A Serbian Film (Film Review)

Some people will say that this is nothing more than another way to shock and get recognition. People have said it since day one of shocking films and they will continue to do so. Be it "Cannibal Holocaust", "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom", "Irréversible", "Guinea Pig", "August Underground's Mordum" or "Murder-Set-Pieces".


I'm leaning towards the last of my choices, a story with porn and violence. Some movies work for the fact that all they do is show visuals, they don't let you imagine or feel anything other than shoving visuals in your face. Srdjan Spasojevic has made a film that does it all, show and let your imagination flow..

The story is actually pretty damn good. I'm not gonna say that this film has an amazing plot, or that it has a deeper meaning that will change your life. This isn't the case. But it is a film that shows us the only real Hell there is; life. It takes every nightmare you have ever had that hasn't had monsters in it, and it let one man go through all of them. I present Milos. Milos is trying to get out of the porn industry so that he can live happily with his wife and his son. He was the master of his crafts, no one could keep a boner like him and no one could play with the actresses like him. He was, simply put, the best. However, lately he has only been featured in the worst, the least payed flicks and he is getting sick of it. One day an old colleague contacts him saying she wants to meet up with him. As they meet up she tells him about this new director who is making an artistic porno. It will be like no other film out there and the world will go crazy for it. After a meeting with this director, and being offered lots and lots of money for the role, he has to go home to his wife to discuss it, and shortly after he signs the papers to his own ladder to Hell. Of course, he knows nothing about that yet, or about the movie either. He is told that the only way this film will work is if he knows nothing about it and only let his real reactions control the situations. First day of shooting he is taken to an orphanage, where they put an earpiece in his ear and begin to give him instructions. He walks out of the car and is met by a camera man, and as he enters the building he sees another one. They follow him as he walks through the empty hall when suddenly a door opens up. It's a woman, a sexy woman at that. He walks together with the woman, and they eventually reach the stairs, where there is a young girl sitting on the floor smiling towards him. Soon her mother arrives, angry, and takes her by the arm and pulls her away. This is where his first alarm is going off. What kind of porn is this? From this moment on, more and more odd situations are presented to him, all the while being told that it's okay, it's safe.

I'm not gonna tell you more about the plot, as what I mentioned above is enough to set you up, without spoiling too much. The plot in this film I really liked, and for some reason the whole plot, and the feel of the movie, is like a cross-breed between "Oldboy", "Irréversible", "Murder-Set-Pieces". It becomes a mystery of what has really happened, much like the two first mentioned, and like the last one it has gore (you can argue that many films do, but this film actually reminded me of "Murder-Set-Pieces" in that department, be it good or bad). Together it becomes a gore film worth watching, even though I might not praise this film as a masterpiece. Personally, I also wouldn't say you should watch this film to be shocked 'cause that might take some of the experience out of it. Sure, it's too late now that the entire internet has been jerking this film off as the sickest thing out there. I can't just yet say if I would agree, I need this film to sink in, but I know that the first reaction I had doesn't say it's the most shocking film out there. This might be because it has been many years since I originally saw "August Underground" and it's sequel, "Cannibal Holocaust" and whatever other sick film there is, and I'm not as easily shocked anymore. But there is one guarantee, the things that goes on in this film are much more depraved and sickening than all the movies mentioned above. It pushes the limits to an extreme extent. I'm just not sure yet if the execution of it was done in a way that shocks as much as let's say "August Underground" first did.

Bottom of the line is though, "Srpski Film" is here to hook you into a story of smut, shock, gore, rape, murder and psychological terror, and when it's as well-made as this, who cares what the motives of making it were? My rule is that no film needs to show smut or gore, a film can show very little and still be affective, but I don't judge anyone who wants it in their film. Sex is something we all relate too, showing it only adds to the titillation, and the same goes for the gore. "Srpski Film" is all about life, death, sex and the art that can come of it. It's definitely a really good film that most likely will get bad ratings for just being violent smut, and I think that's fine too, because it's not for everyone and what a shame it would be if it was.