Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2011)
Studio: Synapse
Theatrical Release: July 21st, 2011
Blu-Ray Release: August 14, 2012
Rating: Unrated
Directed by Mladen Djordjevic
Review by Craig Sorensen
Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to reviewing this. I’ve never been a big fan of “shock” horror. There never really seems to be much there beyond the shock. I’m usually bored to tears with those things (see Human Centipede). Honestly, it seemed more like a Jamie film than a Craig film. But you know what, I kind of liked this. Sure, it ain’t perfect but it’s entertaining, I enjoyed the characters, and the film isn’t afraid to just get fucking depressing.
The film starts out kind of dire though. Our main character Marko (Mihajlo Jovanovic) is fresh out of film school and narrating the hell out of this film. I hate films about filmmakers and I hate narration. The film quickly gets away from college kid milieu when Marko gets involved making porn films. Using all the funds “donated” by the local crime boss to make a pretentious art film instead of the promised jerk-off material, Marko goes on the run with a motley band of actors and exhibitionists in a vain search for artistic freedom. They travel the country side putting on pornographic performance art for local hicks and farmers. They eventually gain the attention of a “producer” with a proposition. For a hefty fee they can make snuff films with willing actors who want to die for various reasons. And of course, things don’t end well.
So, what could have easily turned into just another “shock-for-shock’s-sake” film is able to differentiate itself through the fractured psyche of the Serbian characters. This part of the world has been through hell and that is reflected in every character. Some characters rebel (our main characters), some people profit of off pain and sorrow (pornographers/snuff producers) and some people just give up (the volunteers). And the film is all the better for exploring these themes while at the same time giving us the prerequisite sex and violence that an audience craves.
Synapse’s new Blu-Ray for this looks probably about as good as possible. The film is a combination of 16mm film and HD video and intentionally rough and a little amateurish looking. Not that I think it looks bad. I think that the presentation here is a good representation of the film and the roughness adds to the sleazy, depressing atmosphere. I didn’t notice any issues with compression (I’m usually worried about that sort of thing with things shot on video) and colors look strong throughout the running time so I have no complaints.
The biggest special feature here is a feature length “documentary” on the Serbian porn industry called “Made In Serbia”. It’s kind of a strange combination of a documentary and a fiction film in which a director tries to break into the porn industry so he can film one last scene with his porn star ex-girlfriend. Most of the video is made up of actual documentary footage of local porn producers and stars. These are obviously the most interesting parts of the feature. It’s funny, a little creepy and pretty depressing and only really drags when the film returns to the phony director’s girlfriend issues. It’s definitely worth a look though. Other special features include a short Making-Of video, a collection of deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer. You also get an “explicit” reversible cover that has an extra cock on the side of the van in the urinal.
[rating: 3]
Theatrical Release: July 21st, 2011
Blu-Ray Release: August 14, 2012
Rating: Unrated
Directed by Mladen Djordjevic
Review by Craig Sorensen
Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to reviewing this. I’ve never been a big fan of “shock” horror. There never really seems to be much there beyond the shock. I’m usually bored to tears with those things (see Human Centipede). Honestly, it seemed more like a Jamie film than a Craig film. But you know what, I kind of liked this. Sure, it ain’t perfect but it’s entertaining, I enjoyed the characters, and the film isn’t afraid to just get fucking depressing.
The film starts out kind of dire though. Our main character Marko (Mihajlo Jovanovic) is fresh out of film school and narrating the hell out of this film. I hate films about filmmakers and I hate narration. The film quickly gets away from college kid milieu when Marko gets involved making porn films. Using all the funds “donated” by the local crime boss to make a pretentious art film instead of the promised jerk-off material, Marko goes on the run with a motley band of actors and exhibitionists in a vain search for artistic freedom. They travel the country side putting on pornographic performance art for local hicks and farmers. They eventually gain the attention of a “producer” with a proposition. For a hefty fee they can make snuff films with willing actors who want to die for various reasons. And of course, things don’t end well.
So, what could have easily turned into just another “shock-for-shock’s-sake” film is able to differentiate itself through the fractured psyche of the Serbian characters. This part of the world has been through hell and that is reflected in every character. Some characters rebel (our main characters), some people profit of off pain and sorrow (pornographers/snuff producers) and some people just give up (the volunteers). And the film is all the better for exploring these themes while at the same time giving us the prerequisite sex and violence that an audience craves.
Synapse’s new Blu-Ray for this looks probably about as good as possible. The film is a combination of 16mm film and HD video and intentionally rough and a little amateurish looking. Not that I think it looks bad. I think that the presentation here is a good representation of the film and the roughness adds to the sleazy, depressing atmosphere. I didn’t notice any issues with compression (I’m usually worried about that sort of thing with things shot on video) and colors look strong throughout the running time so I have no complaints.
The biggest special feature here is a feature length “documentary” on the Serbian porn industry called “Made In Serbia”. It’s kind of a strange combination of a documentary and a fiction film in which a director tries to break into the porn industry so he can film one last scene with his porn star ex-girlfriend. Most of the video is made up of actual documentary footage of local porn producers and stars. These are obviously the most interesting parts of the feature. It’s funny, a little creepy and pretty depressing and only really drags when the film returns to the phony director’s girlfriend issues. It’s definitely worth a look though. Other special features include a short Making-Of video, a collection of deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer. You also get an “explicit” reversible cover that has an extra cock on the side of the van in the urinal.
[rating: 3]
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