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56%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #1,932
...out of 16,701 movies
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Milos, a retired porn star, leads a normal family life trying to make ends meet. Presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to financially support his family for the rest of their lives, Milos must participate in one last mysterious film. From then on, Milos is drawn into a maelstrom of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem.
--TMDb
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This does not serve so much as a review of the film as it does a warning: don't see this film. I am as open minded as you get in terms of cinematic content. I have a strong stomach and can handle anything. But I felt myself needing several showers after sitting through the entirety of "A Serbian Film", one of the most utterly pointless horror films to come around in a long time. It basically takes the 'torture porn' idea to a whole new level by inventing a new term which can only be described as 'newborn porn'. You heard that right. And it is just as grisly as the term would suggest. 'Newborn porn' has no place in any society, archaic or other.
The film stars Srdjan Todorovic as Milos, a former porn-star who is getting older and re-evaluating his life and his career. He agrees to take part in an 'art film' hoping that it will get him out of his former business for good and introduce him to more serious roles. What he soon discovers, however, is that he has become involved in a snuff film ring that focuses on pedophilia and necrophilia. Therein lies "A Serbian Film" in all its glory. What do you get to see in this film, you might ask? SPOILERS: You get to see a woman give birth to a baby and then immediately have sex with the child until it dies. You get to see a man decapitate a girl in mid sex and then copulate with her corpse. These are just a couple of the wholesome activities in this film.
What's most disheartening is that this filmmaker obviously has talent. The film is technically stunning. The cinematography is beautiful and inventive. The acting is pretty exceptional throughout. The pacing and the keen sense of tension is built to unspeakable heights. All of that works so well in this film. Too bad the subject matter is so repulsive and so merit-less that it sours every other aspect of the film. And I know what some of you out there will say -- "Oh, lighten up." Is there really a way to lighten up about a grown man having sex with a newborn baby until it dies? Is there ever going to be a way for that thing to be watchable? If you're one of the people who loves watching that kind of thing, hurray for you. I found it to be in poor taste.
This film played SXSW and I barely missed it there. I should have stayed away. Nothing could have prepared me for this film or how dirty I would feel after watching it. There is zero doubt that this is currently the most sickening and disturbing film ever made...hands down. Forget what you've seen. "A Serbian Film" is a new level in slime. Every now and again a film comes along that defies all sense I have of cinematic values. What was the point of this film? I have heard the director give some bullshit response about the film really showing what it's like to live in Serbia. Bullshit. I know some Serbians. They might not have it easy but this is not an accurate depiction of any civilization. If this is a view on any part of society, we might as well as drink the spiked Flavor-Aid. 0/10.
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#1:
Chad
- added 09/14/2010, 12:56 PM
Reading this review and looking at your final
score confuses me. Let's see, you're saying:
1) It does exactly what it set out to do:
shock and disgust the audience.
2) The
cinematography is beautiful and inventive.
3)
The acting is pretty exceptional throughout.
4) The pacing and the keen sense of tension is
built to unspeakable heights.
...and
then plopping down a 0/10 because of #1? Wait,
what? That's sort of like saying "Yeah,
Clerks had some great writing, the acting was
awesome, the characters were believable, the
soundtrack was amazing, it was full of memorable
lines, but goddamn it, it MADE ME LAUGH. Fuck
that movie!"
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#2:
bluemeanie
- added 09/14/2010, 04:14 PM
My score is a reflection of the level of my
recommendation. I would not recommend this film
to ANYONE even with its positive merits. Just
because someone tosses some glitter on a turd --
yeah, it's a pretty turd but it's still a piece of
shit. All of the things I mentioned in my review
are true -- they do not make the film worth
seeing.
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#3:
Chad
- added 09/14/2010, 04:31 PM
What I'm saying is, it did what it set out to do:
it shocked you and it disgusted you. That was
what the filmmakers attempted to do, and it
worked. Everything surrounding that element of
the movie worked as well, in your opinion (I
haven't seen it yet - kinda hard to watch this one
at work, but it's on my Archos). I know you don't
like these kinds of movies (see: Hostel), but it
just boggles the mind that you'd damn the movie
for doing what it advertised. Again, that's like
complaining that a comedy made you laugh or that a
documentary taught you something.
