A SERBIAN FILM (2010)

There are few movies that I have watched as a complete movie geek that have ever illicit such a statement as the one that I am about to exude to my fellow readers right now:
 
I hated A Serbian Film so much that I loved it!

Yes, everyone can quote me on that statement and now let me try to explain why this film has instilled in me a reaction such as the one above.

A Serbian Film is about "an aging porn star that agrees to participate in an "art film" in order to make a clean break from the business, only to discover that he has been drafted into making a pedophilia and necrophilia themed snuff film."




That is the synopsis as stated in IMDB and that pretty much sums up all the plot to the film. Does that sicken you? It probably does, or at least it should. If I read that synopsis, based on that alone, I would probably decide to pass on it. I would pass on it mainly because I honestly would not think that any filmmaker in their right mind would care to elaborate and delve deeper into those dark and forbidden subjects that usually are taboo in the film world, as well as any other decent society, that has a firm standard for regulating filth and depravity within its confines. Now, going with that thought process, the director Srdjan Spasojevic completely went for some good ol' total shock value by graphically depicting every scene of rape, incest, pedophilia, and necrophilia with no editing out all the truly nasty gore, filth, or content. There is nothing left to the imagination. The film plays out like some sick and twisted snuff film that happens to be shot and edited beautifully. The movie looks amazing and has very high production values. I was truly blown away by the arty shots, compelling soundtrack, and incredible performances. I believe that to be the factor that gives this film any sort of credibility with critics on all levels.

After hearing of this film being shot in only 61 days in Belgrade, Serbia, I really think this film looks totally amazing. It truly sickens me to say that a film with such lurid and grotesque subject matter such as children (AND BABIES) getting raped on screen in camera shots and angles that leave nothing left to the imagination was actually a good view. This film will be ranked by me as one of the extreme films that I have ever come across. A Serbian Film touches upon horrible part of society and wraps it neatly into one tiny package. The film even went so far as to piss off critics and viewers who actually did not even view the film, but upon learning of its subject matter made up their minds to condemn the film all together. I shall simply say this: Refrain from commenting on a film that one has not even seen...or better yet-Don't talk shit about something you don't know shit about!

I, on the other hand, can commence talking glorious amounts of shit about A Serbian Film because I took the time to watch the entire film in all its nasty glory. I will try to not to spoil any parts of the film, but being that this film is not very heavy on intelligent dialogue and mostly plays off on the shock factor and, as some will say, "violence for violence's sake", I can barely stop myself from commenting on the rape, torture, beating, and physical abuse that is rampant throughout the film. Most of the physical abuse is towards women and children so prepare one's self if deciding to watch this arty celebration of violence, rape, and torture on a level that the Nazi's could only have dreamed of during the holocaust.

Actor Srdjan Todorovic (Milos) portrays the aging porn star who is down on luck financially superbly and the only question I really have is does he really possess a penis that large? Really, this guy is sporting a unit that the late and great John Holmes could only be compared to. So when Milos (Todorovic) meets up with an old movie actress friend/partner from back in the day who has a lead on a film director who wants to make this arty adult film and pay him gross amounts of money, he can't refuse. Right from the get-go things start to feel a bit shady for Milos and his giant cockasaurus so he decides to use his brother Marko (Slobodan Bestic) to run a background check on director Vukmir (Sergej Trifunovic) and find out what this guy is all about. When Milos found out that this guy worked with kids in an orphanage for years and now is making low-budget porn films, I would have been out of there (not to say that I would have been making weird porn films in the first place), but our Milos decides to keep going along with it. I would have to say Milos' greed and prospect at being able to provide for his beautiful wife Marija (Jelena Gavrilovic) and son really clouded his judgment. In a nutshell, I really gave you all the background that you need. The rest of the film is filled with scenes of savage gore on a colossal level. 

There is a great amount of nudity in the film, but in no way will this turn one on unless they are sick in the head and get off on shit that Jefferey Dahmer and Richard Ramirez beat off to in the confines of their bedrooms when they were slowly turning from sick little boys into sick little men. I did not really enjoy some of the more disgusting morals of "responsible filmmaking" that are put to question here, but I do thank director Srdjan Spasojevic for making a film that really left me shocked and appalled yet giddy at the same time. Giddy because I had found one of, if not THE, sickest films I have seen in quite some time, if not ever! A Serbian Film a.k.a. Srpski film is the first film from Spasojevic and he also wrote and produced it. I really am anxious to see if he does in fact continue to make films (which I hope he does!) how he will top A Serbian Film. I am actually very curious to find out what genre he will even decide to make a film in.

