace. Yes, I’m talking about Requiem for a Dream.

Requiem For A Dream

Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 stunner Requiem for a Dream was one of the first R-rated movies I saw, and I have never eagerly revisited it, although I have shown it to a few friends, given its an important movie to see. It’s a stunning, startling movie and a gritty portrayal of drug use pushing into horrifying addiction. Another of Aronofsky’s feature films mother! could have made this list, but Requiem is the one that haunts my dreams and probably the one worth checking out if you really want to ruin your day.

Midsommar

Like Joker, Midsommar is another 2019 box office contributor. This one's about a group of friends who go on vacation only to end up in a violent reality during a -- you guessed it --midsommar festival. It's arguably the most aesthetically beautiful movie this year. However, it's also a brutal watch, a movie filled with despair and other uncomfortable feelings, and through which some messed up stuff happens. It may prove tough even if avid theatrical thrill seekers. Don’t even try discussing this movie with co-workers until you’ve had at least 24 hours to digest what just happened to you.

Million Dollar Baby

Generally, Clint Eastwood-directed movies aren’t the types I find super hard to get through. Although I wouldn’t feel the need to watch The 15:17 to Paris again, that has more to do with performance than it has to do with being a difficult watch. Most of Clint Eastwood’s hard-hitting movies, like last year’s The Mule, have tough moments, but Million Dollar Baby takes the cake in the day-ruiner category. While riveting and even at points uplifting, it's also a gigantic downer. Certainly a must-see, totally watch if you haven’t, but don’t expect to feel good while the credits roll.

The Basketball Diaries

Further proving that watching people devolve into drug addiction is never fun, Leonardo DiCaprio’s turn in 1995’s The Basketball Diaries is a rough watch. Not only because it's another movie on this list about a drug descent, but also because some scenes between Jim and his mother should stick with viewers. With a young performance from Leo, this is one worth seeing to get a feel for what the actor was already capable of early in his career. It's not Leonardo DiCaprio's only memorable downer flick as a young man. For more where this comes from, check out What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Taxi Driver

I can’t think of a Martin Scorsese movie that I would describe as “lighthearted” or “breezy,” but there are some Scorsese movies that are more to take in then others. Case in point, Taxi Driver, a movie about, well, a taxi driver in New York City that’s frequently called out as one of the greatest movies of all time, but like another Scorsese great Raging Bull, is a hard watch.

This isn't your average Uber ride. Haunted by the Vietnam War, a taxi driver played by Robert DeNiro descends into madness, making for a long movie and a bleak movie. There are Martin Scorsese movies that feel longer (we’re back to Raging Bull) and there are Scorsese movies with tougher endings (Shutter Island anyone?), but Taxi Driver is the great movie that will keep you down for the rest of the day.

Nymphomaniac

Another name that was always going to make this list, Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is sometimes split into two graphic volumes telling the story of Joe, a nymphomaniac who consistently makes decisions related to sex that have direct consequences on her personal and professional life. The movie is graphic and, while compelling, it’s a lot to take in. You may as well know that Nymphomaniac is not the only Lars von Trier title considered for this list, as Antichrist and Dancer in the Dark both popped on and off it; none of them are for the faint of heart.

Shame

If we’re sticking to the sex theme, Shame is another good movie that’s totally depraved. Prostitution, pornography, a close-up of Michael Fassbender’s dick and even hints of incest are hallmarks of Steve McQueen’s predecessor to 12 Years A Slave. It would be a really weird date movie choice, but it has great performances from Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

A Clockwork Orange

Based on the book by Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is a perfect example of a great movie you don’t need to see again and again. Not only is the vocabulary just a lot, the film itself is both fascinating from a philosophical perspective, but also extremely violent. Most movies that look at psychopaths would not be described as “great fun,” but A Clockwork Orange’s take on one is darker and more excessive, with an ending that will stick with you. Or, as CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg admitted to me, it “shakes you as you walk away from it.”

There are a whole slew of other movies that could have made this list. I also considered flicks like Seven (a movie I watch once a year or thereabouts, so what does this say about me?) to Harmony Korine movies like Kids or 8MM to movies with stark endings like The Mist. Shoutouts also go to White Oleander, House of Sand and Fog, and Monster, among others. In short, there are plenty of other options that could have been flip-flopped on this list, but this is a great starting point if you're hoping for a weekend full of downers and uncomfortable moments.

Honestly, I started this list with five as a goal in mind, and here we are eight movies later. Some of these movies are notable, solid entries and some are goddamn masterpieces, but ultimately, if you watch any of these movies a bunch of times, you’re a glutton for punishment.

In that case, go see Joker. You’re gonna love it.

There are controversial director, and then there's Lars Von Trier, who seems to court controversy with each new boundary-pushing film he makes. The director's latest film, the serial killer movie The House that Jack Built is no exception. The House that Jack Built is now in trouble with the MPAA over an unapproved, unrated screening of the ultra-violent and gruesome film.

On Wednesday night, a special, one-night only screening was held in select theaters across the country, showing an unrated, director's cut of the film. The distributor, IFC Films, is now facing sanctions over the screenings (according to The Hollywood Reporter) for failing to obtain the appropriate waiver. The House that Jack Built violated the MPAA's rules by holding these unrated screenings in such close proximity to the film's official release date on December 14th.

The reasoning behind the MPAA's rules on this is that by releasing an unrated cut so close to the official release, it can create confusion for consumers who rely on the MPAA rating system to make informed choices about the movies they see. An unrated cut of the movie screening could confuse audiences, and theoretically lead to someone not paying close enough attention and seeing a gory film like this that they were not at all prepared for.

The violation of these rules now means that The House that Jack Built could face sanctions that could impact the film itself and its distributor IFC Films.