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#4:
bluemeanie
- added 09/14/2010, 05:05 PM
I damned the movie for not enjoying it and
thinking it was pointless. How is that wrong? I
think "Disaster Movie" did what it set
out to do also -- does that mean I should give it
a higher score? Come on...
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#5:
Ginose
- added 09/14/2010, 11:53 PM
This movie was utterly pointless, profane,
disgusting and served, in no way, to advance film
as an art-form.
I still loved the fuck out of
it.
Aside from being gorgeous, it was
definately a test in the limits of bad taste, and
it worked in wonderful ways. I wasn't bored once
throughout, and found myself, ME, actually shocked
by the movie as it went on. Not that it was
anything deeply cerebral, but it was a glorious
mind-fuck of exploitation and just plain nasty.
The effects were great, the actign was actually
pretty fantastic across the spread. All of the
human drama and characterization of Milo and his
family (brother included) were extremely
realistic, and, overall this was just the type of
morbid, horrific film that we need, to wash the
boring torture-porn from our mouths and give us
something exciting.
8/10
You crazy,
Billy Ray. You crazy.
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#6:
BuryMeAlive
- added 09/15/2010, 05:25 AM
I haven't seen the film (yet), but that was one of
the worst movie reviews ever.
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#7:
bluemeanie
- added 09/15/2010, 12:15 PM
Yes -- I apologize to the world for not liking
certain films. Heaven forbid I have specific
tastes. And thank you for your compliment on my
review -- I wanted my review to match the film and
evidently I succeeded.
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#8:
BuryMeAlive
- added 09/15/2010, 04:02 PM
I think you can apologize better than that...
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#9:
bluemeanie
- added 09/15/2010, 05:46 PM
Oh, if only your screen name were fortuitous...
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#10:
benloveshorror
- added 09/16/2010, 03:48 AM
You don't have to apologize to anyone for not
liking this movie. It does sound horrible.
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#11:
Dametria
- added 09/20/2010, 02:23 AM
Meh, nothing new. De Sade addressed that in
Juliette. I don't have the book on me at the
moment but I remember one of his buddies
apparently knocked up his daughters after their
first period the hangs them like piniatas at 9
months pregnant, beats them till the baby pops out
then has sex with the baby, male or female (in
graphic detail about the sound of the pelvis
breaking, etc)..... I remember him being from
"a distant land" I wonder if it was
Serbia.....
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#12:
Frank Zito
- added 09/27/2010, 06:44 PM
Jesus Christ monkey-balls… what a godawful review.
You start out by stating: “I am as open minded as
you get in terms of cinematic content. I have a
strong stomach and can handle anything.” Well,
obviously not. This film offended you – you must
have known going in that it was intended to shock
and it sounds like a serious case of buyer’s
remorse to me. We all know that this film will
probably never receive wide distribution, and you
should understand that one guaranteed way to
ensure that a film like this finds an audience is
to warn people not to see it. In the third
paragraph, you praise virtually every technical
and performance aspect of the film, then go on to
award ZERO stars! A review is supposed to be
objective, not a knee-jerk reaction based on a
moral objection. I have only recently discovered
this site, and have been impressed with what I’ve
found – even-handed and insightful reviews written
by people (including yourself) with genuine
enthusiasm for horror cinema – until I came across
this piece of dross. I think you should seriously
consider taking it down – if anything your
‘warning’ may bring the film to the attention of
people who were unaware of it’s existence! I have
seen the film and found it shocking, though
certainly not the most disturbing film I’ve seen.