In conclusion, I want to say that I did like the film. I can't say I enjoyed it because many of the scenes put a knot in my stomach and just made me feel dirty and greasy after watching them, but I did not hate the movie at all. I liked the film because it catapulted gore, violence, and taboo subject matter to a whole new level. Some films that gave me slightly similar feelings after watching them but no where near the level of horror that A Serbian Film actually took me to were Cannibal Holocaust, Irreversible, and Salo or 120 Days of Sodom. These films thrown all together don't really come close to the on-screen horrors that embody A Serbian Film. I wish everyone to watch this film in its entirety, but only if they dare. It is not a film for the squeamish and definitely not a film to view with anyone under the age of 21 anywhere in its vicinity. Forever on I will now be comparing violent horror and shock-value films to A Serbian Film. The movie has raised the bar to great heights in regards to violence, rape, children/infant abuse, and sadistic acts of torture.

TRAILER of the WEEK: 13 ASSASSINS (2010)

This is the latest from Takashi Miike and was announced at the Venice 2010 competition. Miike is one of my favorite directors and I do love a good Samurai flick!

EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (2006)

Having just seen and reviewed Chad Ferrin’s latest film, Someone’s Knocking at the Door (2009), I was very anxious to check out one of his earlier films upon hearing quite a bit of the hype surrounding it. Although Ferrin had directed two other full-length horror features, The Ghouls (2003) and Unspeakable (2000), both of which I have yet to view, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! has been the film that really helped break through Ferrin as a name in horror to be reckoned with. Many of the new wave of horror films that is coming out from the States has been next to impossible to sit through due to their lack of creativity and interesting plots. If the film is made, chances are what comes out will be another lackluster remake and most likely will have Hollywood written all over.

Interestingly enough, Ferrin has taken a genre of film, the slasher film, which tends to get pretty stale for my tastes, and given it a fresh breath of life. Formulaically, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! is a slasher film done by the numbers. The reason that this film stands out on its own is the unique grab-you-by-the-balls style and force that Ferrin adds to his movies. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed watching this film and his latest back-to-back. Ferrin does not mix loads of humor which usually is used in the hopes that viewers guards will be let down, but what I find it usually does is water down the terror, suspense, and tone of the film, giving it a really cheesy tone to it. Sort of like Porky’s meets Halloween.

Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! centers around the young Nicholas (Ricardo Gray), who is mentally retarded with cerebral palsy. You may recognize Gray from Someone’s Knocking at the Door as he played a young, stuttering drug addict who was a little off mentally in that film as well. In fact, quite a few of the same actors from the aforementioned film were in this film as well. Nicholas is living with his mother whom is single, having had her husband run off and leaving them. Viewers are not exactly sure why he has left, or if he has in fact left. Nicholas is very bothered by the absence of a father and does not trust many men, especially those that want to get in his mother’s pants, like Remington (Timothy Muskatell), a guy that is sweet talking Nicolas’ mother one minute and treating her special son like a pile of shit the next. 

It is made very clear that Mindy (Charlotte Marie), Nicholas’ mother, has strong feelings for Remington whom we find out from the first scene of the film is not only an all-around asshole, but has robbed a convenient store and forced the clerk to take the muzzle of the shotgun in his mouth while his head was blown off. Things are not looking good for poor ol’ Nicholas who really wants nothing more than to be visited by the Easter Bunny and spend it with his mother.

Director Chad Ferrin takes great pain to paint a very vivid picture of just how vile, mean, crude and ugly Remington truly is. This viewer wanted to beat the sleazebag to a pulp only twenty-five minutes into the film. Things really begin to pick up when Mindy, who happens to be a nurse, gets called in on Easter and has to work all night until the following morning. The plot of the film is progressing very smoothly at great pace, building up events until the mayhem really starts to kick in. By mayhem I mean once the slashing in the film starts to occur and with that comes an onslaught of gore and blood.

