Unbalanced (spoilers)

I just watched this movie on the recommendation of a friend and I found it absorbing from start to finish. I wouldn't say I loved it but I liked it a lot. Having said that, I think the reason so many in here find it too dark or tedious is that the "normal" characters (father,housekeeper,aunt) are killed off so quickly that it leaves nothing but the three principal characters who are all nuts to varying degrees. In other words, there's no one to register increasing alarm to the nuttiness/danger. From a conventional standpoint, it unbalances the movie. It's a bit like a comedy where there's no straight man to bounce the comedy off of, just everyone trying to be funny. Doesn't work as well. It didn't bother me, but I can see how it would bother some.

For a minute there I thought the seemingly nice boy with the motorcycle was going to provide that function but then he turns out to be a rapist and is quickly eliminated as well. It's almost like the director is going out of his way to frustrate those expecting a more conventional movie structure. Which is fine. This is not intended as a criticism, just an observation.