IFC to Fete Antichrist just before Halloween

I would dress up as Willem Dafoe this coming Halloween, but then I’d get the same questions over and over again like why is there blood around my crotch area? and what the deal is with the heavy weight stuck to my leg? Lars von Trier‘s Antichrist will be receiving an October 21st (VOD) and 23rd release (New York & L.A) via IFC. But let’s get some things straight. This is not a horror film in the “usual horror film” sense of the word. This is horror as in horrific, as in terrible things occur to this couple, horrific actions are taken between two. To be honest, I was thinking of Kubrick’s The Shining in terms of tone (not your classic horror flick) all the way up to the moment where Dafoe and Gainsbourg’s character head to the cabin to continue their therapy. No reasons were given for the selected dates, I imagine that IFC Films will bank of getting extra customers who simply want something new and tagged “horror” at that specific pumpkin carving time.    

Written by Anders Thomas Jensen and von Trier, this is based on the theory that it was Satan, not God, who created the world, Dafoe and Gainsbourg will play a couple who retreat to an isolated cabin in the woods following the death of their child. 

Do you think it boils down to smart positioning? Are you disappointed that this isn’t receiving a traditional platform release before hitting VOD?