torture

The angst and elation of maturity are the heartbeats of mainstream cinema’s adolescence. Through several decades of teen comedies and horror films there is the consistent playing out of maturation through sexuality, violence (graphic or not), and familial independence. Often genres such as comedy and horror are in themselves perceived as “adolescent” in their form and content. So it is unsurprising—if not appropriate—that such films often find teenagers as their core characters.

It was only a matter of time before Pedro Almodóvar made a horror film. His decades long career directing, writing, and producing exhibits a constant concern for themes that flirt with the horror film genre. His films revel in all things melodramatic, the fluidity and ambiguity of sexual and gender identity, a love for surfaces and pop culture, camp, and the perils of isolation. A few of his films, namely “Carne Trémula” and “Atame!”, more precisely lean toward the horrific.

“A Serbian Film” starts off with a young boy inadvertently watching a porn film starring his father and from there it gets worse. So much worse. So bad that by the time the end credits roll that creepy opening scene seems light-hearted in comparison to the waking nightmare you’ve just witnessed. If you are at all considering watching “A Serbian Film” you should be warned that you will see things that you can not unsee and these are things that, for the sake of all that is good and cuddly in the world, I sincerely hope that you most certainly do not want to see.

If anyone on the planet expects their gimmicky one-location motion picture to work properly, they'd better make sure it comes equipped with solid direction, great writing, and a smart, likeable cast. Otherwise, you're just going to irritate everyone, and that's never a good thing.