A Serbian Film-2010

Director Srđan Spasojević

Starring Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović

Top 10 Most Disturbing Films #6

Scott’s Review #282

Reviewed October 13, 2015

Grade: B

A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film that attempts, and succeeds, in breaking down every possible taboo barrier, albeit in a stylish, admirable, artistic way.

The film is not for the faint of heart, and even die-hard, gross-out horror fans might find it too shocking to view.

It is not so much the gore that is challenging- horror aficionados have seen this before.

But rather the blatant display of the subject matter at hand, which delves full speed ahead into pornography, including rape (both sexes), necrophilia (sex with corpses), and child sexual abuse, that is both tough and sickening to watch.

Priding myself on being able to take anything thrown my way in the world of film, I admired A Serbian Film’s bravery in going places rarely explored before.

I felt, however, that the story wasn’t very compelling or particularly well written, and that its primary goal was to shock the audience rather than tell a great story.

Intriguingly, Serbian films have been banned in several countries for their obviously controversial content.

Milos is a semi-retired porn star, now happily married to the beautiful Marija and living a peaceful existence. Although they struggle financially, they manage to get by while raising their six-year-old son, Petar.

One day Milos runs into a fellow porn star, Lejla, who suggests he contact a powerful porn producer and return to the business, citing an enormous windfall to be had since the producer is making more “artistic” films these days.

Milos cannot resist the potential money and meets with the mysterious man named Vukmir. One thing leads to another, and he is once again lured back into the porn industry.

What he is not told is the premise or details of the film he is to appear in, only to show up at the designated filming location.

Predictably, this leads to disaster, and the film’s main plot emerges. Milos is drugged to become a “stud”, bedding and beating almost anything that breathes…..or doesn’t breathe if you catch my drift.

Brazen is a polite way of describing this film. It is perverse and goes way out there. Milos, while drugged, begins to do crazy stuff, not realizing what he is doing, and spirals further out of control as the drugs increase.

The producer, in the film’s brief attempt at a social slant, cites child pornography as being in popular demand, as online viewers clamor for this new form of “art”.

Two scenes stand out as especially gruesome. One involves a pregnant porn star giving birth- she does so, and her counterpart proceeds to rape the screaming baby; the new mother grins in sinister pleasure.

In another, Milos rapes his son, Petar, while Milos’s brother rapes Milos’s wife. Of course, being heavily under the influence, Milos does not realize what he is doing, but the film succeeds in shocking and disgusting the audience.

Both of these horrific scenes have nothing to do with the story and are included to shock the viewer and elicit a reaction.

My criticism is that the grotesque scenes have little to do with the story and are arguably unnecessary to further the plot.

Shocking for the sake of being shocking, the film reminds me in a way of Salo, a brutal art film from 1975, which focuses not on horror, but on the horrific time of Nazi-ism.

Salo is a masterpiece because it contains a powerful, thought-provoking story.

A Serbian Film (2010) is a brave film, but ultimately the story achieves nothing more than being a disturbing, and I never need to see it again.