Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Action Movies

FrightFest 2010: A Serbian Film reaction

News
By Sam Ashurst published 29 August 2010

We talk to director Srdjan Spasojevic about the BBFC and more...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

There are a lot of accusations being levelled at A Serbian Film.

Some dismiss it as torture porn. Some decry it as cynical shock cinema; entertainment directed at society’s darkest denizens.

Others reject the allegorical assertions made by director Srdjan Spasojevic, denying his claims that the film operates as a metaphor for Serbian society.

Our reaction to watching it ( prior to FrightFest’s unavoidable last-minute pull following the BBFC’s decision to order significant cuts ) was, after a period of stunned numbed silence, to applaud it as a piece of pure cinema.

It’s beyond disturbing, with several key sequences almost impossible to watch.

But at no point to you lose your faith in the filmmakers, your trust in them as artists. This isn’t a cheap mondo nasty, made by giggling idiots. This is a stylishly shot, brilliantly written film, packed full of Oscar-worthy performances.

But be warned, it won’t ever leave you. There are images in this film that will forever be tattooed on your mind’s eye; no matter how much you wish you could remove them.

In another universe, a large crowd of horror fans are about to make their way into the Empire’s biggest screen, to endure the most disturbing film most of them will ever see.

In the absence of that, we sat down with director Spasojevic this morning, to provide a forum to answer his critics, to tell us about his influences, and to discuss his next project.

On the BBFC cuts...

On people downloading it illegally...


On the torture porn genre...

On shock cinema...

On his influences...

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

On the horror genre...

Is A Serbian Film allegorical or personal?

On his next project...



Sam Ashurst
Social Links Navigation

Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.

Latest in Action Movies
Peter Parker dying in Mary Jane Watson's arms
Marvel Movies The story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day may tie back to the comic that kills off Peter Parker
 
 
Spider-Man Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Spider-Man: Brand New Day's comic book cover recreation hints at the villain in Punisher's sights
 
 
Spider-Man Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Spider-Man: Brand New Day's trailer subtitles may have spoiled a character with ties to the X-Men
 
 
Sadie Sink
Marvel Movies Who is Sadie Sink playing in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer?
 
 
Spider-Man and Boomerang fighting in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel Movies All the new comic-book characters in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer
 
 
Daredevil
Marvel Movies The Hand explained – the supernatural Marvel history of the ninjas featured in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer
 
 
Latest in News
Long-haired man aims drawn bow toward deer standing at a distance in a foggy forest
FPS Games Overwatch co-creator says free-to-play games require "2 thousand devs cranking out f***ing keychains like a sweatshop"
 
 
A dragon blasts a man with a shield in Skyrim
RPGs Ex-Skyrim artist says the Resident Evil remakes are "cool" but trying to do the same with Bethesda games isn't "viable"
 
 
Character art from F-Zero GX
Games Nintendo has finally fixed the Switch 2 GameCube emulator's terrible analog stick mapping
 
 
Wilson Bethel as Bullseye in Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 showrunner and EP say Bullseye is "the hero in his own mind"
 
 
Matthew Lillard as Mr. Charles in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 showrunner says Matthew Lillard's new villain just seems "like a totally regular guy"
 
 
Shadowheart stands defensively against aggressive rats in a cluttered room with wooden floors and beams
Baldur's Gate A "simple test" of Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools has "snowballed" into a full-blown remake of the first Baldur's Gate
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Long-haired man aims drawn bow toward deer standing at a distance in a foggy forest
    1
    Overwatch co-creator says free-to-play games require "2 thousand devs cranking out f***ing keychains like a sweatshop"
  2. 2
    Ex-Skyrim artist says the Resident Evil remakes are "cool" but trying to do the same with Bethesda games isn't "viable"
  3. 3
    Crimson Desert review: "A game that's far better as a sandbox than as a story"
  4. 4
    Daredevil: Born Again season 2 showrunner and EP say Bullseye is "the hero in his own mind"
  5. 5
    Nintendo has finally fixed the Switch 2 GameCube emulator's terrible analog stick mapping

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...