LIST: Nine Most Disturbing Films

WARNING: The following article contains some frank discussion regarding the peak of disturbing cinema.


The review for A Serbian Film has gotten a lot of feedback from readers. Many have requested a list of other disturbing films. Of course, making such a list might seem pointless. After all, if you have seen A Serbian Film, there is really nothing as disturbing as that. If you are on a quest to see the "most disturbing film," you've already reached the end of the journey.

Nonetheless, let us assume you want to some disturbing films with some value aside from whether or not they are the "most disturbing ever," since even I can admit that watching movies for that reason alone is kind of crass.

So, after much consideration, I hereby present the following list of the "Most Disturbing Films." Now everyone's idea of "disturbing" is different, and a few criteria have been used here. These fit into the "disturbing violence" category, and are not disturbing for other reasons. For example, the film Kids is disturbing, for reasons other than overt violent content, but a film like that will not appear on this list. Also, the movie must be "good" in addition to being disturbing. There are all too many movies that are just "gross" but they aren't any good, so who cares?


9. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST

Our first entry in this list is borderline trash. On the surface, it's a rather exploitative and distasteful horror film. On a deeper level... well, it's pretty much the same. Yet it does create a genuine sense of horror that is missing from more polished works. The faux documentary style is very effective and creates a compelling narrative structure.

This film has been banned in numerous countries. One of the reasons is that real animals were killed on film. Not being a believer in animal rights at all, I am not hugely concerned by the fact that they killed animals on film and then ate them. Although it is certainly gross when they cut apart the turtle and eat it.

Instead, the main boost to the disturb-o-meter is that there are many scenes of legendary graphic horror -- there is a disturbing abortion ritual, a rape committed with some crude implement, the victim of a gruesome impalement, and the chaotic climax where bloodthirsty cannibals converge on the film crew. There is also interesting fact that the "civilized" people are painted as the real monsters for the bulk of the film. They run around razing, raping, and killing with apparent glee. That is more disturbing in some ways than cannibals simply eating people.


8. CUTTING MOMENTS





This shocking short film is a nightmarish parody of suburban life. It's not entirely clear to me what the meaning of this film is, but it scarred me deeply nonetheless. It depicts a dysfunctional family where the mother seems distraught by a lack of family communication and profound lack of affection from her husband. It is not explicitly stated, but it is implied that the husband has a sick interest in his son. Somehow, this evolves into a situation where the wife feels the only way to provoke her husband's lust is to mutilate herself, which, strangely, seems to work. It culminates in graphic mutilation during sex, leaving you with a shocking image you won't soon forget. If this movie doesn't make you cringe, you are way too jaded.


7. I STAND ALONE

Gaspar Noe is an outlaw director. His films provoke powerful responses, both positive and negative. Of the two films of his that appear on this list, I Stand Alone is the inferior of the two. Arguably, however, it is higher on the disturb-o-meter. Maybe. The amount of violence in this film is pretty low. However, the acts of violence themselves are extreme. The protagonist beats his pregnant girlfriend, punching her repeatedly in the abdomen while declaring, "Your baby's hamburger meat now!" He later envisions a sick violent fantasy in which he murders his disabled daughter to "protect her" or some such nonsense. All this is bad enough, but the reason this is really offensive is just because the main character is quite possibly the most awful person I have ever seen on film. He hates everything -- his life, his job, his girlfriend, and really all the people around him. He blames everyone else for his misery, but he lacks the maturity to recognize that he is responsible for his own failures. The film is largely narrated by this guy, who you have to follow along with the supremely spiteful But wait! Even this man, so consumed with loathing for self and others, manages to show love and tenderness at the end -- albeit not in a way that people should be showing their love. So might we venture to say that this film has a 'happy' ending? Well, that might be too much of a stretch...

6. ANTICHRIST

Much has been said about the graphic sex and violence in Antichrist. It is certainly disturbing in a profound way (especially for a dude) when a man's testicles are smashed with a block of wood, and has a hole drilled through his leg. Likewise, it is extra nasty when a woman jerks off her tortured husband and makes him ejaculate blood.But the disturbing-factor with Antichrist goes much deeper than graphic depictions of physical abuse. The "therapy" that the husband provides to his wife before things turn violent but there is the "therapy" the husband provides to his wife, which seems to be a form of subtle emotional abuse. Although they have lost their son to a tragic accident, he seems to imply she is wrong to be traumatized. In the twisted Bizarro world of Antichrist, the one spouse torments the other with rationalizations and psychobabble rather than provide emotional support for the death of a child.

