Epidemic

Screening on Film

Directed by Lars von Trier.
With Lars von Trier, Niels Vørsel, Udo Kier.
Denmark, 1988, 35mm, black & white, 106 min.
Danish and English with English subtitles.

After failing to complete a screenplay titled “The Cop and The Whore” for their producer, a director and screenwriter (portrayed by von Trier and his real-life screenwriter, Niels Vørsel) instead craft a script about a fatal illness which they hope will satisfy their backers. In a perverse twist of life imitating art, a mysterious plague approaches just as the writers develop their treatment. Rather than exploit the suspenseful aspects of the plot, the director thumbs his nose at expected horror-movie convention and favors instead a series of compelling yet static monologues, including a bizarre war story from von Trier regular Udo Kier.