The House that Jack Built is set to release in select theaters and on digital, with an R rating. Unfortunately, that rating could possibly be revoked as a result of the director's cut screenings. Another possible sanction would see the ratings process for any IFC films before the Classification and Ratings Administration (the organization that administers ratings for the MPAA) suspended. IFC Films could also be suspended from the ratings system altogether for no more than 90 days.

The specific sanctions against IFC and The House that Jack Built will be determined after a hearing of the Classification and Ratings Administration.

Although this latest trouble could actually impact The House that Jack Built's release and its distributor, it is not the first trouble the movie has had-- at least not in the court of public perception. The director of Antichrist, Melancholia and Nymphomaniac's latest film had people walking out when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where IFC picked it up, earlier this year.

Somewhat surprisingly, the film, which shows animals being mutilated, was actually not rebuked by PETA-- because it doesn't use real animals. The film is also accurate in that it shows how real serial killers often get their start by hurting animals.

The House that Jack Built tells the story of Jack, a highly intelligent serial killer in the 1970s Pacific Northwest. The film follows Jack over the course of 12 years, showing the murders he commits that only add to his madness. If you're interested, you can check out the trailer below.

The House that Jack Built stars Matt Dillon as Jack as well as Uma Thurman and Bruno Ganz, it hits select theaters and VOD on December 14th. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all of the biggest movies heading to theaters (with presumably less controversy) next year.

Lars von Trier's latest movie, The House that Jack Built, was only recently screened for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, but it's already attracted notice due to the violent nature of the film, which follows Jack a serial killer. Starring Matt Dillon, the film is set across a dozen years in the life of a serial killer, and as such it features some graphic stuff. Among these graphic sequences are scenes where animals are mutilated, including a duck. PETA is usually up in arms about this sort of sequence, but in the case of The House That Jack Built, the organization isn't too up in arms. Here's PETA's full statement:

Serial killer violence is alarming, no matter what the context, but in the case of The House That Jack Built the movie obviously wasn't striving to actually hurt or misuse animals in any way. In fact, PETA said in a statement (via Bloody Disgusting) that it went out of its way to check into how stuff worked on Lars von Trier's latest film, and found that silicone parts were used during the duck sequence. The movie also reportedly features a second sequence with a tiger, and shots of animals feature prominently in the trailer for the movie.

What really seems to cook PETA's goose is when animals rather than CGI or the aforementioned "movie magic" is used to create scenes featuring animals. The animal-loving organization made headlines in 2017 after footage from A Dog's Purpose came out seemingly showing a German Shepherd being unhappy about filming in rushing water. The movie eventually responded, saying the footage didn't show exactly what it seemed to, and the movie went on to make $196 million worldwide at the box office. PETA has also been unhappy with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, thanks to a monkey vomiting on set. PETA was also unhappy with a scene in Good Time, although that also seems to have been based on a misunderstanding, as well.

In the case of The House That Jack Built, it looks like PETA went a bit further to make sure it had all the facts before releasing a statement, and has decided the film did what it could to lesson the impact of the animal mutilation. Although if you are a lover of all things animals in the first place, the latest from Lars von Trier is likely not going to be a film you should bend over backward to see. In fact, the new trailer gives you a pretty good idea of the gruesome nature of the duck scene, and you can take a look, below. Be forewarned, it's fairly graphic.

The House that Jack Built was originally set up as a TV series, and while a movie has now been made instead, reports indicate that people even walked out of the Cannes Film Festival screening following graphic scenes in this movie. We'll have to wait and see how the movie pans out when it gets an official release. But that duck imagery certainly isn't going to be forgotten anytime soon.

It could be said that Lars von Trier’s films have driven people to drink, because of the way that they push the envelope of dark, depressing human emotion. But now the director of Melancholia, Dogville and two Nymphomaniac films has revealed that alcohol cures his anxiety, which allows him to make those films. Ah, the bizarre circle of creativity and life.

While speaking with The Guardian, Lars Von Trier admitted to attending AA meetings for the better part of a year and a half, but revealed that she has started drinking again "so that I can work." As he elaborates:

It’s one of the least controversial statement to come out of Lars von Trier’s mouth. This is a candid filmmaker who frequently shocks with his statements every time that a microphone is placed in front of his mouth. In the past, von Trier has been banned from the Cannes Film Festival for making tasteless comments about Nazis. He has unnerved audiences with graphic talk about hardcore sex – while also exploring the issue in his movies. And he swore off doing interviews a while back. Though, since we’re now writing about an interview Von Trier did with the Guardian, he seems to have reversed his opinion on speaking with the media.

The thing about Von Trier, though, is that when he is focused, he has the ability to make brilliant, beautiful movies. The director challenged the obstacles that stand in a storyteller’s way in The Five Obstructions. He pushed his female leads in Dancer in the Dark, Dogma and Breaking The Waves. And while I feel he is starting to lose focus in later movies, like the Nymphomaniac films, he’s still capable of greatness. Perhaps alcohol will calm his nerves and get him back on track?

At the moment, Lars Von Trier is working on hi next project, a serial killer TV series titled The House That Jack Built that will air in 2016. It’s scheduled to be an eight-part series, though no word on specific distribution methods at this time.

I’m not really very squeamish when it comes to NSFW content. Give me boobs. Give me people’s heads getting blown off. Give me a stream of f-bombs. Give me adult themes. Most of it isn’t going to affect my mood of surprise me in anyway. I tell you all of that to underscore the following statement: the director’s cut teaser for Nymphomaniac is WAY OVER THE LINE. It is not NSFW-ish. It’s not even what you would think of as NSFW. It is NSFW x 5. Even if your boss is cool, if he finds this in your search history, you’re probably going to get a memo about it. And if he’s not cool, I apologize in advance.

