About.com Rating

In the US, A Serbian Film hasn't garnered the lightning rod notoriety of, say, The Human Centipede, but chances are it will go down as one the most shocking and controversial movies of the decade. In fact, the director of the Sitges Film Festival in Spain actually faces criminal charges for showing it. Frankly, the disgust that people who hadn't even seen The Human Centipede displayed at merely hearing its premise wouldn't suffice for the extreme nature of A Serbian Film.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the barf bag: it turns out that beneath its grim, graphic surface, A Serbian Film is actually a good movie.

The Plot

Retired Serbian porn star Milos (Srdjan Todorovic) is living a sedentary suburban lifestyle with his translator wife Marija (Jelena Gavrilovic) and their six-year-old son Petar when his ex-colleague Lejla (Katarina Zutic) presents him with a job opportunity. A mysterious figure named Vukmir (Sergej Trifunovic) desperately needs Milos's unique and notorious skill set for an "artistic" adult movie -- so much so that he's willing to offer him an obscene amount of money for a few days' work.

Hesitant about the secrecy behind the project (Vukmir insists that Milos wouldn't perform as well if he knew the details beforehand.), Milos eventually gives in -- not just for the money, but because he misses his glamour days. Soon enough, though, he'll wish he decided otherwise. As Milos descends into Vukmir's dark vision, he realizes that the director's fringe "art" goes beyond the usual moral boundaries into criminal sadism and psychotic, lethal brutality that leaves no one unscarred.

The End Result

A Serbian Film is one of those movies you admire but don't enjoy, one you can't recommend to anyone, one you hesitate admitting you've watched to anyone and one you'll never want to view again for the rest of your life. While The Human Centipede is lightheartedly deviant and non-graphic in its scatological content, A Serbian Film wallows in the visceral ugliness of the decidedly non-humorous taboo of sexual abuse and violence. It makes recent controversial films like Centipede, Antichrist and Deadgirl look like episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba, touching upon not only hardcore pornography, but also rape, murder, torture, pedophilia, necrophilia, sodomy, incest and even a touch of bestiality for good measure.

It's an overwhelming morass of ugliness, but if -- and this is admittedly a big IF -- you can get past the objectionable content, you might find it surprising just how well made the film is. It's a visually striking movie with high production value and oodles of atmosphere, aided by intense electro music reminiscent of '80s horror scores from Goblin or John Carpenter. Rather than bludgeon us with mindless shock after mindless shock, writer-director Srdjan Spasojevic casually unfurls a fascinating mystery, generating a palpable sense of dread and fear of the unknown (like Hostel on HGH), a tooth-grinding discomfort that works so well because he's also created sympathetic characters.

Most "extreme" horror and "torture porn" flicks deliver mindless nihilism with flat, uninteresting characters, but A Serbian Film rarely neglects the humanity of the situation, thus strengthening its dramatic kick. Aside from a particularly "eye-opening" scene near the end, it doesn't feel like shock for shock's sake. You can argue whether or not the controversial content serves a purpose on a grand thematic or allegorical level (Spasojevic has said it represents his people's "molestation by the Serbian government."), but it actually serves a purpose on a narrative level: to heighten the terror, the tragedy and the lasting impact that you'll be hard-pressed to scrape from your brain. It's a shame that the well-constructed mystery, emotional performances, tense direction and wrenching drama will get lost in the furor over the controversial elements.

The Skinny

• Acting: B (Gritty and realistic.)
• Direction: B (A self-assured debut that delivers chills and premeditated repulsion.)
• Script: B- (Goes off the rails a bit near the end, but overall a challenging, unique tale that works even beyond its provocative content.)
• Gore/Effects: B- (Not a ton of gore, but what's present is effectively disturbing, despite some obvious prosthetics.)
• Overall: B (Certainly not for everyone, but those who aren't easily offended may find it surprisingly well crafted and emotionally involving.)

A Serbian Film is directed by Srdjan Spasojevic and is rated NC-17 by the MPAA for extreme aberrant sexual and violent content including explicit dialogue. Release date: May 13, 2011.