Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Srdjan Todorovic, Sergei Trifunovic, Jelena Gavrilovic, Katarina Zutic, Slobodan Bestic, Ana Sakic, Lena Bogdanovic, Luka Mijatovic, Andjela Nenadovic, Nenad Herakovic
Written by Aleksandar Radivojevic & Srdjan Spasojevic
Certification UK 18 | US NC-17
Runtime 99 minutes
Directed by Srdjan Spasojevic
Pulled from Film4 FrightFest 2010 to preserve the integrity of the film-makers' vision – because the BBFC went scissor-happy and wanted to cut almost four minutes from it, despite being screened in festivals around the world uncut – the highly controversial A Serbian Film has got the whole film world talking, and controversy creates cash.
These days just about everything has been seen in horror, and by that I mean ultra-graphic gore and violence. For a seasoned genre fan, very little is shocking in 2010 as the envelope has already been pushed and boundaries crossed. But, that's not to say there are no more taboos to be broken. It's certainly rare to see something new in horror that's high on the sick-o-meter seeing as there are so many particularly twisted movies at the forefront of the genre today, ever since the resurgence of mainstream horror in the last decade, but as far as the hype surrounding A Serbian Film's grisly content goes, it is indeed distasteful and unpleasant and all those things.
The movie follows a former porn star hailed as the best in the country's native industry who is lured out of retirement for the biggest job of his career, partaking in what a deviant director calls a new genre of pornography. Though it isn't revealed to him exactly what the job will entail, the man becomes consumed by a world of hurt, torture and gratuity that he could never have imagined.
Anyone who genuinely enjoys A Serbian Film probably has issues. I do not believe the film-makers intended it to be enjoyed. It's a cinematic statement charged with political messages and important metaphor. It's a cry out against the Serbian government, like a 99-minute revolution raging against the politicians who those behind the film believe are oppressing the country and forcing its men, women and children against their will to live in a state of tyrannical dictatorship and greed.
I have no doubt that some audiences will walk out of the film or simply switch it off. It's definitely not for everyone with its extremely graphic scenes of rape, torture, murder and something involving a baby that is especially repulsive, but those who pass it off as merely “gorn” must not have the capacity to understand exactly what the film means and what it stands for. It's a very important film, and as disgusting as it is, every bit of ultra-violence represents just how the film-makers feel about the conditions of their lives in Serbia. This is a review of the uncut version of the film and unfortunately with scenes where I can pinpoint exactly where cuts will be made, it's going to lose a good portion of its effect.