Review of A Serbian Film (2010) by Daniel A — 30 May 2011

If there was ever a category at the Oscars for Torture Porn, this would win!

One of the most controversial films ever made about the nature of pornography and it's extremes that are hidden underground. Like snuff or child porn. An aging porn star who has retired gets back into the game to support his family. He needs money and figures that the pay was good when he was doing porn. Through a friend in the porn biz he meets a man named Vukmir who wants to make artistic pornography. The real stuff. Like porn isn't real enough already.

The point is that Vukmir is a sadistic man and Milos (the aging porn star) is the puppet in Vukmir's "art" film. I could see right away what this film was doing. How the extremes of pornography are becoming more and more sick. Take for example the idea of Newborn Porn. It sounds ridiculous and seeing it portrayed in all it's glory in the film is sick and disgusting. Such an idea could only be catered to the mentally messed up masses who actually get off on this stuff.

Aside from that being a slew of scenes which are piled up for shock value, I suddenly was reminded of the exploitative horror flicks of the 70s and the video nasties of the 80s while watching this film. Specifically films like 'I Spit on Your Grave' and 'Cannibal Holocaust'. Pushing the boundaries of poor taste is what those films were about and this one is no exception. It made it's point of view clear, but it bludgeons you over the head with it for the rest of the film.

I got it! I get it! Also the film is very boring in it's first half. Setting up what is only going to be a continuous hodgepodge of Torture Porn. I stuck it out to the end as it slowly worked it's way up to the point of no return climax. Afterwards, I really wished I hadn't because it's just a boring piece of exploitative Torture Porn with a message. Not a very good message at that because some of us can be quite aware of what is going on in the world. Even the evil side that consists in pornography itself and with human beings, but all of this is overrated.

Once you've been desensitized by sex and violence in cinema, you'll pretty much laugh at anything that is too extreme. So laugh away at how ridiculously pointless it must be to watch a film where a newborn gets raped. It's not a real newborn, but the idea is still prevalent and silly in equal measure.