5. MEN BEHIND THE SUN



Supposedly based on the true story of a Japanese prison camp in China during World War II, this film depicts shocking medical experiments. In terms of nasty graphic gruesomeness, this film is hard to beat. There is what appears to be actual autopsy footage, an especially gross scene involving a pressure chamber, and the classic "cat scene" in which hundreds of swarming rats attack a cat. This film is actually pretty decent overall, as it is also an important reminder of the true evil that manifests during war and conquest.

4. SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM

If ever there was a film to make one feel miserable about humanity, this is it! A bunch of fascist assholes round up a group of teens and take them to a castle for several days of diabolic torture and rape. This film is actually not all that graphic and explicitly violent compared to other films on this list. There is mutilation, murder, forced coprophagia, and sexual assaults, but the depictions are not as bad as you might imagine... Still, few movies are more upsetting than Salo. I think this is because it depicts villains so utterly drunk with power that nothing is beyond the pale to them.

3. IRREVERSIBLE




Not only is this movie disturbing, it is amazingly powerful on an emotional level. It is a "rape & revenge" movie told in reverse, so it starts with the revenge and then moves through the events that led up to it. But the "revenge" is not satisfying, and the rape is even more awful when you get to the last scene in the film (the first scene in the story). For a more comprehensive review, see here.


2. HENRY - PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER



This is the best serial killer movie you will ever see. It does not have a lot of graphic violence, although the home invasion scene is truly harrowing. Instead, it is disturbing because it just seems so... realistic? I mean, I don't know any real serial killers, but Henry seems like the real deal. Yes, you could watch the August Underground series for the most gruesome and "shocking" serial killer movies, but those are just disgusting trash. They aren't disturbing in any serious way. Henry is subtly and profoundly disturbing, from the simple way he coldly stalks strangers as potential victims to how he plans to avoid capture to his actual carrying out of murder. The shoe-string budget actually gives more credence to the whole realistic atmosphere.


1. A SERBIAN FILM

See my review. What more can be said? You would never think that a horror film with such depravity could be good at all. But it is a great film in its own way, and there is nothing more intensely shocking and disturbing.

X. SAILOR MOON R - THE MOVIE

After watching all these messed up movies, you will need something that makes you feel good about life. Something that shows the power of kindness and friendship. Plus you will need epic anime battles to make it awesome. So watch this movie. BUT FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, don't watch the American version. It's for whiny little losers. JAPANESE ORIGINAL ONLY.

BOOK REVIEW: The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

"The most unbelievably awful book ever written -- THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"

Poor Canadian kids in the PRISONS otherwise known as ALBERTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. They are forced to read this book. Pardon my language, but giving the title of "shittiest fucking book ever" to The Stone Angel is not a stretch. I have read some truly bad novels in my time, but The Stone Angel is simply horrifying. Never has there been a more repulsive protagonist than Hagar, a neurotic, arrogant, despicable old woman. The book is told in a series of intermittent flashbacks that seem pointless in conjunction with Hagar's current situation (which is that her family wants to put her in a nursing home). Hell, she is so miserable and and disgusting that instead of a nursing home, they should put her in a barn.

At first I was mildly interested by the florid writing style, but the book soon made me numb (it actually caused me physical pain). The reason for this is that the Hagar of The Stone Angel's story is the most repulsive fictional creation I've ever beheld. Hagar's bloated idiocy renders her ineffably repellent after just a few chapters. Vivid descriptions of her rotting bowels spewing putrid gas is just nasty. Yet most chapters put forth considerable description of her nasty flatulence. Yuck. Being 90 years old, her thoughts and dialogue are completely separated from reason, destroying any interest a person could have in the progress of the story. Her flashbacks further reinforce her overweening nature. There are no flashbacks of when she was a nice young lady -- she was miserable and arrogant always. I suppose this book has merit if you wish to enter the mind of a 90-year old arrogant woman whose logical faculties have been shattered, but who really wants to read about that? I mean, subject is not inherently uninteresting, but this character is just gross. Sure it's realistic (for which some reviews have credited it), but why on earth does anyone care about a cantankerous old hag with bowel problems? Talk about the ultimate anti-hero!

