Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- clinical
- oppressive
- chilly
- serious film night
- arthouse horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize the film's chilly performances, austere dread, and provocative media critique, while finding its argument divisive and sometimes overly schematic.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Benny obsessively watches violent films, records events, and treats violence through the detached framework of video imagery.
Benny's wealthy Austrian family responds to catastrophe through concealment and management rather than emotional recognition.
The film's cool presentation of family routines, video watching, and violence produces an atmosphere of impersonal menace.
Benny's videotapes and video equipment shape his behavior and frame the film's examination of spectatorship and responsibility.
Films like Benny's Video, and why
Funny Games
shared austere social critique, media anxiety, and emotionally detached violence
The White Ribbon
shared child-centered moral unease, bourgeois domestic settings, and slow-building dread
Caché
shared disturbing media effects, alienated youth, and clinical psychological horror
The Seventh Continent
shared bleak moral inquiry, provocative violence, and chilly European art cinema
Movie Details
- Director
- Michael Haneke
- Release Date
- 1992-11-06
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (405)
Cast
- Arno Frisch
- Angela Winkler
- Ulrich Mühe
- Stephanie Brehme
- Stefan Polasek
- Ingrid Stassner
- Martin Schoendelin
- Christian Pundy
- Max Berner
- Shelley Kästner
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Benny's Video about?
- A wealthy Austrian teenager turns his fascination with violent video into a chilling experiment in real-world cruelty.
- What is Benny's Video like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Benny's Video as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Benny's Video violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Benny's Video as graphic.
- What did critics think of Benny's Video?
- Critics broadly recognize the film's chilly performances, austere dread, and provocative media critique, while finding its argument divisive and sometimes overly schematic.
- Which films are like Benny's Video?
- Films with a similar feel include Funny Games, The White Ribbon, Caché, and The Seventh Continent.
- How long is Benny's Video?
- Benny's Video runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Benny's Video?
- In United States, Benny's Video streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
