Antychryst (2002) User Reviews

Tragic horror story.

[silvrdal · 7/10 · 27 June 2010]

In a post-apocalyptic world, four boys scramble for their existence in a form of playing. Their Peter Pan, Szafran, leads them in tests of endurance to strengthen them, calling himself 'the antichrist' and 'demon' in order to suggest greater strength and spur them on.

The boys seem to enjoy the games, which wear them out, but make them strong enough -- strong enough, at his urging, to bury Szafran up to his neck in the mud. Szafran has trained them to kill him, demonizing himself, because he did not have the emotional strength to either endure or end his own life. He has committed suicide through friendship and play. His friend Kacper begs him to dig himself out. We are left with the question of whether this was even possible.

How many children are suffering, and are unable to end their sorrow?

Are we adults strong enough to dig our children out of the mud and give them better lives?

---

The "huh factor"!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 22 July 2009]

This is one of six films included in the collection "The World According to Shorts". For the most part, this is not a particularly good set of shorts, as I have seen many others with more memorable content than this rather disappointing DVD.

This film shows a group of Polish children following their ringleader. At first, their actions seem pretty normal for young boys, but later the ringleader just seems rather insane and antisocial. The boy is cruel, has sick fantasies of murder and declares that he's the Antichrist! Interesting kid, huh? Then, amazingly, the film gets even weirder.

While the film certainly gets points for being different, I also think the film has a serious case of the "huh factor". In other words, as you watch it and struggle in vain to understand it, you can't help but feel confused as well as asking yourself why you watched the thing in the first place! I know I sure did!

Hopelessly Pretentious

[rbsteury · 2/10 · 20 October 2010]

A thoroughly unlikeable and unpleasant "short" that drags on for almost a half hour. The plot (or what is submitted as a plot) deserves about three or four minutes and the rest is tedium.

If you can not figure out where this is going in the first three minutes you have no imagination. The four characters are completely superficially portrayed but behave as if theta were quoting Shakespeare. I kept watching (for what seemed like hours) thinking there must be some redeeming surprise ending. (Don't hold your breath)

Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time on this exercise in the banal.

Very scary, great storytelling, and a short with courage

[countrysidereader · 8/10 · 2 September 2009]

Couldn't stop watching this once it started. Stumbled into it, and images from it are still in my mind.

The desolate landscape is a mining location, well chosen for many reasons. The destruction of the landscape to bring out precious metals is a great metaphor.

The places these characters reside both physically and mentally are frightening.

This film has the rare capacity to touch a dark but sacred part in the mind of this viewer at least, which is ironic considering the title.

Bravo. Well done.

A Work of (Admittedly Twisted) Genius

[bababear · 10/10 · 8 June 2010]

Wow. I'm glad some other people have seen this. Good. I didn't imagine it.

This short film from Poland is about four little boys and their games. Their leader is older and proclaims himself to be the Antichrist, and sets a series of foolish and increasingly dangerous tasks.

The four boys aren't professional actors. None have any other films to their credit. But all four deliver excellent performances.

The boys are playing around a rock quarry. The influences that we associate with civilization- family, school, church, rules of any sort- are far away and largely forgotten in the desolate landscape.

Eventually the three comparatively sane individuals began to realize the extent of the madness of their ill-chosen leader. The viewer is put in a moral quandary- do we fear that harm befalls the older boy as this would leave the three boys with mental scars, or do we hope that some force comes along to eliminate him in his youth so that forty years later he won't cause World War II.

This is a film that's not easy to watch. Many will be put off by what violence is scene and, worse yet, the underlying potential of something far worse. This is not for anyone with an idealized view of childhood, and it's definitely not for children.

Thanks to Independent Film Channel for running this on a program called Grindhouse Shorts. It's a revelation.

St. Paul said; 'Even now in Heaven there were angels carrying savage weapons'

[UNOhwen · 5 January 2010]

Into the most innocent, comes...evil - yes? No? It's a simple question posed in this short from Poland.

The 'Antichrist' is a metaphorical story that starts with 4 Polish boys playing in a pit mine. The oldest of the 4 is named Szafran. He asks his 'followers' - the 3 younger boys - to do acts that are ever more violent - to each other, to animals...to him. At first, they laugh, but after the first act causes them injuries - but none to him (because he's says he's the Antichrist) - they begin to follow him more; killing fish, drinking blood - burying the 'Antichrist'(he tells them by doing that, and smearing mud on his face he will get ever stronger) and stomping on him.

Szafran occasionally speaks in a guttural voice - lines of scripture, explaining who he is (Satan) and what he will wrought. Is it it really Szafran, just playing, or, is the voice belong to some other...'force'?

The young boys do - and laugh it's a game, after all...?

But when they 'bury' the Antichrist, and say; 'free yourself, Antichrist,'the pile just gets the already buried Szafran more & more trapped.

Does Szafran become unburied, or not? I'm not saying. It's a short that, in a sense all people can relate to, for as children we've all played games, that we thought were 'simple fun,' but - is it possible, that what we think of as fun and games aren't? Can the young (or anyone) be misled so easily?

There were times I had to look away - from the 'games' - and you have to wonder to yourself; nature/nurture. Is darkness inherent - even in the young, or, is it come from outside - and, if it does come from outside, then darkness can even be in those we BELIEVE to be most precious, and innocent.

THAT's the ...'huh' (as the other reviewer who doesn't really 'get' this said) of this film.

Effective Short Worth Watching

[Michael_Elliott · 2 June 2010]

Antychryst (2002)

*** (out of 4)

Polish film about four young boys playing in a pit mine with the oldest one constantly pushing the other three to try daring things. At first these stunts start off as harmless fun but soon it appears that the oldest kid might be the antichrist forcing them to do much dangerous things. This film runs 27-minutes and for the most part it's a real winner. What I enjoyed best was the actual setting of the pit mine, which gave the film a rather creepy atmosphere and a certain loneliness that really comes across well. I thought director Gunzinski handled the material extremely well as we're constantly left wondering if this kid is just nuts or if perhaps he really is the antichrist. I thought the director did a very good job at keeping the viewer off guard as to his identity but also to the nature of the games going on. Some of the games are silly but others are a bit more dangerous including one sequence where the boys catch some fish and slap them around before killing them. The young actors are all good in their roles and we get an extremely effective music score by Guzinski.