By the end of the novel, Hagar recognizes that she is a loathsome human being and attempts to reconcile that fact with herself. However, all throughout the book, there is no indication that this realization is flowering. All of a sudden, it just occurs spontaneously. Such a hackneyed literary attempt at character revelation. This is both incredibly unrealistic and incredibly disappointing for a reader who has put up with the dross of this novel for 250 pages (give or take). Apparently Laurence realized that her character was beyond hope so she endeavored to hammer in an epiphany that could justify her tedious banter that protracted the horrible, horrible book.

Some will surely argue that the book deserves stars for style and canny art sensibility. I disagree. Stylistic merit is only a virtue when anchored by a story and characters that don't sicken the person reading the book. This book belongs in the garbage and all remaining copies should be rounded up and destroyed. This book proves the necessity of abolishing public schools. The damage done to children's minds by forcing them to read about a farting old hag is just too great to ignore.

MUSIC REVIEW: Rush - A Farewell to Kings

"Add this to a list of 'Rush's Best.'"


While 2112 was the first Rush song I ever heard, A Farewell To Kings was the first Rush album I owned (the store didn't have 2112 at the time). Sentimentally, it's a favorite because it was among my first progressive rock albums, but beyond the gushiness I still love this album because it's great music.

For a band that critics hated, Rush had quite a following at this point, picking up numerous fans who'd been dazzled by the band's stunning musicianship, philosophical reflection typically disguised as fantasy/sci-fi stories (but not always...sometimes it was just a story), and the fact that they freakin' rocked. A Farewell To Kings produced one of the band's most popular songs, "Closer to the Heart," which continues to receive the attention of classic rock radio stations all over the place. I don't use superlatives too much, but I must say that this is the best rock song under three minutes EVER. The socially conscious title track squeezes a lot of "progression" into a 5 minute song. The highlights of this album are the mesmerizing epic "Xanadu" and the rockin' space adventure known as "Cygnus X-1, Book I." Even though the latter is best appreciated as a precursor to the phenomenal "Hemispheres," it's a great song even on its own. The first movement is ominous, the second is catchy and exciting, and the third is an insane rhythmic assault underscoring Lee's screaming vocals.

Finally, like most of Rush's work, this really doesn't sound dated at all, despite being released in the late 70s. Timeless music is great music!

Critics are retarded. Rush rules. Or something. But I'm pretty sure I'm right.

MUSIC REVIEW: Power of Metal [compilation]

"Awesome live Conception tracks."

I am a sick, sick Conception fan, evidenced by the fact that I paid an insane amount of money just to get the five Conception songs on this disc. Now this release is totally obscure and out of print. But if you can get lucky enough to find it, AND you are a mad Conception fiend, you need it. Hearing Conception live just affirms their stature as one of my favorite bands. Vocalist Khan doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd be powerful in the live forum, but he rocks. All of these overt metal tracks are from the band's CD, Parallel Minds, which rocks, although the studio versions seem tepid in comparison to the awesome live ones. I know nothing about the other bands, so I won't comment, but I don't listen to them anyway. If you're a sick, twisted Conception fan like myself, get this. I will use the argument of intimidation: If you don't this, you aren't a *real* Conception fan (hehe).

MUSIC REVIEW: Buckethead - Monsters & Robots

"A truly great guitar player."

As a music lover I admire technical guitar albums that do nothing but show off amazing skill. Still, as a listener, I get a bit impatient with such indulgence if the songwriting isn't good. That is why listening to Buckethead's music is such a pleasure for me. He'll stun you with technique, but he'll also catch your ear with his great melodies. Beyond the thrash, funk, and rock you might except from Buckethead, things gets pretty weird too. Rap? Kung-fu music? Only Buckethead can take these things and combine them into a successful product like this. Awesome songs, awesome talent. Buckethead is da man.

MUSIC REVIEW: Vanden Plas - Far Off Grace

"Fine music, unfortunate singer."

