The 62-year-old Danish director is known for controversy, but his latest movie really is sparking strong reactions.
The House That Jack Built premiered at Cannes Film Festival last night where there were over 100 walkouts.
The extremely graphic film sees Dillon play Jack, a serial killer, as he murders over a 12 year period, including Uma Thurman’s Lady 1 – as seen in the trailer.
And it turns out a scene where Jack shoots the heads off two small children is what sparked a mass walkout.
Variety reports: “The scene that initially led to dozens of walkouts involved Dillon’s character shooting a hunting rifle at two small children, as he blows their heads off.”
“After that, a steady stream of patrons fled the theater, many of them looking furious or muttering under their breath.
“By the time the end credits had stopped rolling, the balcony of the theatre was half empty.”
Nevertheless Lars still has his fans, with a six-minute standing ovation taking place during the end credits.
Some of those who walked out tweeted their disgust at The House That Jack Built.
Showbiz 411 wrote: “Walked out on Lars von Trier. Vile movie. Should not have been made. Actors culpable.”
The Oscar Predictor said: “Just left Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built. Gross. Pretentious. Vomitive. Torturous. Pathetic.”
While one audience member added: “I’ve just walked out of Lars von Trier’s premiere at Cannes 2018 because seeing children being shot and killed is not art or entertainment.”
Lars describes his controversial creation as celebrating “the idea that life is evil and soulless.”
This is a view that’s summed up by Jack in the trailer: “Some people claim that the atrocities we commit in our fiction are those inner desires we cannot commit in out controlled civilisation, so they are expressed instead through our art.
“I don’t agree. I believe heaven and hell are one and the same. The soul belongs to heaven and the body to hell.”
The House That Jack Built does not yet have a UK release date.
