Have had scandinavian release of that DVD sitting on shelves for ages. Should watch it.
Many people have been talking about Serbian film, how brutal and over the top it is. And seeing if AFTER all the celebration and all the criticism, was not perhaps the best. Since it has already set up so high expectations.
I wrote in Finnish about it in other forum where was some discussion about it, but maybe worth to translate some thoughts...
Years ago, when brutal and dark movies were hard to find, you had to collect fanzines and check out ads for VHS traders and get the 5th generation rubbish just to appreciate some pretty regular gore action. I remember, that in those days when Nekromantic started to spread around the "scene", it got pretty similar feedback as Serbian Film? Some were glorifying that finally movies has gone so far, where nobody can top it. And some were thinking that this is so senseless and blunt shit, that we're clearly passed the line of any moral decency. At the same time, magazines that were in each issue reporting about how many seconds of gore is missing from which version = how many seconds/minutes of movie is cut by cencors in which version, had articles about how disgusting the "scene" has become, when there are actually collectors who's interest isn't merely gore&horror and little nudity within, but there circulates compilations of extreme pornography, autopsy videos, suicide/execution footage etc. And they had to put some moral stand, and oppose it.
Nekromantic, has obviously very artistic drive. Uncommercial background and especially the genius music of Herman Kopp. Serbian Film in other hand, looks pretty much like "normal movie". Of course, normality is now such a diverse, but when you got all the Hostel, Martyrs, etc in top rentals and cinemas, then it's pretty much the mainstream of "horror". Music of Serbian Film is ok. Few times it becomes even interesting in its attempt to be "disturbing", but most of all it doesn't really manage to do it. Visual side and story plays with extreme "horror", but when you are kind of jaded movie watcher, you can immediately underline several problems:
1) The softcore porno shots what you get, are so annoying it really gets on your nerves. Sometimes you wonder, that is these people who show fake porn in movies (predominantly trying to imitate the late 80's), have actually seen porn movies of the era? I mean, I get the feeling that it's some American Pie movie going here.
2) story progresses somehow very uninterestingly slow, until the "horror" starts.
3) "Horror" isn't really horror, it is series of loosely collaged moments of violence, which occasionally are also very funny.
4) Philosophical content of movie is like watching some Battle Royale II type of nonsense. Assumption, that when you got someone who seeks movie like this, you just throw in few nice words and dramatic pompous acting and suddenly it is such a philosophical statement. Of course the concept of victim as entertainment COULD be good, but movie doesn't really touch the subject more than senseless confused lines.
So what is good then? One can't argue against the visually appealing and tasty scenes! Beating the whores, cutting the head of, throat fucking the toothless to suffocating death and so on. If things like that doesn't appeal to you, then you are not maybe the target audience. I think that main motivation of Serbian movie is the search of limits where half of the audience vomits and cries protests, and the other half celebrates that finally! Finally someone did something as nasty as I hoped!
But it IS little foolish, that when things go this far, it STILL isn't going as far as some of the masters of 70's/80's. When you can show fierce brutal sadism, you can fuck the newborn kid, you can sodomize little boys, you show cumshots landing on face of beaten up whore, but after all, you're still a softcore erotica. When you compare with for example Martyrs, this is lacking the epic journey though extensive torture. Serbian Film isn't THAT interesting as story or dialogue, and the moments of interests pass very quickly, linked together with kind of artificial flashbacks.
I would recommend to movie with pleasure, but I doubt it will be any classic in the movie history other than perhaps one milestone in the climate of society?
I was reading some magazine recently, where was article about change of climate and new milestone reached. That all the reality TV and entertainment based on other peoples misery, accidents, misfortune and having laugh about it has been losing its popularity a lot. Any show what plays with that kind or related values, has started losing viewers and the success also in other fields of culture isn't that obvious. Now, the new decade shows tendencies of awareness, empathy and positivity (if I recall terms right, but I guess you know what I mean) taking over. People preferring reality TV where something is solved. Something is made better. etc. If it really is true, I guess Serbian Film from 2009/2010, would be kind of land mark, that this is where it all went before someone thought, fuck these exploitative tv shows and collections of senseless violence, maybe it's time to rise the flag of suojeluskunnat and bring some decent values around the country based on solidarity within the nation for example, heh... To build, create and triumph, and not only jerk off and laugh next to sledgehammered child torso.
