Review of A Serbian Film (2010) by Tyler S — 16 Nov 2012

This is an extremely difficult movie for me to rate. Everything that can be said about this film -has- been said. It's relentless, punishing, and quite possibly one of the most brutal and sadistic movies ever committed to film. If you are a gorehound or someone who wants to observe a movie for pure shock value, look no further than this, as it far exceeds other movies of infamy such as Cannibal Holocaust, Salo: 120 Days of Sodom and even the Guinea Pig films. I would have to assert this rivals the August Underground series, though in my opinion is much more masterfully done and actually contains latent content that makes it a legitimate cinema contender.

Inversely, I\if you're a casual horror observer - someone who could watch the Hostel / Saw / Human Centipede (even Act 2) series, but found them to push the boundary a bit, you ought to steer far clear of this. Even brutal foreign films such as Irreversible, Inside and Martyrs pale to this behemoth. This movie was made to make you squirm, look away, and question what in your life led you to the point of watching A Serbian Film. Again - this is NOT your new-age "torture porn" genre. This is the godfather of torture porn's ugly-stepsister half-aborted double-fetus incestral brother in law. Now, with all of that out of the way, my opinion of the movie.

It is incredibly well-done. The animalistic nature of the movie is so raw and unrelenting, you have to admire it for the reaction and emotion it can stir. Now, I have a penchant for being able to accept fictional film as is, (numerous forays into the darker realms of the internet have truly deadened my reaction to most fake sadism,) but I even found myself surprised and asking myself how much further the movie was going to take this. I felt no need to turn it off, take a break or look away, but I was also well-prepared for this film. The movie has an actually impressive flow and style to it. It's gritty and unchained but paces well and doesn't force all of the macabre down your throat in one final gesture, a la Human Centipede 2. This is (somewhat) gradual exposure. Some ideas introduced are worse than others, but the film does succeed in "going down the rabbit hole" progressively as the film continues. You will know fairly quickly if this movie is for you or not. If anything early provides serious discomfort, it is likely in your best interest to turn it off and try something else, seriously.

The special effects are mostly well-done. I don't think that it is as realistic or cringe-inducing as the August Underground series, to be fair, but this has a "true film" quality to it versus the dirty, grimy snuff-esque aspect of the AU series (which I suppose is the point.) Some of the scenes in the movie, as 'gruesome' as they are, are fairly laughable, though. It is fair to suspend disbelief and just accept the movie at face value, for better or worse (I'm looking at you, Mr. Sunglasses.) So, for a real grizzled vet of the dark sub-genre, this shouldn't be anything too wicked or unbearable. Again - if your experiences don't venture far beyond an Eli Roth film or miscellaneous Saw films, this will likely lead to a "Pause" or serious reflection on finishing the movie, however.

As far as the story and resolution is concerned, "wow" is a simple understatement. This is where the film truly deserves credit. Once again, where the AU series, some of the Guinea Pig films, Human Centipede or something like "Aftermath" (I don't care about it's underlying themes, it's silly,) fails is where something like A Serbian Film, Inside or Martyrs wildly succeeds. It has powerful meaning in its explicit nature. The graphic nature of the story is presented for the exact reason of reflection - as a commentary on the extremes that predicate the basis for which it operates. In this case, it is a testament to atrocities that were sustained in Serbia in the past by a powerful leader, and the relative inability to escape the terror and horror which many were subjected to. This movie is bleak, dreary, and certainly not for 95% (or more) of the film-going population. But if you have the moxie and stones to sit through this, you may be seriously surprised at the impact a film like this has on you. I don't think it's as relevant as Martyrs or Irreversible, but it succeeds in what it meant to do.

(Points were taken away from the film for some of the scenes which seem to be made for simple shock value [baby scene more than anything else] rather than keeping consistent with the point of the violence, as well as some of the absurdity that takes place very late in the film which had me more in a state of comedy than terror or shock.).