There are few times during film where I really start to get worried about where things are going to and what direction they will be heading in. This film created one of the most uncomfortable moments in a horror film for me when Remington calls his buddy over to “play” with young Nicholas. His buddy, Ray Mann (David Z. Stamp), just happens to be a fat, creepy, child molester who likes to screw young boys, referring to them as “Boy Pussy”. One of the most appalling lines I have ever heard in a movie to date was spoken by Stamp in which he says in regards to having his way with the young boy, 

"I'd let him piss on my face just to see where it comes from."

At this point, I wanted jump into the film and chopped the sick bastard’s head off myself. When Ray Mann pulls out a suitcase with dildos, pills so the raped boy would not remember events, lubrication, and various sex toys- I was steaming with rage for this scumbag (even more so than for Remington). I guess Stamp really did a great job at playing a sick son of a bitch because I felt so sorry for poor old Nicholas. 

The film continues to show viewers how awful and vile mankind can truly be, opening the doors to the evil underworld of drugs, murderers, hookers, perverts, and overall abusive adults who never ever should have kids. Sadly, I think there are more situations in real life that highly mirror the events that are portrayed in this slasher film.

As Nicholas holds on to the pet “Easter” bunny that was given to him by a random bum who was looking for recycled cans to make some money (of which Nicholas gave him a bag of cans and bottles), Remington constantly is threatening to snap the bunny’s neck and skullfuck it. While Remington leaves Nicholas alone to fend for himself against the sick perverted who likes to screw young boys and go get some hookers to party with back at the house, this is where the blood and gore get started up.

The film was shot and edited well by Giuseppe Asaro and editor Jahad Ferif, but what really stood out for me was the super creepy soundtrack of original music composed by The Giallos Flame. If you have seen the horror films Psycho Holocaust, Black Devil Doll, or Murder-Set-Pieces, you have heard the works of The Giallos Flame. I thought the music went perfectly with the scenes it was matched with. The quick edits during kill scenes paired with the score made for some intense and shocking murders.

There is a fair amount of gore in the movie and various tools were used in slashing, sawing, hacking, hammering, stabbing, and slashing all victims during the course of the film. One of my favorite scenes involves a 10-inch drill bit being drilled through the head of one victim and it was a victim that I had zero trouble with getting off’d.

Aside from the gore and the pairs of tits that the hookers Candy (Kele Ward) and Brooke (Amy Sychowski) provided while in the car after Remington picked them up, the semi-shocking ending topped the whole film off very nicely. I also noticed that Ferrin has definitely grown as a filmmaker. It is highly evident when watching Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! and Something’s Knocking at the Door back to back. Both films retain his very notable style, penchant for violence, and bold brand of filmmaking. I enjoyed viewing a modern day slasher film that did not bore the hell out of me or give me regret for having watched it.

PRESS RELEASE: DEADLANDS 3

I chatted briefly with director Gary Ugarek online about this very subject when I thanked him for sending me a copy of Deadlands 2:Trapped on blu-ray (watch for the review in the next few days here!) He had not told me the final price tag for the Kickstarter fundraiser. I had no idea it was $1,000,000. In fact, I had never seen a Kickstarter project for a number that high before, but Gary was very optimistic in thinking he can pull it off and I wish him the best of luck and hope he can find some folks with very deep pockets or at least a bunch of people with shallow pockets. I guess this will show everyone how many fans and supporters of independent horror film there are out there. Well, Gary needs all the help he can get so if you are someone who has a few extra bucks lying around, send it Gary's way and help him to get a quality zombie film made. He made a great film with Deadlands 2:Trapped and that was with virtually little to no money for a budget. I am very curious to find out what the hell he can do with $1,000,000!
DEADLANDS 3 PRESS RELEASE:

WETNWILDRADIO Films has kicked off their fund raising campaign for Deadlands 3.

Writer/Director Gary Ugarek has decided to get started raising money for Deadlands 3. The low budget filmmaker behind the microbudget indie hits Deadlands: The Rising and Deadlands 2: Trapped has launched his campaign to raise $1,000,000 for Deadlands 3 using Project Funding website... Kickstarter.

No one has ever tried to raise this kind of money for any type of project on Kickstarter under their guidelines, and what are those guidelines you ask?

You have to reach your goal within 90 days, if not, you get nothing.

When writer/director Gary Ugarek submitted the project they actually tried to talk him off the ledge so to speak, but he said... "I wanna give it a try. I think I can pull this off" So Kickstarter approved the project to move ahead.

On July 28th 2010 at 4:00pm Gary launched the project and began his social media campaign blitz on Facebook to get things rolling.