Last Chance NSFW WARNING! Still on board? Then click on this image to bring on the dicks…

Not surprisingly, the above trailer has gotten more than its share of people to scream about pornography this morning, but considering anyone who would be offended isn’t this movie’s target audience, I highly doubt director Lars Von Trier cares. Besides, Nymphomaniac is most definitely not pornography. It’s a fairly interesting, fairly pretentious movie about isolation, loneliness and sex that features a lot of pretty graphic sex. That’s outside the bounds of what Hollywood typically gives us, but then again, it’s outside the bounds of what pornography typically gives us too. It occupies a weird space where the two concentric circles overlap.

According to Collider, the original, theatrically released versions of Nymphomaniac were ultimately edited some, with the director’s approval. That’s how they were originally released on Blu-Ray too, but moving forward, he would like to get his original vision out into the world. So, that’ll happen in this director’s cut, though it’s unclear whether or not the films will be sandwiched together or remain apart.

Whether you think Nymphomaniac worked or not, it’s important that there are directors out there who are pushing the boundaries and trying new things. The worst thing the movie business can be is stagnant, and if the side effect of that is the occasional movie that pushes its content a little too enthusiastically into uncomfortable directions, that’s fine. A couple of penis and vagina shots every now and again aren’t going to kill any of us, regardless of what the more cautious and conservative among us might say.

We’ll keep you updated on the Nymphomaniac director’s cut when more official information becomes available. Until then, feel free to watch your standard copy and think about all the different ways it could be made more graphic.

Good day, defenders of all things radiation-filled. This is the weekend of Godzilla! Even though Gareth Edwards’ update on the monster legend doesn’t quite share the horror genre cred of its original source material, it was a bigger blast on the big screen than many horror films are, so I’m still roaring in celebration. My roar comes across as a chicken with a literal frog in its throat, but pride is relative. Let’s get Bryan Cranston over to psychological horror next, shall we? There’s an empire there.

Now for, you guessed it, your weekly horror news appetizers. Chloe Sevigny fans will be pumped to know the actress, whose dark drama series Those Who Kill was purged by A&E after only a few episodes, is joining not just one but two new flicks. She’ll star alongside indie queen Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black) in the "stoner gets pregnant amidst alien rumors" thriller Antibirth, and she’ll also star in Bobby Miller’s "spiritual retreat body horror" The Master Cleanse, alongside Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family) and The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki.

In other news, the guitar-shredding director Rob Zombie halfway announced via a video clip that his next project will be called 31, will take place on Halloween (but presumably isn’t a Halloween movie), and stars a clown as the antagonist. Assuming it also involves 1,000 corpses, this could be his entire film career in one flick. Check out the teaser poster below.

And now, your weekly main course.

First Looks at The ABCs of Death 2

As far as the horror anthology sequel The ABCs of Death 2 goes, I’m fairly certain it will have shorts that rival the best of the first film, and many that compare to the worst. Anthologies are a crapshoot, it’s true. So it’s almost impossible to know what’s going on in any of these first photos, courtesy of BloodyDisgusting, especially since nary a plotline or alphabetical clue is to be found. But these are all pretty eye-popping stills. The nudge-nudge shot you see above comes from Cheap Thrills director E.L. Katz's short, so let's counter it by taking a peek at (and maybe blowing a kiss to) this frumpy business that pops up in the short from Dennison Ramalho.

Before we get to the other stills, it’s worth pointing out that this film boasts an oddball list of directors whose films aren't teased here, including Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Larry Fessbender (The Last Winter), legendary animator Bill Plympton (The Tune), Vincenzo Natali (Cube), and Israeli directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves). We’ll have more on plot and release dates as the months go by, but get a head-on look at the next image from Henge director Hajime Ohata.

And finally…dammit, I’ve already used my head-loss joke for this story. Sigh. Here’s a still from the short directed by A Lonely Place to Die’s Julian Gilbey.

Stephen King’s To-Be Published Novel Mr. Mercedes Optioned for Feature

We’ve only last year seen a second theatrical iteration of a Stephen King novel, with more remakes on the way, and wouldn’t you know it, his upcoming thriller novel Mr. Mercedes has already been snatched up by Media Rights Capital and the Twilight producers at Temple Hill, according to Tracking Board. Not only that, but they’ve already attached veteran director Jack Bender to helm it. With over 30 years in the game, Bender made his Hollywood debut with Child’s Play 3 but pretty much eschewed films altogether for TV work. His talent is seen on such notable series as The Sopranos and Carnivale, and he was a frequent director of choice for Lost and Under the Dome, adapted from King’s novel of course.

Mr. Mercedes tells the story of a Midwestern city under attack from a dangerous killer named Brad Hartfield, who uses his Mercedes to ruthlessly run people down with no apologies. He antagonizes retired cop Bill Hodges, who dedicated part of his life to bringing justice to the as-yet unsolved murders. Thus begins an extremely disturbing game of cat and mouse, with an endgame putting thousands at risk. Since I haven’t read it yet, I can’t speak for how awesome it is, but I’m a King fanatic to the bone, and he almost never fails when it comes to hyper-realistic terror. I’m already making casting wishes, throwing Mercedes hood ornaments into wells.

Lars von Trier is Headed for Horror in Detroit

There are many horror filmmakers out there whose new projects wouldn’t get a mention in the Fear Monger, since basic news doesn’t always command as much attention as casting news and trailers. But when it comes to Nymphomaniac’s Lars von Trier, one of the most controversial directors working today, we stand up and take full notice. Part of the original Dogme 95 filmmakers, von Trier has seriously horrified audiences in all kinds of non-horror films, from Dancer in the Dark to Antichrist to Melancholia, and I honestly have NO idea where he would head with a true genre label at his mercy.

