A Serbian Documentary (2025) Review

A Serbian Documentary is peppered with quotes from various reviews of the film, one of which stuck in my head more than most. Tim Anderson of Bloody Disgusting had this to say: You don’t want to see A Serbian Film. You just think you do. Back in 2010, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to see it at all considering what I’d heard but I ended up seeing it twice, the first time being the BBFC 18 rated version – which was cut by four minutes and twelve seconds – followed up a few days later by the unexpurgated experience. Please don’t @ me, please don’t judge. I’m not even sure to this day that it was a good decision.

A Serbian Film is the type of film which invites extreme reactions and it’s easy to either leap to the defence of a subversive masterpiece or dismiss it as a nasty, grubby little piece of trash. I’m unable to die on either hill. I get the political undertones of the film and its allegorical nature to both Serbian society and the obstacles to pursuing any sort of worthwhile endeavour. However, it’s buried under an avalanche of bloodshed and fucking and the extreme content lodges in the psyche far more than the overriding message. So, did Stephen Biro’s documentary nudge my own personal needle in either direction as regards its source material?

Not really, and for me, that’s a smidge disappointing. However, that’s absolutely no reason not to see this one.

It’s clear that Srjdan Spasojevic is a talented movie maker and that his passion for creating a piece of work that would leave an indelible mark on cinema is undoubted. Views on “the violence of political correctness” may not give him a pass in the eyes of some viewers, considering some of the atrocities which take place in A Serbian Film, but his frustration with media censorship in his home country is understandable and he generally comes across as a thoughtful sort with a team of performers and crew only too willing to realise his vision.

For horror fans, it won’t come as earth shattering news to discover that the shoot was, more often than not, far from the gruelling trial seen on screen, although there are sequences with the effects shots which test the patience of the actors and footage of making head casts which will possibly trigger those of us with claustrophobia. Tales of set-based tension are kept to a minimum here, maybe because it was an enjoyable and collaborative environment, but there’s never any inkling that the film is going to go off the rails so fans of trouble productions will find nothing of that sort here.

Talking head wise, you can check the box about the creative process and the advantages of possessing a theatrical background, plus there’s a mention of not wanting to make a horror movie, which is almost de rigueur in any study of a genre movie which is looking to say something important. I guess if you want to argue that A Serbian Film is a political drama I’m not going to stop you but if you watch the movie and are then asked what genre it belongs in, then, well…

What is interesting are the viewpoints of the various female performers in the movie, accepting that the roles will be challenging but seizing the opportunity to be a part of a project where the roles from women are different from the norm. As Lena Bogdanovic, who plays the dialogue-free Doctor, Serbian television and films generally have two sorts of female characters, either suffering, motherly types or slutty girlfriends with nothing much to do so.

If it’s a tell all account of the making of A Serbian Film you’re looking for, A Serbian Documentary has enough in the way of interesting asides and behind the scenes action but rarely hits the audience with mind blowing revelations. The fact that it doesn’t truly lift the lid on the project leaves it sitting alongside many other decently made, interesting but unexceptional “making of” accounts. It even steps away from capturing the ferocity of its subject, in that it defuses some of the potential controversy it could have raked up again by paying special attention to the effects scenes, showing exactly how the mechanics of cinema are employed with craft and skill, even when capturing the most censor-baiting moments. Yes, you do get to see the prop for that sequence but the setting and the presence of the crew lend a distancing effect which emphasises that well-worn phrase “it’s just a movie.”

Despite the fact that it is just a movie, that didn’t stop A Serbian Film from being banned in forty-six countries and the documentary does take some pleasure in painting the movie as some kind of shadowy, cinematic bogey man ready to leap out on unsuspecting viewers. I would have liked more coverage of the controversy following the film’s release and perhaps even reactions from the audiences of today discovering the movie for the first time.

There’s footage of Emily Booth announcing that the film was no longer on the FrightFest schedule due to the classification issues with the BBFC but the impact on the rest of the world is dealt with briefly, concentrating instead on a successful screening at SXSW and a seal of approval from none other than William Friedkin, rather than expanding on such tales as the one about how the 35mm print had to be assembled and watching one of said prints being burned due to its content.

A Serbian Documentary is entertaining for the most part and occasionally fascinating but, very much like the movie it covers, I wish it had given me more food for thought. For those of you out there who hate A Serbian Film, this is unlikely to make you want to revisit it.

Movie Rating:

A Serbian Documentary trailer