ST. LOUIS, Mo. — I imagine that German film writer/director Michael Haneke once received a phone call along these lines:

“Ja?”

“Hello Michael, this is American actress Naomi Watts. We met once at some awards show. You remember?”

He pauses briefly, utterly confounded by the situation.

“Ja?”

“Great. Look, I just rented ‘Funny Games’ on the Netflix, really enjoyed it. Thought it was thought-provoking, incisive, perfect for an American remake. So look, you direct, I’ll star and executive produce. It’ll be fun, ja?”

Haneke hangs up.

The incomparable Michael Haneke’s writer/director credits include the sadistic “Benny’s Video” and the mental purging that is “Cache.” Now he has brought to American audiences a remake of what may be his most disturbing project, the 1997 Austrian film, “Funny Games.” And no, the film’s not at all humorous.

The picture’s a remake in language and actors only. Haneke’s American “Funny Games” follows the original shot for shot, but the language now changes from German to English, and unknown German actors become Naomi Watts and Tim Roth.