It wasn’t the director himself who shared the news, but rather filmmaker Kristian Levring, who has worked with von Trier in the past. Levring shared with IndieWire that he’d for years told von Trier that he'd make a fantastic horror movie, to which von Trier replied, "I want you to stop talking about it, so I’ll write it for you instead." The working title for the project, which Levring will presumably direct, is Detroit, and Levring’s only clues are that "there is the wordplay between Detroit and destroyed," and that "it’s about a man fighting his inner demons." Psychological demons are right up von Trier’s alley, so we’re keeping a close eye on anything with Detroit in it – except for Detroit itself – over the next few months.

Rigor Mortis Mixes Spooky Ghosts with High-Flying Action

While modern Hollywood’s take on the supernatural ranges from the stereotypically banal (The Conjuring) to WTF (47 Ronin), first-time Chinese director Juno Mak has delivered what looks like one hell of a genre-masher in the festival hit Rigor Mortis. Well Go USA picked up the rights to this dark tale and recently announced a limited theatrical release, along with a VOD push, on June 6. To celebrate, here is the bizarre U.S. trailer, which features nearly as much punching and kicking as it does spooking.

Inspired by Hong Kong horror comedies of the past – the film even stars several leads from the classic Mr. Vampire film series - Rigor Mortis focuses on a struggling actor who moves into an apartment building which is home to quite a few spectral tenants, many of whom are interested in making everyone’s stay there a living hell. A fight just isn’t a fight unless people are flying through walls, both in physical and spiritual form. Produced by Ju-On franchise director Takashi Shimizu, Rigor Mortis is almost definitely one of the weirdest releases in a summer that includes a Transformer riding a robot dragon.

The Chair Graphic Novel Adaptation Needs Your Help!

After watching the video above, don’t you kind of want to just throw all your money at your computer before running away to stand on the other side of a locked door? Prolific genre actor Bill Oberst Jr. is taking on the less than savory role of the sadistic Warden in the upcoming adaptation of Peter Semeti’s disturbing graphic novel The Chair. The Warden’s insane tactics are challenged by the innocent-but-imprisoned Richard Sullivan, sick of seeing his fellow Death Row inmates meet such hellish demises. And the story isn't just a random string of kill scenes, as it deals with themes of abuse, mental health and the state of the modern criminal justice system.

The thing is, The Chair also needs the help of fans and friends everywhere, as the project’s Kickstarter campaign is in full swing. It’s no surprise that a third of the $300,000 goal is going toward the cast, which includes Eric Roberts, Zach Galligan, Brian Thompson, Naomi Grossman, Noah Hathaway and many more. Directed by Someone’s Knocking at the Door’s Chad Ferrin and written by newcomer Erin Kohut, The Chair is offering up a load of goodies for donors, including posters, signed screenplays, graphic novels and copies of the film, props, set visits, and a walk-on role as an extra. Perhaps the most ingenious perk of all, Semeti will design your comic’s cover art! Assuming you have a comic of course, and donate the proper amount of moolah. In any case, The Chair needs to make it to at least one big screen, so donate if you can. Or else the Warden will…oh, never mind.

With Nymphomaniac, Danish filmmaker and top provocateur Lars von Trier has been steadily promising content too shocking for mainstream audiences. Former child stars in hard-core sex scenes? Check. Tales of sexual depravity of every imaginable and sordid sort? Oh, you bet. How about non- simulated penetrative sex onscreen? Why not. While any of the above is enough to rattle America's MPAA, it doesn't scare the Berlin Film Festival, where the film will screen out of competition.

THR reports the prestigious Berlin Film Festival will play host to the world premiere of to the director's cut version of Nymphomaniac: Volume 1. This is an intriguing new chapter in this provocative film's emerging development, as various cuts and concepts for release have been posed over the past two years.

Nymphomaniac stars recurring von Trier leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg as Joe, the self-confessed sex addict for which the drama is named. After being beaten and left for dead in the street, Joe is taken in by a kindly stranger. With him, she shares her life story, full of twisted trysts, casual sex, and serious kinks.

When Gainsbourg first signed on to the project two years ago, the reported plan was Nymphomaniac would be cut in two versions. One would be a "hardcore" version, presumably showing whatever the dark corners of von Trier's mind it could come up with. The other would be a tamer version, on that's possibly easier for more casual von Trier admirers to digest. However, Joe's odyssey of sexual adventure ballooned into a runningtime of over four hours, and from there talk switched from two versions of one film to two volumes divided by chapters.

But after months of releasing titillating appetizer videos to tease out the film's eventual release, producers stunned us by revealing that von Trier had given up the film's final cut after his director's cut clocked in over five and a half hours long. From there, producers were looking to trim Nymphomaniac to four hours, and then split that running time in half for Volumes 1 & 2. This trimmed version is what is expected to debut in Denmark on Christmas Day. In the US, Magnolia will be releasing these volumes in two parts in theaters and On Demand next spring.

All this is to say that those who see Nymphomaniac in Berlin will be seeing the director's cut that those in the US and Denmark will miss out on. There's no mention of a world premiere for the director's cut of Volume 2. Presumably it will not screen at Cannes, as von Trier scorched the earth there when promoting Melancholia in 2011. At the time, he claimed, "I understand Hitler," among other shocking comments that got him barred and deemed persona non grata. Could another festival swoop in to scoop up Volume 2? We'll keep you informed.

Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 will be On Demand March 6th with a limited theatrical release following on March 21st. Nymphomaniac: Volume 2 will make its way to On Demand by April 3rd, with its theatrical run following on April 18th.

Lars von Trier is a filmmaker typically as uncompromising as he is polarizing. But the Danish director has shocked us in a way we'd never have guessed by giving up the final cut of his two-part erotic drama Nymphomaniac. THR notes this is the first time von Trier has ever surrendered the final cut of one of his films. And though we might rush to assume his producers are pushing for a version that is less provocative or alarming, the creative differences instead come down to running time.

