A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.0

A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 3, 2021

For those of you who believe in karma, there is (more?) undisputed proof that I must have been very, very bad in a previous life (or maybe even this one, if karmic consequences happen relatively quickly), since this is now the second time A Serbian Film has crossed my review queue. There are a lot of films that I obviously am not that fond of, and a few that I actively dislike, but A Serbian Film stands alone as one of a handful that actually disgusted me when I first saw it. Now judging by some pull quotes on the back cover of this release, as well as Svet's own A Serbian Film Blu-ray review of a UK Blu-ray release, there are those who at least can tolerate the film, if not actually admire it, but I'm frankly simply not one of those people, and so fans of the film are forewarned that my own original review, which I'll link to below, is definitely in the "thumbs down" category, to purloin a term of art by some reviewers with arguably a lot more clout than I have. I know those fans will insist I just "don't get it", and that's fine, I guess, but I would add that there are some things I actually prefer not to get.

As mentioned above, A Serbian Film first crossed my review queue way back in 2011. For those interested in a plot recap and my general assessment of the movie, I refer you to my A Serbian Film Blu- ray review of that release. That review is also a good resource for screenshot comparisons. This release is definitely superior in terms of supplemental features (listed below), since the first release I reviewed had none to offer.

A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Serbian Film is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed Films and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. As much as I was appalled by the actual movie when I first reviewed it, its Blu-ray transfer was largely above reproach, and that quality is reproduced here. It's perhaps arguable that the sickly yellows that predominate the grading and lighting regimens have a slightly more orangish tint in this version, but in terms of clarity and detail levels, I frankly saw no major differences. Fine detail is often stomach churningly strong, and only some passing issues with crush in the darkest scenes materially affect general detail levels.

A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The first Blu-ray release of A Serbian Film featured a perfectly fine sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one which is mirrored on this release with an LPCM 2.0 track, though this release ups the ante by also including a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The surround track does open things up at least a bit, but the film is so relentlessly claustrophobic that engagement of the side and rear channels tends to be rather subtle at times. Some outdoor material probably benefits best from the 5.1 track that this release offers. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Serbian Film Exhibition (HD; 3:18) documents a 2018 "installation".


• Behind the Scenes of NBP (SD; 6:16) details the fabrication of some of the (thankfully) fake bodies utilized in the film.


• Brussels Film Fest Q & A (SD; 46:58)


• Photo Gallery (HD; 2:08)


• A Serbian Documentary Preview (HD; 3:45)


• Q & A with Srdjan & Jelena (HD; 28:04) is culled from a 2018 Los Angeles screening.


• Commentary with Srdjan Spasojevic and Stephen Biro can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Commentary with Joe Lynch and Adam Green of The Movie Crypt can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Trailers includes A Serbian Film (HD; 2:05) along with trailers for other releases from Unearthed Films.

Additionally, the keepcase includes a Rue Morgue Midnight Movie Society sticker.

A Serbian Film Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I will grudgingly admit that this release's slate of supplements perhaps made me a bit less viscerally angry than I was when I first watched A Serbian Film, though this is still an outing that should carry one of those "parental warnings", in more ways than one, considering the tyke in the film. Technical merits are strong and more or less interchangeable with the first Blu-ray release, but this version has a good supply of supplemental features (unlike the first release), and so should probably be the one to choose for those who are considering a purchase.