The film opens with what I can now only interpret as an apology. Svankmajer says (in a nutshell) “this is not art, it is just a decadent horror film.” The problem is it isn’t all that scary. And it certainly isn’t all that much fun. I can deal with the fact that it doesn’t make too much sense (non-linear dream-like narrative is fine with me; Svankmajer has hit that out of the park many times) but I can’t deal with boring. Ann and I left the theater faced with a big problem. Do we really press to find meaning in the long sequences of dancing, rotting meat — or are they just in there because they look cool? I’ve never felt I’ve had to justify Svankmajer’s imagery before. Stick with any of his other works (or seek out Greenaway’s A Zed and Two Noughts if you like raw animal flesh.) I give this a gentleman’s C.