Peter Aalbaek Jensen, von Trier's longtime producer, told Danish cinema magazine Filmmagasinet Ekko that the cut the iconoclast helmer turned in clocked in at a whopping 5 ½ hours. With the December world premiere of the film fast approaching, von Trier gave over his version to be cut down to a more manageable 4 hour cut that will be divided into two two-hour features. Jensen insists von Trier is fine with the move, explaining:

The four-hour version will debut on Christmas day in Copenhagen, Denmark. And while von Trier has signed off on it, he hasn't actually seen it according to Ekko. This is sure to rattle both auteur theory fans as well as fans of von Trier. But it appears no plan is being made at present for the director's cut to hit theaters. Jensen denies claims that it may screen at the Cannes Film Festival next year. But perhaps it will later unspool in full on DVD.

Previous plans for Nymphomaniac included two versions of the film, one hardcore with all the penetrative Frankensteined sex scenes intact, the other a softcore version for those who can't stomach unfiltered von Trier. This plan has since been abandoned. As of now this four-hour version--which Jensen insists does not downplay Nymphomaniac's graphic depictions of sex--is the only version that will have a theatrical release.

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Nymphomaniac stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as the titular woman who retells her long and perverse life story to a stranger who saves her from dying in the street after a brutal beating. Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Connie Nielsen co-star. Magnolia Pictures will release the film in the U.S., but no release date has yet been decided.

This video is safe for work. Shocking, right?

Many of the reported elements of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac are scandalous. As the title itself suggests, this will be a film with some dedicatedly sexual content. Upping the ante are rumors of real sex being shown onscreen, and being penned and helmed by von Trier—who has gamely featured graphic sex and genital mutilation in his past works—we expect the producers’ promise of “hardcore” content will in now way prepare us for what Danish audiences are set to see first on Christmas Day.

What is shocking, and decidedly clever is that the marketing campaign behind the film has been playfully restrained. Sure, we’ve seen some saucy pictures that tease threesomes, fetishes of all sorts, and a Shia LaBeouf-centric sex scene. But the actual footage released thus far is like that above in that it is sexual in nature, but not explicit in its content.

Charlotte Gainsbourg fronts Nymphomaniac as the titular Joe, a woman obsessed with sex. After being savagely beaten in the street, she recounts her life of kinky conquests and desire-driven misadventures to her Good Samaritan, played by Stellan Skarsgård. Last spring, von Trier revealed the structure of his film by releasing a list of chapter titles, one through eight. Each month since then, he’s unveiled one “appetizer” from each chapter. June showed “The Compleat Angler,” in which a young Joe (Stacy Martin) plays a competitive hook-up game on a train.

July debuted “Jerome,” where Joe meets the man played by LaBeouf.

Now August has brought Chapter 3, which features Uma Thurman as “Mrs. H.” As you can surely gather from the clip above, Joe (Martin) has clearly had sex with a married family man known as Mr. H (Hugo Speer). Mrs. H doesn’t appreciate this much, so she takes her three tow-headed sons into see “Daddy’s favorite place,” also known as “the whoring bed,” thereby rubbing her Mr’s nose in it. It’s easy to see why the description of the clip on YouTube reads:

Next month should bring about the release an appetizer from “Chapter 4: Delirium.” Who knows which of Nymphomaniac’s sprawling ensemble might appear, or what tawdry activity they will be on the verge of performing?

Oh boy. Since Shia LaBeouf signed on to Lars von Trier's two-part hardcore erotic drama Nymphomaniac, there has been much speculation about how the pic's proposed 'real sex' scenes would be created. LaBeouf himself declared that the shooting script carried a disclaimer warning would-be stars that they will be "doing it for real." However, stars performing actual sex acts on screen is still a major taboo. In the director's Anti-Christ the real-sex shown was performed by body doubles, which suggested a similar method might be employed here to save the reputations of the film's stars. But at Cannes producer Louise Vesth has unveiled von Trier's plan for Nymphomaniac's sex scenes, and they are far stranger than we expected.

According to THR, Vesth confirmed that Nymphomaniac will contain sex scenes between members of its star-stuffed cast, including Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf and Uma Thurman. Pressed for whether these actors will actually be having sex or simply acting like they are having sex, she confessed body doubles were used for more penetrating takes. However, it won't be just clever editing that will marry these shots together - CGI composite work will be employed to stitch together simulating stars with sexing body doubles. She explains:

Beyond this sounding sort of horrific, it means someone somewhere can now put "Uma Thurman's vagina" on her acting resume. But all kidding aside, Vesth intimated that the incredible amount of detailed post-production work involved to make this happen is one of the contributing factors to Nymphomaniac not debuting at Cannes (has the ban has been lifted?). Instead, the film will make its world premiere a red carpet gala in Copenhagen ahead of its eyebrow-raising Christmas Day release.

Nothing says Christmas quite like a four-hour long hardcore sex drama, right? Zentropa Entertainments seems to think so, announcing Lars von Trier's sure to be controversial Nymphomaniac will open in Denmark on Christmas Day. Zentropa CEO Peter Aalbæk Jensen told Deadline (with what we imagine is a healthy dose of playful sarcasm), “What’s more Christmassy than a film like this?” Of course the answer would be: most things.

Nymphomaniac is the latest collaboration between the polarizing writer-director and his recurring leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg. Here she stars as Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her life and sexual exploits from the past fifty years to the man who rescued her from a savage beating in the street. To date we've had a glimpse of what seems to be Joe before her savior's arrival, as well as an image that appears to be the beginnings of a threesome with her at the center. Above is a glamorous yet depraved new shot of the ensemble cast…and is that von Trier in the back with duck tape over his mouth? I think so.

