The House That Jack Built is a 2018 psychological horror art film written and directed by Lars von Trier.

It stars Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies.

Its plot follows Jack (Dillon), a serial killer who, over a 12-year period from the late 1970s into 1980s, commits numerous murders in the U.S. state of Washington.

Originally conceived as a television project by von Trier, The House That Jack Built began production in Sweden in 2016.

Instead of leaving, his obsessive-compulsive disorder compels him to return to re-clean the crime scene multiple times, resulting in him nearly being caught.

In the fourth incident, Jack is in a dysfunctional relationship with a woman, Jacqueline, whom he psychologically and verbally abuses and derisively nicknames "Simple."

Verge reminds Jack that he never built the home he intended to, as he had made several attempts to build his perfect house between his murders.

Jack attempts to scale a rock wall to access the staircase, against Verge's advice, and falls into the flaming abyss below.

Jesper Tønnes plays an uncredited role as Phlegyas, the oarsman who transports Jack and Verge across the River Styx - the Fifth Circle of Hell (Wrath) - in a scene that recreates The Barque of Dante by Eugène Delacroix.

Jean-Marc Barr (Europa), Jamie Bell (Nymphomaniac), Willem Dafoe (Antichrist), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia and Nymphomaniac), Nicole Kidman (Dogville), Udo Kier (The Kingdom), Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), Kirsten Olesen (Medea), Birgitte Raaberg (The Kingdom), and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) appeared as uncredited archive footage from several of von Trier's works in the fourth incident during Jack's notorious commentary with Virg; still retained in the "special thanks" end credits below.

[16] According to actor Peter Sarsgaard, he wanted to play Jack but was forced to turned down the lead role due to the film's nature.

[17] Principal photography began in March 2017 outside Bengtsfors and Tösse in Dalsland, Sweden[3][18] and was shot in Copenhagen, Gribskov, Trollhättan, Peak District and Montemerano.

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[33] The House That Jack Built was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc (uncensored cut) in the United Kingdom on 4 March 2019 by Artificial Eye.

The website's critical consensus reads, "The House That Jack Built presents writer-director Lars von Trier at his most proudly uncompromising: hard to ignore, and for many viewers, just as difficult to digest.

"[41] Owen Gleiberman from Variety gave the film a positive review, and stated "It's halfway between a subversive good movie and a stunt.

"[43] Armond White says the film satirizes "guilt-free violence" by "rubbing the audience's face in the ugliness it enjoys.

[45] Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film for reveling in "grisly, in-your-face violence and wan philosophical digressions," concluding, "Von Trier has managed to cobble together just enough of interest — odd moments, pieces of performance, stray ideas and the simple audacity of putting this mess out into the world, that it feels like there may be something there worth considering, a maddening possibility.

"[46] Despite audience backlash toward a scene involving the main character's mutilation of a duckling when he was a child, PETA has defended the film in a statement praising its accurate portrayal of the link between adolescent animal abuse and psychopathy and for the realistic special effects.

[48] According to Zinaida Pronchenko, "When the offended viewers who have moved on the wrong track hurry to the exit, Von Trier will not without satisfaction show the middle finger at their backs, and those who remain will witness the moralizing finale.

Evil will be punished, thrown into the flaming abyss and will never return, as stated in the refrain of the song "Hit the Road Jack", cheerfully playing on the credits".

It won two awards in Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival – Best Actor for Dillon and Best Screenplay for Von Trier.