Vanden Plas lingers in the ether realm between progressive metal and power metal, with tendency to lean more to the former, although some of the arrangements favor the forthright approach of the latter. Their musicianship shines and they incorporate some interesting ideas into their music. Being the fastidious listener I am, I found several deleterious factors beyond the prima facie virtues. My biggest problem with the album is the vocalist (and I'm really picky about that). He's a decent singer I guess. I just can't stretch myself to say he fits Vanden Plas' heavy, aggressive musical direction. His range is terribly thin, leaving him with a high, impotent sound. So, while he sings well, he lacks a fierceness that would have fit the music, or a soaring quality found in singers like James LaBrie and Geoff Tate.

The music, however, shines. Mostly. Well, sometimes. It features some beautiful piano quotes and some cool touches (like the Eastern influence of "Fields of Hope") among the fiery, relentlessly crunchy riffs. Even so, much of the music is disappointingly straightforward, almost mechanical in the way the band executes riff after riff with the requisite synthed accompaniment (which rarely adds anything to the song). Nearly every song is 5-6 minutes, which hardly keeps the album fresh from track to track...especially with music like this. Combined with the kind of muddy guitar tone, the things quickly grow tiresome. The corny ballad "I Don't Miss You" is totally lame.

Far Off Grace is might be worth checking out if you're into this kind of music (I know I am), but that recommendation doesn't change my admonition. Wimpy vocals and general tedium undermine the album's quality. Too bad.

MUSIC REVIEW: Ice Age - The Great Divide

"A band with promise."

These days, the most difficult challenge for a progressive rock/metal band is finding its own unique sound. While some bands succeed, but most fail. While Ice Age fails to generate originality, they are good musicians and they write good songs, evoking I&W-era Dream Theater (lots of string synths, keyboard-guitar unison lines) at times and Rush at others. The production, while muddy at times, complements the band's energy. The vocalist has talent, and at times he sounds great, but there's times when he tries to sing beyond his abilities (not cool).

"Perpetual Child," a heavy and crunchy song seething with energy... energy that much of the album lacks. Hard to follow up a song that good. That's not to say there's no other impressive material here. "Spare Chicken Parts," while perhaps unfocused and too ostentatious, is an exciting instrumental. "Ice Age" is great hard-edged progressive music, with all it's varied constituents molded together nigh-perfectly. "To Say Goodbye" is the appropriately grand album closer (lots of great piano in this one). (Note that these are all the album's longest songs, totaling nearly 40 minutes.)

I haven't really warmed up to the rest of the album. Maybe I won't. Although the band is skilled, I find the shorter songs fail to be all that stimulating. It appears that when the band is not writing epic pieces with ambition and lush orchestrations, they meet with less success. Still, this is a worthwhile album that makes a good impression, for the most part. I've heard that the band's follow-up, Liberation, is much better than this one, and I'm inclined to check it out. The Great Divide shows a band with promise, so it would be no surprise that Liberation reveals flowering ability.

MUSIC REVIEW: Queensryche - Empire

"Empire is commercial, and darn good too."

Many of the Queensryche fans who loved the band for their heavy metal days despise this album, but that doesn't change the fact that one of the most listenable rock albums of the 90s. Yes, Queensryche went commercial, but they maintained their high standard of excellence that made them so distinguished when they were a brash heavy metal band. Other metal bands went commercial, and they turned into crap. Queensryche remained excellent... at least at first. Geoff Tate sings in lower ranges this time around (making the band's music more accessible to those outside of the heavy metal crowd), and his emotional clarity and skill that made him one of the best metal singers carries over and makes him one of the best rock vocalists. The band shows tremendous versatility in crossing over to the mainstream. Chris DeGarmo, the group's principal writer, has a keen sense of balancing commercial appeal with quality. It really shows here.

"Anybody Listening?" is my favorite song here. Slow and heavy, it is an introspective examination of the loneliness and sadness that accompanies life in the spotlight. It ranks "up there" with my other favorite 'Ryche songs, "Roads to Madness" and "Eyes of a Stranger." "Silent Lucidity" (about dream control, of all things) is the group's best-known song, and it resonates emotion with simple yet exquisite musicianship, validating the fact that a band smacked into the "heavy metal" genre can still write beautiful music. In fact, all the songs here evince astute emotional expression. Although I've never liked "One and Only" due to cheese-factor, the rest of this album is truly some of the best hard rock you'll ever hear.