Identifying the fetishes at play above almost seems like a saucy party-game. But instead, let's pick out some of its players, shall we? Gainsbourg is in the lower right corner in a green dress, being waited on by a casually dressed Christian Slater. To their left is Stellan Skarsgård in a robe, and Willem Dafoe getting wiped down mid-coffee spill. To his left Uma Thurman stands in a blue dress with Von Trier and Jamie Bell looking on. Then on the floor beneath a suggestively arranged fruit plate is Shia LaBeouf who has been the most outspokenly enthusiastic member of this cast. Can you pick out anyone else? Click the image for a full-size version.

Magnolia will be unveiling Nymphomaniac Stateside, but a release date has not yet been revealed.

With films to his credit like Dogville and Antichrist, Lars von Trier is a professional provocateur. The Danish writer-director revels in making audiences squirm with onscreen violence, cruelty and sex that are too extreme for mainstream audiences. As follow-up to his critically championed end of the world drama Melancholia, von Trier is readying Nymphomaniac, a movie whose premise you could probably guess.

Recurring von Trier collaborator Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Joe, the titular self-proclaimed nymphomaniac. After she's been attacked and found beaten in an alley by Stellan Skarsgård's character, Joe recounts her lifetime of erotic experimentation and sexual exploration. The first image released gave us a look at Gainsbourg in the aforementioned alley. The second teases something far more salacious. Check it out below, courtesy of Nymphomaniac's distributor, Artificial Eye:

The caption gives us little detail on what's going down here. But really do you need an explanation? Clearly, Joe (Gainsbourg) is gearing up for a threesome. I must confess, I'm not familiar with the actors flanking her. But Nymphomaniac boasts an impressive star-studded cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Rampling, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen and Uma Thurman.

Currently in post production, Nymphomaniac is slated to make its theatrical debut in von Trier's native Denmark on May 30th, 2013. We suspect it will tour of the prestigious festival circuit—including Venice and Toronto—before coming to the United States. But first, this challenging film must find a US distributor with the stomach to take it on. Since von Trier is reportedly working on two versions (one hardcore, one lacking the rumored real onscreen sex scenes), this might make its release Stateside a bit more palatable to art house distributors.

Lars von Trier’s allegedly specific Nymphomaniac has been busy in its pre-production casting process, though the film just lost its first high-profile ensemble member … and it’s someone who actually worked with Von Trier in the past.

Buried near the bottom of a report in The Hollywood Reporter on the various actors joining Von Trier’s latest is the news nugget that Kidman “will not be a part of this movie,” perhaps because she’s too tied up playing Grace Kelly in Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco. Truthfully, I was waiting for marquee-type talents like Kidman to bail on Von Trier because, according to all reports, he wants explicit sex captured on screen for a potential hardcore cut of Nymphomaniac. Then again, Kidman was willing to urinate on Zac Efron for Lee Daniel’s The Paperboy, so maybe it really is a scheduling conflict and not a case of Kidman getting cold feet for the film’s frank sex scenes.

Who will Von Trier have in place of Kidman? THR says that the director’s frequent collaborators Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg are on board, with the latter playing Jo, a nymphomaniac reflecting on her past sexual conquests. Among the stranger casting selections for Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac include Christian Slater, Jamie Bell and Shia LaBeouf. But it’s not a sausage factory. Uma Thurman, Connie Nielsen, Kate Ashfield and Caroline Goodall will be representing the women alongside Gainsbourg.

But not Kidman, who collaborated with Von Trier on the intriguing Dogville but apparently won’t be returning for Nymphomaniac, for the time being.

With David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, Twilight star Robert Pattinson attempts to shed his placid pretty boy image by playing a repulsive and lecherous billionaire whose insidious exploits are sure to make audiences squirm. It's a bold choice, but as his Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe showed with his revealing performance in the Broadway production of Equus, one sometimes needs to do something radical to successfully make the leap from teen dreamboat to working adult actor. Today marks the theatrical debut of Pattinson's disturbing drama, so it's fitting that this is when news is breaking about another ingendude's daring next venture.

Earlier this month, we reported that former Disney kid Shia LaBeouf was seeking a role in controversial filmmaker Lars Von Trier's erotic drama Nymphomaniac. Now MTV's got word that LaBeouf is not only signed on, but also willing to do whatever the filmmaker asks, probably meaning nudity, possibly meaning real sex. In the interview below, LaBeouf is reluctant to reveal too much, but check out the clip to hear what Nymphomaniac could have in store:

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LaBeouf has begun to distance himself from the cheesy blockbuster fare like Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with more dramatic roles in smaller films like New York, I Love You and the upcoming Lawless, which co-stars Jessica Chastain who seems worried on his behalf above. But making a Von Trier movie is a whole different deal. And though it's impossible to predict what the Danish auteur has planned for LaBeouf with this sure-to-be shocking drama, I respect LaBeouf's willingness to embrace such a daring endeavor.

For those of you thinking, there's no way actual sex will be recorded, I wouldn't count it out. Beyond Intimacy, the film referenced above, other non-porn features that show unsimulated sex include James Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs, and von Trier's Antichrist. However, for the last, while the sex was real, the participants were stand-ins for the film's stars. So, there's also the possibility that Nymphomaniac cast, which already includes Nicole Kidman and Charlotte Gainsbourg, might employ stunt doubles as it were. Regardless, this flick seems sure to show audiences a whole new side of Shia LaBeouf.

If this all seems like to much for your tastes, you might be relieved to hear Von Trier is reportedly planning two versions of the film, one hard-core and a toned down version catered to slightly more mainstream audiences. It will still be a Von Trier movie after all.

Very few actresses agree to work with Lars von Trier a second time. Either the demanding rigors of a Von Trier production break their spirit, or the director says something inflammatory about the Nazi party during a press conference in Cannes. Either way, the auteur often makes it difficult to maintain a working relationship, though one of his most celebrated collaborators might be gearing up for “Lars: Round Two.”