For one thing, there is a seam of absurdist humor
running throughout. Forget all the crap about this
being a political film, this is straight-up shock
cinema which effortlessly pulls the rug out from
under the endless wave of lame-ass torture horror
by the raising the bar to mind-boggling levels of
extremity. Provocative, to be sure, but surely
grown adults should be encouraged to make up their
own minds? In my opinion it’s a decent film which,
while not half as clever as it’s director would
have us believe, is luridly entertaining
nevertheless. No way this rates 0/10 on objective
terms.
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#13:
Lucid Dreams
- added 09/27/2010, 08:13 PM
I find it funny that everyone hates this review?
He stated that he rated it based on how he would
recommend it to someone. Just because he said he
liked the way it looked and how the characters
acted he stated that he did not like the story to
it. Is he suppose to give it a 3 or maybe 4 just
because someone was good with the lighting on the
film? It's his opinion to rate his review, if you
all have something to say about how great this
movie is then write your own review.
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#14:
Ginose
- added 09/27/2010, 11:48 PM
Actually, a critque is giving an analysis based on
your personal opinion. A review is a more
objective analysis of a film's merits from all
aspects of it.
Well, that's what I've always
gathered the difference is. As that's normally the
difference I've seen between the writings of film
critics and film reviewers. I think a critic can
stat an opinion that people respect based upon
their knowledge of the medium, where as a reviewer
explains how they felt about the film's individual
components, thus, reviewing a movie rather than
just telling people how they felt about it. I
THOUGHT that's what it was, anyway... that's how
I've been writing mine...
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#15:
Chad
- added 10/03/2010, 04:11 PM
This movie was actually great, and it managed to
do something that few films can: it shocked me and
it disgusted me. Me, the guy who is almost
untouchable after two decades of horror movies.
Major credit to the filmmakers for doing that and
also telling a captivating story at the same
time.
As for the review, yeah, it was
completely unfounded to trash the movie based on a
ten-second scene that only serves to show what
kind of people these filmmakers are (the ones in
the movie, not the ones in the real world).
They're made out to be people who deal in highly
illegal, highly repulsive pornography - did you
expect to see them filming a normal missionary
position or, heavens to Betsy, an anal scene?
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#16:
setsura
- added 10/03/2010, 07:38 PM
Only the serbians could make something this
completely fucked up, i have watched some messed
up shit in my life and i thought i could handle
anything but then i watched this, i dont know how
i managed to watch it all. While it was not the
best review i kinda wished i listened to
bluemeanie's warning, even if you think you can
watch anything and shrug it off if this movie does
not affect you in any way, you are not human. It
basicly left me feeling like what happend to the
fat bald guy near the end of the movie actually
happend to me... On the plus side, i know think i
really can watch anything because nothing is ever
going to be as bad as this. 8/10
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#17:
grain of sand
- added 10/21/2010, 04:23 AM
Damn, I thought this was a stylish and disgusting
little thrill ride. I caught this a couple of
months ago in a packed theater in San Francisco,
sold out. I know it's gnarly but eh, I just didn't
think it was so shocking after spending my time in
my late teens watching all that august underground
bullshit, but hey that's just me. I've seen it
twice now, showing friends and what not, but I'll
never watch it again. I recommend it to anyone
that's open minded and into shock cinema. 9/10 for
bringing my hand to my face a couple times..
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#18:
Andy van Heel
- added 06/26/2012, 04:19 AM
This movie was brutal in every way. I am a young
father and some scenes I saw will stay with me as
long as I walk this earth. I cannot unsee what i
saw, and sometimes I wish I did. Nevertheless,
the movie is actually good. Acting, production
value, score, ... it was all there. I think this
can be considered as art, but that does not mean
it's the f*cking Mona Lisa. It is brutal,
discusting and it takes you on a descent into hell
unlike any other film has ever done. Before this
movie I considered stuff like 'Lucker the
Necrophagus' and 'Necromantics' to be peaces of
extreme cinema. After seeing a Serbian Movie with
my friend (If I would have watched it with my
girlfriend I think a single man would be writing
this comment) these other movies look like
SnowWhite. A SM was a genuin experience, a true
event. I never want to see this movie again.
Beware... 9/10
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