MUSIC REVIEW: Yes - Fragile

"Close to the zenith."

Behind all the Jon Anderson jokes, the derision from the critics, and perplexing lyrics is one of the best progressive rock bands ever. Fragile was the album that really concretized the band as an estimable member of the progressive elite. A few steps up from The Yes Album, Fragile has the band incorporating more complexity, and more ambition into their songs. With new recruit Rick Wakeman on keys, the band was slowly revealing the extent of their musical aspiration.

Not including the individually performed pieces, there are only four songs on this album. "Heart of the Sunrise" features a crushing rhythmic attack from Squire and Bruford, and combined with the quieter vocal passages, it makes for the most interesting song on the album. "Roundabout" proves that progressive rock can be catchy and fun. Squire shows incredible dexterity on the song's main bass lick, Howe's guitar simply rocks, and Wakeman's solo soars. It was the radio edit of this track that introduced a whole new legion of fans to Yes' music. They bought Fragile, liked the full version of "Roundabout," and liked the rest of the album. The individual pieces are interesting, although Bruford's is over so fast I barely realize it's gone by. Squire's "The Fish" (which shows just how versatile the bass guitar can be) and Howe's "Mood for a Day" (graceful, unaccompanied classical guitar) are my favorites of these.

With the next album, Close To The Edge, the band's progressive enterprise would flower completely and they'd create what I think is their best album. Although CTTE's greatness overshadows Fragile (and almost anything, for that matter), Fragile holds a special place in the Yes catalogue because of its fine balance of accessible songcraft and progressive elements.

MUSIC REVIEW: Yes - The Yes Album

"Prog greatness begins."

With this album, Yes asserted itself as a band that would quickly become one of the most important progressive rock bands ever. The Yes Album was the first in a string of stunning progressive albums (that ended with Going for the One) that all merit deference. While The Yes Album is not as experimental as Relayer, or as epic as Close to the Edge, the songwriting, while progressive, is still accessible and engaging. The addition of guitarist Steve Howe was significant, for he became one of the band's most important songwriters. Chris Squire's bass guitar is unique in sound and use. Is it a rhythm or a lead instrument? It's both, really. At the same time, Bruford's jazzy drumming, and Anderson's catchy vocals contribute to this great disc. And while keyboardist Tony Kaye isn't the virtuoso that is Rick Wakeman, his contributions work effectively in context with these songs, which are more subtle than, say, "The Revealing Science of God."

The album has its share of classics, from the grandiose and mesmerizing "Starship Trooper" to the hook-soaked "I've See All Good People." (Most people know the latter because Part I gets a lot of classic radio play...but they're missing the great jamming in Part II.) The songs are all fairly in-depth compositions but they are catchy as well. "Yours Is No Disgrace," with crazy lyrics and rockin' prog-i-tude, is one of the most exciting opening prog tracks of the 70s. More than 30 years after this album was recorded, I can listen to these songs and they still sound fresh. It really hasn't dated at all.

MUSIC REVIEW: Spiral Architech - A Sceptic's Universe

"Anarchist metal."

Spiral Architect doesn't dig the concept of "boundaries" or progressive metal convention. They don't play by the rules. Deep, mega-complex, absorbing...not easy listening, and honestly it has taken a long, long time for me to even get sucked in by its excellence. Focus often hovers around the phenomenal bass playing of Lars Norsberg, and though your attention will often be focused on him, you'll also want to lend an ear to the amazing musicians complementing. Thinking man's metal? Hell yeah, even if you're Einstein. But you know what? Other than the heaviness, the vocals, and the general instrumentation, it resembles jazz-fusion more than it does your usual prog metal. Neil Kernon produced it, which is an accolade in itself. Buy it.

MUSIC REVIEW: Conception - Parallel Minds

"Great, but less ingenious than other Conception albums."

I didn't discover Conception until recently, and it was quite a discovery. The Last Sunset, Conception's impressive debut, featured many typical characteristics of a band's first record. While it shows a bit of youthful naiveté and enthusiasm, sometimes an imbalance between ambition and songwriting, but nonetheless, it is an excellent, distinctive release. Parallel Minds, Conception's second release, shows the band's budding maturity that would come to full bloom on the subsequent In Your Multitude and especially Flow.