Nicole Kidman, who starred in Von Trier’s minimalistic masterpiece Dogville, could be appearing in a small role in The Nymphomaniac, a racy, two-part drama he’d like to have ready for Cannes 2013. (Wait, didn’t the festival ban him earlier this year?) Kidman was speaking with the movie magazine Positif (via The Playlist) and admitted she would be working for a “few days” on Von Trier’s set. Beyond that, we’re left to speculate.

Kidman had the opportunity to reteam with Von Trier on his Dogville sequel, Manderlay, but she passed … allowing Bryce Dallas Howard to step into the role. Whatever beef existed between the leading lady and her director must have faded, though, if she’s willing to challenge herself for Nymphomaniac.

The film’s actually populated with Von Trier veterans. Stellen Skarsgard, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe have signed, so Kidman would be right at home with previous soldiers from the Von Trier battlefield.

The plot follows one woman’s erotic journey from “birth to the age of 50, as told by the main character,” according to the film’s official synopsis. Von Trier has said he’ll cut two different versions of the film, which will be laden with sexually explicit material. The softcore version will feature the recognizable Hollywood talents, while a hardcore version will swap in porn actors. Oh, Lars. Will we ever be able to figure you out?

Lars von Trier’s Melancholia first began receiving rave reviews after its debut at Cannes in May, but movie's director did not. The filmmaker was unceremoniously booted from the festival after making some Nazi "jokes", but even without him in attendance, the film found itself nominated for the big prize, the Palme d’Or, and Kirsten Dunst took home the best actress award.

Now with Magnolia pictures distributing the film in just over a month, Empire has gotten their hands on the latest promo material. The character banners reflect the same kind of other-world feel that the film evokes, causing just the right amount of discomfort. Nothing is necessarily disturbing about the posters, but there's something just off - much like in the movie when the planet Melancholia moves toward Earth in the film. Check out a couple of the posters below and see the rest over at Empire.

Dunst, her adoring film husband (Alexander Skarsgard), her brother (Kiefer Sutherland), her father (John Hurt), and her sister (Charolette Gainsbourg) all get their own one-sheet along with a special poster featuring director Lars von Trier, who deserves a poster for being such a character in real life. His is actually the most unsettling because unlike the rest of the posters, where the subject is studying the sky, von Trier seems to be peering directly into your soul, willing you to see his movie. Weird.

Melancholia has been rocking the festival circuit for quite some time now and on Noevember 11th will finally be getting a US release. See this one while you can if you’re a fan of von Trier. His last film, Antichrist, hardly saw the light of day beyond its festival showings, and his next project, Nymphomaniac sounds like it's basically porn (while there may be a trimmed down version, the uncut/hardcore film will be probably be a bit harder to get your hands on). Melancholia could be your only chance to see von Trier on the big screen for a while. Don’t miss it.

In case you couldn't quite believe the news that Lars von Trier and Martin Scorsese would in fact be teaming up to remake Von Trier's documentary The Five Obstructions, it's gotten even more official now that an American distributor has come on board. In a press release Magnolia Pictures announced that they've teamed up with a company called Madman to distribute the film, which is actually called The Five Obstructions: Scorsese vs. Trier. The deal also includes another Danish film, the period drama A Royal Affair starring Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander, but it's unlikely that movie will be nearly as hyped as the film nerd collision that is Scorsese vs. Trier.

Sadly, as we suggested when we first learned the news, we won't be getting a look at this mad experiment any time soon--the press release confirms that the film won't be finished until 2013, which means it could be as late as 2014 when the two inevitably show up at Cannes and infuriate people. Well, at least von Trier probably will.

Below is the press release with all the nitty gritty details.

Lars Von Trier is describing his new film Melancholia as "a beautiful movie about the end of the world," and it's hard to imagine what could make fans of the Dogville and Antichrist director happier to hear. The famously iconoclastic von Trier is back once again to merge the beautiful and the obscene and the terrifying into one captivating film, and this time it's going to be what he's described as a disaster movie, a von Trier take on what happens when a planet crashes into Earth. Namely it seems to be distracting Kirsten Dunst from an unhappy new marriage, but I'm sure it has other consequences too.

If you're curious about how this is going to work, you can at least get an idea thanks to the first trailer, which premiered today at the film's official site. It starts off like a particularly well-photographed perfume ad set at a wedding but soon segues into all kinds of strangeness, like that mysterious planet that's been hiding behind the sun, a naked woman lounging in brilliant green grass, and maybe strangest of all, the presence of Kiefer Sutherland in a Lars Von Trier film .He's just one part of a remarkable cast that also includes Antichrist veteran Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard, Udo Kier and Brady Corbet. No, I have no idea what will happen to them all when the planets collide, or even if Von Trier will show us the explosion rather than punish us for wanting to see it. But come on-- watching this trailer, aren't you dying to find out one way or another?

Odd are Melancholia will show up at Cannes next month, so keep an ear to the ground for the befuddled reviews on that one quite soon.

Astronauts dream of meeting Buzz Aldrin. Basketball players would love to shake the hand of Michael Jordan. Writers want to time travel and have a whiskey with Ernest Hemingway. Everyone has someone they look up to in their field, but most will never have the opportunity to meet them, let alone work closely with them. Director Daniel Stamm will be one of the lucky few who gets that opportunity.

Speaking with the director at a roundtable for his newest film, The Last Exorcism, Stamm revealed very minor details about his next project, saying that he couldn't divulge too much because the deal is still being worked out. What he did say, however, is that he will not be using the documentary-style ("People have already interviewed me and said, 'You have this extensive background in documentary filmmaking,' and I’ve never made a documentary"), that it will be a "psychological, supernatural thriller with a twist" and that his "favorite filmmaker in the world" will be serving as producer - though he couldn't say who. It is my belief that said filmmaker is none other than Lars von Trier.

