If you thought that A Serbian Film was the most extreme movie to come out of Serbia, then think again, because The Life and Death Of A Porno Gang beats that film hands down in terms of sheer nastiness and explicit content. As a piece of film-making, it's not quite as accomplished as A Serbian Film, lacking that film's tight narrative and slick production values, but it sure packs one hell of a wallop.
The film follows the exploits of film-school graduate Marko (Mihajlo Jovanovic) who, unable to fund his own projects, accepts work from porn mogul Cane (Srdjan Miletic). However, Marko's artistic pretensions soon get the better of him, and he uses Cane's money to produce an experimental sex stage show instead. When the show is closed down by outraged officials, Marko takes his production on the road, performing at rural villages to curious locals. After one of these shows, Marko is approached by ex-war journalist Frantz, who makes him an unbelievable proposition: direct snuff movies for him and make a fortune.What follows is a descent into sheer madness and extreme violence, a horrific journey that eventually claims the lives of everyone in Marko's company.
Not only does The Life and Death Of A Porno Gang succeed on a very basic level, presenting a catalogue of imagery guaranteed to upset all but the most hardened of extreme movie viewers, but it also serves as a brutal reminder of the atrocities of war. Where A Serbian Film dubiously claimed to be an allegory of the Serbian conflict, there is no doubt that Porno Gang's director Mladen Djordjevic fully intended his film to work both as an exploitative shocker AND as socio-political commentary. In addition to its many direct references to the war, the desensitisation of the film's characters reflects what many Serbians must have experienced on a day to day basis; the fact that poverty stricken peasants in the film are prepared to lay down their lives for the financial well-being of their loved ones also suggests that the country's wealth distribution is seriously messed up.
While I can't say that I really enjoyed my experience watching this film, it's undeniably effective, uncomfortably visceral and thought provoking stuff—something I certainly won't forget it in a hurry; for those reasons I award The Life and Death Of A Porno Gang a rating of 8/10.