Parallel Minds' rhythms are fairly straightforward, and song diversity is a slight problem, but it's still a great metal album. It has a solid punch of insatiable riffing, fiery tempos, and impassioned vocals (Roy Khan is one of the best voices in metal, in my opinion). The progressive tendencies demonstrated in the debut are more interesting this time around, especially in the 9-minute piece "Soliloquy," which offers a ferocious mix of ardent guitars, piano, and a mix of loud and quiet passages. Other than the largely acoustic ballad "Silent Crying," most of the tracks are carnivorous metal cuts. Check out the menacing riffs of "Wolf's Lair," the chugging viciousness of "Roll the Fire," or the crushing title track. You'll see what I mean.

I believe all Conception albums are now out of print. Even if it takes a bit more work than normal, I recommend hunting down all four of their releases.

MUSIC REVIEW: Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee

"Music doesn't get any better."

Toy Matinee is really nothing more than a highly sophisticated pop record, although its sublime excellence goes far beyond anything like it. Kevin Gilbert and Patrick Leonard have an unmatched sense of melody and canny pop sensibility, and -- with plenty of diversity from song to song -- they've whipped up the perfect album. I find this album's greatness impossible to express. Quite simply, the ears hear what words cannot describe. The English language would need countless synonyms for "great," but it wouldn't be enough.

I'd like to say more, but little comes to mind. Every song offers here something different and exciting, and every facet of the album is flawless. It's well-composed, well-crafted, clever, charming, and...perfect. Certainly one of the best albums I own.

(Note: Kevin Gilbert was by far one of the most gifted musicians around, and his untimely death is truly a loss to the world. Check out Gilbert's other albums, Thud and The Shaming of the True, the former being great and the latter being an unequivocal masterpiece.)

FILM REVIEW: A Serbian Film

"The most powerful horror film."

Where do you even start with a review for this movie? This might not even qualify as a "review" in the typical sense.

Well to explain the paradigm from which I'm coming from, let me say I've always had a fascination with violence and "disturbing content" on film and in the media. So I've seen a lot of "horror movies" but also a lot of other weird and/or disturbing things. I've explored the worst of the worst but virtually never is there a film where violence is used to inflict really, really soul-scarring damage. That is because, you see, most "extreme" violence films are what I would call "trashy". This can refer to the poor quality of their presentation, but more often it refers to a type of attitude about violence.

Violence used for entertainment, I think, is perfectly okay and sometimes very awesome. On the other hand, violence in film can be a tool for evoking a different emotional effect has an entirely different impact on us as a viewer. And I have always been interested in this latter use of violence. I don't know why. Humans have always had that curiosity, they just externalize it differently. For me personally, I firmly against any form of aggressive violence so films that represent violence as something terrible, rather than "fun", have a certain appeal.

Most of the "most disgusting/violent/disturbing movies", according to the internet, are actually in the "trashy" category, so they aren't really all that disgusting or violent or disturbing. That is because they are just dumb and do not create an emotional effect beyond something superficial and shallow. Often they are just bad films, so they generate contempt for wasting anyone's time. They certainly do not create a real sense of HORROR or TERROR. And you know, I have always wanted to find the pinnacle of really disturbing/violent films for years now.

So now we come to A Serbian Film. This movie is definitely the most violent and disturbing film I've ever seen, without any doubt. I will not discuss the story at all or refer in detail to any specific scenes. I don't even really think anyone should watch this movie, and you can go read more about it elsewhere if you want to know specific details. I'm not really here to make this movie sounds interesting so that you go watch it, and honestly the basic premise is pretty clever so if I avoid that issue it's probably for the best.

With that preamble out of the way, I will say -- without hesitation, but still feeling a bit weird about it -- A Serbian Film is a MASTERPIECE. It is the scariest film of all time, easily. The way it creates an emotional attachment, establishes an atmosphere of utter, paralyzing dread, and its escalation from one unbelievably devastating, brutal, and shocking scene to another, is really, really effective. This movie really really, really terrifying. In terms of craftsmanship, the filmmakers really deserve credit. They know what makes a good horror film, and then they just raised the intensity and brutality to infinity and beyond. The level of depravity and cruelty inflicted upon people in this movie is really unimaginable to the average person. Even to me, and I assumed going into this film that I was "ready" for it.

