“If there were not many walkouts, then I have failed,” joked provacateur Lars von Trier in a Skype Q & A session from Denmark at the New York Film Festival, where his button-pushing “Antichrist” was shown to a relatively subdued press audience. The latest from the director of “Dogville” contains both male and female sexual mutilation, a talking fox, and lots of sex, including one NC-17 shot of penetration. Von Trier, who may have been joking, said he made the film to get over a bout of depression but “it hasn’t really worked.” He was in a relatively jovial mood: “I’m happy to see people in New York — if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” He didn’t offer much, if anything, in the way of explanation for this dark fable, starring Wilem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a shrink and his wife who retreat to a cabin in the woods for some heavy S & M after their young son jumps from an open window while they’re making love. Von Trier did admit the visuals, which include elaborate special effects, were somewhat inspired by the work of David Lynch. “I was very taken with ‘Twin Peaks.’ It was a fantastic piece of whatever it was,” Von Trier said. “Maybe we share a fetish.” My venerable colleague Vincent Musetto will have a review when this opens theatrically next month, so I’ll just say the film does have a brilliant, black-and-white opening sequence. As for the rest, people may not have been walking out but many were averting their eyes. I also noticed not a few were dozing at the 10 a.m. screening.