Why us Kickstarter.Com and Why $1,000,000? Gary Ugarek responds...

"We have tried many avenues, studios, private financiers, etc. They either wanted to change the screenplay into a more campier romp, or wouldn't budge unless A-list talent was signed on a head time, or partial funding was already in place. We are low budget guys, we don't have $10,000,000 just lying around to put up part of the financing, and they think we need $20,000,000 to make a movie like Deadlands 3. I believe it is just their way of either saying NO or locking the indie guys out of the biz."

I got wind of Kickstarter through some other projects here and there and decided to look into it, and after waiting for a month to hear back from one of the majors in Hollywood I said enough I am just going to go and get this done myself. If I keep waiting for them i will be collecting Social Security.

The folks at kickstarter.com warned me that the amount was too high. they even suggested trying for $50,000.00 to get some seed money for P&R, but I said We got to try and do this, and I understand if you say no, but I wanna give it a shot and see what happens. I have built the two indie Deadlands films into a small but loyal fan based franchise and those fans have been spreading the word... the world over, so let's see if we can raise this money, even if it is $1.00 at a time.

Why $1,000,000 you ask, because based on what it cost to make the last two films, and the fact this one is post apocalypse I felt it would require a larger budget, but I do not believe it needs the $20,000,000 the studios claim I need. Yeah maybe by how they do business and math, but not my way. I made two very large scale films on a combined budget of $16,800.00, with $1,000,000 I will set out to make the largest independent zombie film ever made"

And what if he doesn't pull it off?

"Well if we don't reach our goal of $1,000,000 in 90 days then I will try again. I am not going to give up until this film is made. I am a hardcore fan of the zombie genre and I want to bring true horror back to the genre. Right now it has become a mix of popcorn action flicks. Some good, some bad, but I want it to be like I remember it as a child/teen... scary as hell. With each new Deadlands film I make them darker and grittier than the previous version... this time I want to go all the way. I truly believe co-writer Lonnie Martin and I have drafted what i consider to be one of the best screenplays in the genre. Hell we even took a 2nd place spot in the 2009 Bridge International Screenplay competition with this screenplay, so if a judging panel thinks it was good enough to make 2nd place... Why not try and get it done."

So the goal here is to keep trying and trying to raise the money so WNWR films can start shooting on April 15th 2011. Writer/Director Gary Ugarek wants the film finished in time to submit to the 2012 Cannes film festival as well as the 2012 Fright Night Film Fest, a Lousiville, KY based Festival he won the award for Best Zombie Film at twice (2006 and 2009). He has promised Fright Night when Deadlands 3 was completed They would be the first horror based festival he would submit the film too, but also wants to submit the film to Cannes.

How can you help or at least stay in the loop for the ride?

One can visit the Kickstarter.Com fund raising page for Deadlands 3 by going here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/DjfunkmasterG/deadlands-iii-the-new-world
At that link you can donate or just check out what the current tally in the fund is at. Gary has also promised to keep folks posted via his personal Facebook page as well as the Facebook group dedicated to getting Deadlands 3 Made. You can also visit the films official website for more details on the first two films.

So Here it is quick and simple:

THE GOAL: Raise $1,000,000 to fund Deadlands 3
TIME LINE: 90 Days (ends October 26th 3:50am EST)

SOMEONE’S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2009)

In Someone's Knocking at the Door, director Chad Ferrin (Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill!) has taken a simple story about a group of medical students who enjoy taking as many of the drugs that they are learning about as they can, partying and living each day like it is there last, and has transformed it into a unique and brutally honest social commentary on how detrimental hardcore drug usage can really destroy one’s life. Whether that was the director’s intention or not, that was what this viewer got out of the film. That and a refreshing take on filmmaking that had me thinking these filmmakers probably had seen quite a few Gus Van Sant films, for I felt that the two directors’ styles had a few similarities.

Our story focuses on Justin (Noah Segan), Meg (Andrea Rueda), Sebastian (Jon Budinoff), Joe (Ricardo Gray), Annie (Silvia Spross), and Ray (Jordan Lawson). The following young adults are all medical students at a small medical school and they all like to party hard and that does include the usage of hard drugs. The characters that comprise the cast are all pretty different unique, showing that the writers (Ferrin, Roham Ghodis, Rosie Roberts) put some thought and effort into making the characters more than just shallow vessels of mindless dialogue. Some of the dialogue may have sounded mindless, but that was because of the heavy drug use that these kids engage in throughout the film.

