A Serbian film

[Nomad4Ever]

I watched the full 104 minute uncut version of A Serbian Film. I always found shock content fascinating. I've seen a lot of it. ISIS execution videos (surprisingly high production value btw), drug cartel tortures+executions, horrible factory accidents, child soldiers hit by RPGs etc. I've seen movies like The Human Centipede.

So when I heard about A Serbian Film, and read a review that said it was the most horrible thing they've ever seen and to not watch it (and banned in several countries!), I knew I had to watch it.

Well, it certainly was something. It's fairly hard to shock me at this point, but shocked I was. If that was the movie's goal, it succeeded in that at least. There are interesting things that could be said about the movie. It is, however, quite hard to say them after having your brain cells fried after processing the events of the film. There are some interesting sociological questions that the films very existence poses; such as what limits if any should there be on artistic expression? Does the film even count as art? Did the director pay for the actors therapy?

Genuinely, actual footage of cartel gangs cutting out people's tongues and forcing them to eat them is less disturbing. With them there isn't the added layer of trying to figure out why the footage you are watching was made. Like, it's cartels doing cartel stuff. Simple. But with A Serbian Film you are left with the horrific realization that someone wrote, directed, acted, then approved the scene you are watching for the purpose of making a piece of media.

Has anyone else watched A Serbian Film? What were your thoughts?

 

[Felis Leo]

I watched the full 104 minute uncut version of A Serbian Film. I always found shock content fascinating. I've seen a lot of it. ISIS execution videos (surprisingly high production value btw), drug cartel tortures+executions, horrible factory accidents, child soldiers hit by RPGs etc. I've seen movies like The Human Centipede.

So when I heard about A Serbian Film, and read a review that said it was the most horrible thing they've ever seen and to not watch it (and banned in several countries!), I knew I had to watch it.

Well, it certainly was something. It's fairly hard to shock me at this point, but shocked I was. If that was the movie's goal, it succeeded in that at least. There are interesting things that could be said about the movie. It is, however, quite hard to say them after having your brain cells fried after processing the events of the film. There are some interesting sociological questions that the films very existence poses; such as what limits if any should there be on artistic expression? Does the film even count as art? Did the director pay for the actors therapy?

Genuinely, actual footage of cartel gangs cutting out people's tongues and forcing them to eat them is less disturbing. With them there isn't the added layer of trying to figure out why the footage you are watching was made. Like, it's cartels doing cartel stuff. Simple. But with A Serbian Film you are left with the horrific realization that someone wrote, directed, acted, then approved the scene you are watching for the purpose of making a piece of media.

Has anyone else watched A Serbian Film? What were your thoughts?

I saw a clip from it. It reminded me too much of "Hostel" which I did not care for, and I decided to give it a pass. I used to watch a lot of the more brutal horror films back in college, but I have cooled on them in my later years. I guess I just replaced them with brutal shows like "The Boys" or "Invincible."

 

[Nomad4Ever]

I saw a clip from it. It reminded me too much of "Hostel" which I did not care for, and I decided to give it a pass.

I haven't seen Hostel, but I it's my understanding that A Serbian Film is significantly more...evocative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hostel is "just" horror gore. A Serbian Film certainly has that, but no amount of graphic violence could match the other boundaries they decided to push. The purpose of the film almost seemed to be to see exactly what the limits of legal media are.

Spoiler: SEVERE CONTENT WARNING

In A Serbian Film, there are many on camera scenes of rape and physical abuse. At one point a man kills and women while having sex with her, and finishes after she is dead. Now, I've seen rape in film before, but I wasn't ready for the pedophilia. A dad, on camera, rapes his 5-6 yr old son while under the influence of a mind control like drug. There is a scenes where a woman gives birth to a child, and the doctor that delivered the newborn precedes to...**** it. I felt like I was getting put on a FBI watch list as I was watching the film. I wasn't kidding when I said that cartel torture videos are less disturbing.

I used to watch a lot of the more brutal horror films back in college, but I have cooled on them in my later years.

Well, I think once you've gotten your fill there is little need to watch more. They don't have much to add outside of their pure shock value. Obviously you can have brutal media that also has an interesting story/message, but that's not what A Serbian Film is.

I guess I just replaced them with brutal shows like "The Boys" or "Invincible."

I haven't seen The Boys, but I've only heard good things about it. I love Invincible though. A great example of a modern adult cartoon.