A Serbian Film (2010) - Srdjan Spasojevic

In the same vein as Human Centipede this vile and disgusting horror movie from Serbia acts more as the comedians joke, The Aristocrats, than an actual film that I could get into. However, this movie has one redeeming quality. Under all of the filth, and necrophilia, and rape, and incest, and depression, and brutality, and gore, and porn. Under all of that filth is actually a watchable movie that doesn't seem all that different from 9mm. It could even be argued that this movie is far superior to 9mm. For one the movie doesn't have Nicholas Cage. I wonder what it would be like if it did? Huhh... 

If you're still with me after that introduction then I guess I should put it into context a bit, right? A retired hardcore porn star named Milos, decides to give it one more try after fretting over being able to provide for his wife and child. He takes a strange gig from one of the most shady characters ever put to film. I still don't know why he accepted. He could of kept looking around. Anyway, one thing leads to another and he ends up doing all sorts of really messed up stuff on camera. This gig introduces him to a world of hardcore reality snuff that pits him in a game he doesn't want to play. The overtones seem to be; stay the hell out of Serbia if your looking for a good time. 

Critics online smother the movie with gore-porn accusations that I feel are pretty just. Some of the content was so elaborate and over-the-top that it actually boiled over from being hard to watch, to just a bizarre gimmick of putting whatever you can in front of the camera. Yes, there really is a baby raping scene. A newborn in fact. This scene is a great example of what I am talking about. This film didn't really need to have that scene at all. There was no need for that whatsoever. It was just gimmicky and came off as gore porn. If you come into this movie expecting gore porn then you will not be dissatisfied. Remarkably, you might just like this movie if you weren't looking for gore porn too. I actually found this movie to be easier to watch than Human Centipede. 

The movie itself is pretty good. Not really good. It has it's problems. The story-line is pretty two-dimensional and takes a few cheap twists and turns. Without the gore and gruesome footage this movie could be a solid straight to video release. Srđan Todorović (yeah that was a cut and paste) did a great job of playing Milos. He was great the whole movie. I really felt for him. The pacing dragged a little bit during a few scenes and felt rushed during others. Overall, I think Srdjan did a great job. It looks and sounds beautiful. Really well put together. I didn't really like the ending. I am not going to ruin it for anyone but the ending felt like a cop-out. I really don't like endings like that. However, even with my dislike for the ending they did a good job of being consistent throughout and delivered a great product.

Director: Srdjan Spasojevic
Country: Serbia
Style: Shock Porn





Did ya know...

The film was shot in sixty-one days, on location in Belgrade. It was banned in Norway. It now sits beside Ichi the Killer and Grotesque. The film was banned in Brazil as well. But in America, it's all right.