I watched Strangler vs. Strangler last October as part of my 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days challenge. It added a nice shade of diversity. I'd never seen a Yugoslavian horror movie before.
It starts out promisingly enough. An anonymous narrator ponders what makes a city a metropolis as we are treated to a montage of Belgrade, and comes to the conclusion that a city becomes a city by virtue of its criminal population. This is an interesting idea, but unfortunately the plot does not develop it any further. This section also includes a split-screen portrayal of thievery, murders, and rapes, to demonstrate what types of crime Belgrade does indeed boast. The presentation is absurd, almost Python-esque. It's pretty daring and audacious.
What a letdown that the movie fizzles out so quickly. Beyond the introduction it doesn't have much to offer apart from cartoonish shtick that was well-worn in American sitcoms a decade earlier. (A male undercover cop in drag, for example. As though that's fresh or interesting.) There are some laughs to be gotten from the performances, but director/co-writer Slobodan Sijan is completely bereft of original vision after that great first scene. The result is tedious, exhausting, and occasionally mean-spirited.
This is a good movie to watch if you're a horror completionist. I just wish it could have been more.
It starts out promisingly enough. An anonymous narrator ponders what makes a city a metropolis as we are treated to a montage of Belgrade, and comes to the conclusion that a city becomes a city by virtue of its criminal population. This is an interesting idea, but unfortunately the plot does not develop it any further. This section also includes a split-screen portrayal of thievery, murders, and rapes, to demonstrate what types of crime Belgrade does indeed boast. The presentation is absurd, almost Python-esque. It's pretty daring and audacious.
What a letdown that the movie fizzles out so quickly. Beyond the introduction it doesn't have much to offer apart from cartoonish shtick that was well-worn in American sitcoms a decade earlier. (A male undercover cop in drag, for example. As though that's fresh or interesting.) There are some laughs to be gotten from the performances, but director/co-writer Slobodan Sijan is completely bereft of original vision after that great first scene. The result is tedious, exhausting, and occasionally mean-spirited.
This is a good movie to watch if you're a horror completionist. I just wish it could have been more.