Noah Segan (Brick, Deadgirl) gave another fine performance as the lead in Someone’s Knocking at the Door, as well as his love interest in the film, Meg (Andrea Rueda) as our story begins with Ray, heavy into drug use, is alone in his dorm room sticking a needle in his veins and getting high. Ray hears a knock on the door and answers it to find a pasty, drugged-out looking naked woman standing in the doorway. Tension mounting, she states to him, “ I’m gonna fuck you til you die.” 

I, for one, did not find her cracked-out look to be all that appealing, but she had some dark-haired bush, and Ray (who probably was high as a kite and horny like every other male on the planet is at any given moment) thought this was a gift dropped right in his hands and far too incredible to pass up. As the naked woman pounces upon Ray and savagely begins kissing and thrusting her naked body at him, she turns into a dirty, naked, jagged teeth-barring man who proceeds to tear him apart in a gory fashion, ripping his tongue out and raping him in the ass with a monster of a cock that resembled a horse’s member. All this takes place in the first six minutes. At this point, I felt I was in for one hell of a ride.

The film bounces back and forth from having the feel of a ‘70s slasher who done it feel, much in the same manner that many modern day slasher films do in the standard formula, but the incredible rock soundtrack, off-beat pace of the film, intense auditory sound effects and acid-inducing sequences for dreams, flashbacks, and alternate reality keeps viewers off-balance throughout just because there are so many drug using scenes that who is to say if a character is tripping off heroin or really seeing some messed-up psycho shit! 

The film has edge to it throughout as the group of med students cope with the loss of their friend, Ray, who died under bizarre circumstances to which all of Ray’s friends are suspect in the eyes of the police and detectives. The film rolls along at a speedy pace, full of a fair amount of humor, believable characters, and an incredible amount of quick brain numbing edits and camera angles paired with mind-fuck sound effects and noise blurbs.

My favorite scene in the film which combines both creativity in the blood and gore department, as well as satisfying my lust for sex and violence, was a scene in which one of the hapless young ladies is eaten by a that same naked woman as her hairy bush opens up to reveal a huge vagina dentata from Hell! Filled with gore and sexual perversity, I started growing a certain fondness for the vision and execution in which director Chad Ferrin took his film in, pulling no punches and throwing in just enough blood and guts so the film does not seem over the top or campy. I felt if too much prolonged scenes of gore were in the film, the focus would lie in the bloody effects and not in the story itself and the characters, which I felt were the film’s strongest points. 

As the story unravels, we find out that the naked woman and naked man responsible for killing Ray are, in fact, patients of a Dr. Tolstoy (Vernon Wells), who went on a killing rampage in their schizophrenic states. The couple, John (Ezra Buzzington) and Wilma Hopper (Elina Madison), went around raping victims to death. As the group of them are trying out this new needle-drug that Justin finds in the hospital’s file room, he gives the group the history of the Hoppers from their file and plays the audio recordings of Dr.Tolstoy’s therapy sessions, revealing their true nature.

The film progresses and keeps one wondering what the hell is going to happen next and what is really happening or what is just another mind-blowing trip from the characters’ heavy drug use. The mounting use of gore, violence, and unraveling plot details as the movie progresses really works in favor for it. The original music provided by Brad Joseph Breeck, as well as rock songs performed by The Mae Shi, really made the film work. The choices of music complemented each scene in the film wonderfully and fit the offbeat style of the film excellently. 

As the film spirals down to the very end in chaotic and gory fashion, I was grinning ecstatically and cursing myself for having not thrown the screener for this film that I received in the mail from Breaking Glass Pictures and Vicious Circle Films and reviewed it earlier. I am finding out that both companies have been putting out quality pieces of independently edgy films with lots of panache and swagger in their delivery.

Someone’s Knocking at the Door is one of the finest pieces of independent horror filmmaking that I have seen this year that delivers on all levels: gore, blood, creativity, solid characters, freshly unique, and full of artistic flair and an unorthodox overall flow to the whole production. Pair that with another solid performance by Noah Segan (who has selected some incredible projects to work on), wonderful array of camera shots, angles, and edits to achieve a euphoric sense of bewilderment to achieve a sense of what the drugs in the film may be creating. Chad Ferrin is a filmmaker that I look forward to seeing more of in the future and you should, too.