A Serbian Film: Hands Dabbled in Blood

Violence. Sex. Taboo. A Serbian Film is a strange and daring look into all of these subjects rolled up into one movie. 

Aged porn star Milos is retired and struggling to support his family when he receives a strange offer to do one last film. Reluctantly, he accepts, plunging into a deep, dark underworld of rape, murder and pure insanity. 

Before discussing anything else, I think it'd be a good idea to give you some background information on A Serbian Film. 

The film first surfaced in 2010 on the underground art film circuit in Serbia.

Soon enough, it gained enormous amounts of attention due to its extremely graphic scenes of rape, pedophilia, necrophilia and sexual violence. Serbian officials immediately began investigations to see if the film violated Serbian law. As we speak it is being investigated for "elements of crime against sexual morals and crime related to the protection of minors".

The film was also banned by a Spanish court because it "threatened sexual freedom" and thus could not be shown in the XXI Semana de Cine Fantástico y de Terror (21st Horror and Fantasy Film Festival) held in Spain.

In October of 2010, the film was shown at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain. As a result, the festival's director, Ángel Sala, was charged for exhibiting child pornography after receiving a complaint from a Catholic organization about scenes involving the rapes of a young child of approximately 11 years of age and a newborn. To this day, these investigations are ongoing.

All of the controversy surrounding the film has drawn the attention of most members of the horror and film community. The most hotly debated issue is the persecution of festival director Ángel Sala. 

Most notably, director/writer/actor Eli Roth is campaigning for Sala's freedom and the freedom to show A Serbian Film. Roth stated on his Twitter:

"A horrible situation is happening to the director of the Sitges Film Festival in Spain. He may be jailed up to 1 year for showing a film.The director, Angel Sala, is one not only an incredibly kind person with a loving family but he has given new filmmakers a chance for years. A prosecutor is going after him for showing A Serbian Film . Horror fans - please make noise about this. It's dangerous for all filmmakers."

"I have seen A Serbian Film, the whole situation is absurd and very disturbing. All the child scenes are off camera. It's the subject matter they are prosecuting him for. It sends a terrifying message to festivals."

A Serbian Film has become a thing of legend in the horror community. It's hype and mysteriousness have made people so intrigued with the film that on May 13th, through Invincible Pictures, a heavily edited version of the film ran an extremely limited circuit in the United States. 

Fortunately, I was able see the film in its unedited form with English subtitles  this past week.

The first 2 acts of the film are pure setup. They introduce you to Milos, his family, and his work. The suspense of the first hour of the film is painful and may have you wondering why the film was censored other than for some mild sex scenes that pop up throughout.

It is the last half hour of the movie that begins the ride through hell. There are scenes so utterly disturbing and violent that even I, a huge horror fan and gore hound, was slightly uncomfortable watching them (which is really saying something). 

As Eli Roth said, most of the violence towards children is implied, but the rest of it is right in front of your face. Unlike films such as Saw and Hostel, A Serbian Film makes sure to include a completely realistic decapitation scene, and I can assure you, it ain't quick, and it ain't pretty.

Despite the fact that the violence and sexual acts towards children are off-screen and implied, they are still horribly disturbing and strange. Most reviews have brought up the scene titled "Newborn Porn" and yes, it is exactly what you think. Exactly. 

These strong, in-your-face depictions of violence and sex are, however, some of the most transgressive things I've ever seen. A Serbian Film can surely be counted as a huge "Fuck you" to censorship and the mainstream and has gained international attention in being such. There's not a single filmmaker in the world willing to do what  director Srdjan Spasojevic has done by simply creating and releasing A Serbian Film. It is similar to fellow transgressive horror film Cannibal Holocaust in that regard.

 

Overall, A Serbian Film makes The Human Centipede look like Blues Clues, and because of that, it is a movie worth seeking out and viewing. The story, despite how strange and unorthodox it may be, was well written and contains a twist ending that will have your jaw dropping all the way down to your feet. 

(To sign a petition for the freedom of Ángel Sala, click here)