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This review may contain spoilers and deals with extremely graphic subject matter.
Now, I must make it absolutely clear that I don't particularly like horror films, mostly because the genera desperately lacks originality. It seems to be the same old shit consumed and regurgitated only to be consumed and regurgitated again and again. The reason I set down to watch this film is because I've always enjoyed the Serbian cinema and, I say this without any shame, the adult film industry fascinates me. Frankly, the idea of having sex at work would appeal to many of us : )
I had some reservations when I first got my hands on a "legal" DVD screener of the now infamous "A Serbian Film" after all, a film that was pulled from festival circulation around the world deserves an audience. As we all know, censorship breeds curiosity. The film tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn-star who agrees to participate in an "art film" only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff movie with pedophiliac and necrophiliac themes.
The creators of the film have gone on record stating that it is a metaphor for the way the Serbian government is abusing and oppressing it's people. That's fine and dandy up until you get to the scenes of contrived sensationalism usually preceded by a shot of a prosthetic penis that serves as an early worning signal of horrible sadism that is about to occupy the screen. The truth is "A Serbian Film" relies on shock value to push it's non-existent story forward. It's seems that the creators of the film really did have a genuine opportunity to make a statement, instead they chose not to.
Some have compared "A Serbian Film" to Pier Pasolini's "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom" a film that is widely debated to this day and understandably so, it's impact on the viewer is devastating. Pasolinis's cold, straight-angle, deep focus camera traps the viewer in the middle of horrendous torcher that the film's characters are subjected to. "A Serbian Film" makes you feel nothing for it's characters, you simply don't care. For a moment I thought this was the idea of the entire film, shine a spot light on our desensitization as a people, have the viewer realize something about him or herself... but that was too much to hope for. All ideas of any artistic integrity fly out the window the moment the skull fucking scene takes place and the film completely discredits itself as a metaphor for anything.
Final verdict -- Don't wast your time. There is nothing here of any value.
Recommendation -- See "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom" but be warned, it will fuck you up.
