A Serbian Film (2010)

Written, Produced & Directed by Srdjan Spasojevic

As a hardcore film, horror, and B-movie lover, I've seen a lot of shit. A lot of stuff that would make normal people run for the hills I call my favorite movies. Beyond that, even in the world of hardcore horror nerds, stuff like the Ginuea Pig series will destroy some fans' love of horror. I'm here today to say I've seen all the films that people consider the most "fucked up" films of all time, such as Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, The Men Behind the Sun, August Underground, etc. None even comes close to A Serbian Film.

I won't go on and on about the plot, while the plot is the reason to watch this movie, I won't spoil it here. You've probably heard the stories, but it's truly something to behold. This movie manages to go further than any before it.

The f/x are unparalleled, some of the sickest, nastiest gore and f/x you'll ever see. And I'm not talking in terms of just grisly gore, it's the ways in which the gore comes about that is truly disturbing.

People will be shocked, horrified, and sickened by this film, but the truth in horror cinema is that we get to turn it off. It's just a movie for us. For the people of Serbia, this is a documentation of the everyday horrors of life during the 1990's, and the monsters created by the Muslim genocide in the region. This is a film about a broken, perverse regime's impression on a generation, one that will having lasting effects through the rest of history.

That is the true horror. Usually horror films are far-fetched to the point of silliness, as some may see this, but taken in context, that events such as these happened (and continue to a lesser extent) and monsters such as these were created from such terrible events.

The world at large has a very narrow view of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with little understanding of what the people there have been through, and how it continues to affect their country to this very day. To me, that is the most disturbing aspect, that possibly the most extremely violent film of all time could be so because it is rooted in reality, an expose of the type of lives that are lived in the region.

The most dark, violent, angry, and perverted film I've ever seen. But it's a good film, well made, with broad strokes of storytelling containing tiny details and extreme, but viable, political commentary. It's a beautiful film to look at, the atmosphere and tone reminded me of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It may be hard for some people to separate the story points from pure shock scenes, because often the two are the same in this film. The most shocking realization you'll make is you're so lost in the extreme nature of the film that the story takes a back seat, but once you look over your shoulder, you're twice as shocked at what happened in the story, and how it was executed so extremely in the first place.

A mind fuck of a film in the sense that it accomplishes so many things with so little, the shock and terror of the whole experience taking a gripping back seat to the fact that everything depicted here actually happened at some point in the region, and that genocidal maniacs still hold powerful government positions to this day. The same people that slit the throats of babies and laughed in the mother's face. Horrifying, shocking, real. If you have the balls, check out what may be the most extreme film of all time.

9.5/10