What led me to this conclusion is a comment made by Eli Roth, who I interviewed prior to sitting down with Stamm. While discussing the choice of Stamm as the director of The Last Exorcism, Roth recounted a phone call between the two of them, where Roth asked Stamm how he planned on approaching the film. His response was that his favorite director is Lars von Trier.

Stamm says that he expects the deal to be finalized in the next few days, before to the release of the film on Friday. Until then, all we can do is speculate.

Lars von Trier will cap off his impressive ensemble for the disaster film Melancholia with John Hurt. According to THR, Hurt as well as his new co-stars Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Udo Kier, Stellan and Alexander Skarsgard will get to work on the $7.5 million project on July 19th in Trollhattan, Sweden.

Plot details are still sparse, only revealing that the film falls into the psychological disaster category and, as said by von Trier, something about “No more happy endings!” Peter A. Jensen of von Trier’s production company, Zentropa, also tossed in another little detail we’ve known for some time, that the story involves a "large object from outer space approaching Earth" and its affects on the inhabitants. Jensen also added something on the lighter side, describing Melancholia as a “beautiful film about the end of the world.”

Between the top-notch cast and von Trier’s knack for scandal as proven by Antichrist, you should be curious to see how Melancholia turns out. Its minimal $7.5 million budget should also provide us with a nice break from a 2012-style apocalypse. However, the one metnal connection I quite shake is between Melancholia and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. Let’s hope this “large object” doesn’t have the same effect on its victims as Shyamalan’s diabolical plant life.

When things with Penelope Cruz don’t work out, Kirsten Dunst seems like a rather odd second choice. Perhaps it’s just because the two have completely different looks and resumes, but Lars von Trier sees no problem jumping from one to the other. When Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became top priority for Cruz, von Trier had no choice but to search for a new lead for Melancholia. Two months later, he decided on Dunst.

After the uncomfortable splash von Trier made in the fall with Antichrist, news of his next project, a psychological disaster film, was hot stuff. Not only has the public been keeping an eye on this one, but so have the stars. Deadline reports that on top of Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgaard, Stellan Skarsgaard and Udo Kier are all on board too. The gang is set to unite in July to shoot through September in Southern Sweden.

I’ve adamantly steered clear of Antichrist, but, as 2012 proved, it’s nearly impossible to avoid any movie in the disaster genre, so the same won’t be true for Melancholia. Of course this is a psychological disaster film and only has a $7.4 million budget, so, odds are, we won’t see cities crumbling. Even after months of speculation, this is still all we’ve got. The only hint von Trier offered back in October was, “No more happy endings!”

As for Dunst’s casting, I’m as unenthused as she looked in Spider-Man 3. Everyone’s allowed their misses, but post Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, all we got was Elizabethtown, Marie Antoinette, Spider-Man 3, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and a slew of tabloid reports claiming someone has a mean streak. Hopes are high for All Good Things and Upside Down, so could a Kirsten comeback be on the horizon?

UPDATE: Screen Daily has talked to Von Trier's business partner, and alas, the rumors are untrue. Scorsese and Von Trier did in fact meet-- oh to have been a fly on that wall-- but there is no Taxi Driver remake planned. The world has missed an opportunity to get a little odder.

So we're all firmly against reboots, right? Bastardizing well-loved material to make a quick buck, allowing upstart new directors to destroy something precious, all that nonsense. But what about an arty reboot? That's possibly the best way to describe a potential new Lars von Trier project, in which he would, no joke, attempt to remake Taxi Driver five times, with a few extra rules to make things really challenging.

The news comes out of the Berlin Film Festival and a report from a Danish newspaper that says Scorsese has agreed to cooperate with von Trier on a follow-up to the film. Based on the sleuthing and Google translating that JoBlo.com was able to do, Von Trier would make the film according to the rules laid out in the 2003 documentary The Five Obstructions, in which Von Trier challenged his friend to remake his favorite film five times. Presumably this time the friend, Jorgen Leth, would get to lay down his own rules for Von Trier-- last time the challenges included setting the new film in Cuba, or making it entirely animated.

There's no telling what's going on with this story in actuality, whether it's a rumor cooked up in the insanity of a film festival or if Scorsese really has just slipped a gear and agreed to something so nuts. Given that the last big news story about Von Trier was the ultimately false one about him working with Penelope Cruz, I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

Lars von Trier may be as popular, or at least infamous, as he's ever been these days, with Antichrist playing the New York Film Festival and everyone curious, if not horrified, by what they're seen in it. So the Danish provocateur is taking the success and running with it, moving on to his next project, a "psychological disaster film" called Planet Melancholia.

Yes, only von Trier, or perhaps Roland Emmerich, could embark on a psychological disaster film with a straight face. According to THR, it's an English-language film budgeted at $7.4 million, which means we probably won't get to see von Trier blowing up the White House or anything. As for what he's going for with the film, he had only one thing to say: "No more happy endings!" Yes, because von Trier's work up to this point has been far too cheery to be taken seriously.

His business partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen actually had one more description for us: "[It's] "romantic, in a Lord Byron sort of way." So really, we have no idea what to expect. Just as von Trier wants it, I'm sure.

If you've been reading movie sites that aren't ours, the kind that have enough people to send to hang out on a French beach for a week, you've probably been hearing about Lars von Trier's Antichrist, the movie that earned both boos and cheers when it screened for the festival audience earlier this week. Variety wrotes that it "cuts a big fat art-film fart." Jeffrey Wells, in a similar spirit, called it a fartbomb. And now we'll get to find out for ourselves what was stinking up the theater at Cannes.

IFC, apparently braver than any of us realized, has agreed to distribute the film in the U.S., according to Variety. They also picked up Ken Loach's film Looking for Eric, but given that that film doesn't involve sexual deviancy and lots of blood, no one is talking as much about that one. Prepare for a lot of "what were they thinking?" discussion about Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and maybe a few desperate defenders, when this movie shows up in theaters presumably later this year.