Your heart will feel like it's going to explode about halfway into the film... and then it gets way worse. I almost couldn't bear to see what was going to happen in the end (although it's somewhat predictable... which actually makes it WORSE as the end approaches, because you start to anticipate what is coming). But I stuck it out to the end and it sucked. No, the ending did not suck in the sense that it was "bad", because it was a good ending in terms of climactic narrative, but in the sense that it BAD -- like "that's the worst thing I can ever imagine happening" kind of BAD.

Some people will jump in at this point and say, "Oh well it can't be as bad as X". No, shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. It's way, way worse than X. I promise you, I have seen all those obscure movies you scour google for days and weeks to find. "Oh but have you seen--?" Yes, I've seen it. "But i bet you haven't seen--". No, I've seen that too. And it's mostly trash.

But here is why this movie is not "trash". First of all, it is extremely well made. The production values are not ghetto at all. They are excellent. The cinematographic quality is exceptional. The quality of film and camera work and direction is great. The acting is very effective and the writing is sharp (even with some nice moments of tenderness and humor early on). But most importantly the story, which is not exactly realistic or anything, but it is completely absorbing and it makes the viewer care. We can appreciate the main character's situation. He seems to be a likeable dude. We want good things to happen to him and his family. But, then he is lured in by what seems to be a good opportunity and becomes quite literally enslaved to evil. Our empathy becomes horror magnified a thousandfold by the fact that we give a damn, and by the unbelievable intensity of evil perpetrated -- manipulating someone into doing something they would never do, something that is so vile that even talking about it will make you puke.

It almost makes you forget that you are watching this movie because it's supposedly the "nastiest ever" and not because it's just a good movie. Almost. But then it beats you like a sledgehammer as a good movie and the nastiest.

And yet here is the paradox. This is not really a good movie, like "I recommend this" or "I would watch this again." In that sense, it is the worst movie. But because it is the best worst movie, it is actually amazing. But your soul will be shattered when you watch it. The ending is literally the most horrible thing ever on film. I will certainly never, EVER watch it again. Just thinking about it makes me feel bad. But I cannot deny that it is incredibly powerful on its own terms, and it has to be taken seriously. This is not like our normal horror movies where violence is really part of the fun. Here with A Serbian Film, you dread violence like you do in real life. Well not quite, but you know what I mean. All possible goodness in this movie is utterly broken, corrupted, and destroyed by the end, through abject violence. Your soul bleeds into the ether as the credits roll. That is a powerful effect and there are not a lot of films that do that.

Is this movie "deep" or interpretative on some level? I don't know. Maybe it doesn't matter. "This is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government... It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don't want to do. You have to feel the violence to know what it's about." Those are the words of the director, Srđan Spasojević. Take them for whatever they're worth. Indeed, truly horrible things happen to people in real life. Real horror is real people dying and suffering and being forced to do awful things with real consequences. Look at real-world conflicts, with real rape and slaughter and torture. In that sense, this film is not so bad. No one died. No one got hurt. No actual children were exposed to anything inappropriate. But by drawing on some a real sense of loss and tragedy and horror they grew up with, the filmmakers create a really powerful horror film. I find that interesting.

My heart is racing just thinking about this movie. I feel like i could faint. Why did I even write this review? It makes no sense, I give it the highest possible "rating" while saying no one should see it and you will be scarred by it and probably react negatively even if you normally dig this stuff. Seriously. I could give it "zero-star" review and have the same content for this review. Another reviewer somewhere said it best, "You don't want to see this movie. You only think you do." Be careful. You can't go back in time and un-watch this movie after you watch it.

And so in seeing A Serbian Film, my quest for the most violent and disturbing film of all time is over. After seeing this movie, I am reduced to spending the rest of my days watching nice happy things like episodes of "Sailor Moon".

[CHIMP NOTE: This film has been banned in various countries. Read more at Wikipedia. People have gotten in trouble for showing this movie. I assume some countries' customs agents would confiscate it if they found it. Just so you know. Of course, you might just consider downloading it.]