While a "gross concept, this movie isn't as disgusting as it's made up to be. After reading all the articles about ambulances and people vomiting at screenings I was SO anxious about seeing this in theaters. And honestly? I wasn't really physically affected at all.
Basically, if you're as worried as I was you'll be fine.
I kinda that those stories were overblown. I want to watch it.
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Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television
They've been advertising movies that way for years. When "Mark of the Devil" came out they said you got a vomit bag with your ticket for just in case.
https://i0.wp.com/media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HMM-mark-of-the-devil-barf-bag.jpg?resize=483%2C1000
Hostel had fake ads about people passing out while watching the movie.
I think Mark of the Devil would have needed it. I only saw it on VHS in my 20s and felt like somebody stuck needles in my guts.
shareSame for the first Dracula movie, people were vomiting when they were coming out of the Cinema.
Movie viewers have become a lot more scare resistant. Back in the early '70's, when "The Exorcist" first came out, The Washington Post would print a daily report on the people who passed out and needed medical assistance while watching the movie. It was like three or four people a day. And that was just in the DC metro area.
shareI am ready for this, but I am squeamish when it comes to blood, and bones breaking, and skinning. Do you think it will make me vomit? I watched the Red Band trailer and even that was a little graphic for me. Do you think I can handle it?
I need to go with a friend.
This is child play compared to A Serbian Film. I could see how that film would make people sick, hell it shock me up for a week. But this, nah I think most people will be just fine.
shareA Serbian Film was deviant and unpleasant to watch but was so fucking ridiculous that it killed the shock value for me.
Even the most disturbed and disgusting scene (I don't think I really need to say which one) was put there is a way that it was obviois that director just wanted to beat a record of going really too far. Of course I didn't enjoy watching it and so turned my eyes off the screen, but it didn't get me hooked being traumatized before of how ridiculous and forced it was.
Maybe it is just me, but in order to have a shock value which is effective, you need to bring it in a suspenseful way and make it clear that what you show me has somehow a social criticism behind it (or you know... simply be shocking on a purpose and at least try to leave me with something to think about).
Let's take the movie Martyrs as a good example: the movie REALLY left me with a unpleasant feeling. The violence and the gore were not only extreme, they were shown in such a dark setting and the general pacing was slow and showed us the torture (as much physical and as psychological) of a young women for a good part of the movie. The movie, even though it might not be so obviois for everyone, criticized human nature in its most loathsome and its most ruthless side. It was all shown in a way that gave you a bad feeling because it had simply no happy material. There seem to be absolutely no hope for anyone. It was hard to watch without being sick and feeling bad for the real victims (who are pretty much the women who was taken prisoner and the 2 kids). It was a psychological test and it is definitely not a movie I would suggest to people with weak stomachs or who are simply subject to be easily outraged.
I would certainly not suggest A Serbian Film to... pretty much anybody aside from people who really want to see disturbing movies. On another hand, I would definitely say that the movie is just totally stupid. The explicitly perturbing scenes are forced and come one by one and feel more like a complitation made for a contest to determine which one is the worst. The events don't really have a paramount connection between them and they don't feel like one was necessary for the other. Some people defended the movie by saying it was some kind of a parody of our world... but, I think that this is overthinking it. It didn't look to me like if the director wanted to make a point because if he would I think he would have made the general idea more obvious. What we had was a stupid concept, with a stupid continuity of the events and probably among the worst lines ever written for a movie. I know that sometimes silliness is used to make fun of some situations or social issues (Monty Pythons did it), but they really need to go as far as defying absolutely every rules of human decency? This movie pushed too far into it for me to believe that the director actually wanted to pass a message, imo he is just a sick fuck who shouldn't be allowed to make another movie.
Bottom line: A Serbian Film is without any doubts a sick and disgusting film, it is also so fucking dysfunctional and risible that people like me who have seen a lot of distubing movies will find it twisted, but will not be able to take it seriously. My reaction was pretty much: Well, this was one of the sickest piece of shit I've seen, but I will forget about it by tomorrow.
Now after all this, I admit I didn't see Raw and I came here to see if it's worth a watch or if it just another torture porn and senseless gorefest.
I have to see it to really make my opinion.
its called HYPE
shareSays a lot about how desensitized people have become. Nothing shocks people anymore. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
shareThe thing is that people see more and more of weird shit, and more you see, more you can handle.
The first movie I saw that have the reputation to be one of the most shocking movie ever was Cannibal Holocaust... when I was around 11 years old. Back then, it was my first experience with a really disturbing movie and it did leave me with a bad taste. Even today I have a hard time to watch the whole thing because I remember the feeling it gave me back then.
But after seeing many others, it's like it doesn't have the element of surprise anymore, especially if I know from the beginning that the movie is supposed to shock me.
Today too many things have been put on screen and Internet gives a huge access to anyone to the sickest shit that one could imagine.
So to give you my opinion, it's neither a good or a bad thing. This is just a new reality in a world where so many horrible things happen.
is it comparable to Hannibal (the series) gore wise?
shareI suppose so. It doesn't get as bloody as Hannibal but it does have some similarly disturbing moments of cannibalism. I'd probably put Raw on the same level as an averagely disturbing Hannibal episode. I think the most disturbing moments of Hannibal were worse than anything in Raw. And of course they both share a similar sense of black humour which helps to alleviate the disturbing atmosphere.
sharefirst of all, it is a great movie, which you are comparing to an exceptionally well made series. neither was THAT graphic though from what we actually get to see, but when it comes to what is implied, hannibal (TV series) was way more effed up than this. i gave raw a 9/10 and hannibal a 10/10.
shareThe studio's post plants in screenings to throw up or pretend to faint. Then the media gives the movie free advertising. Drums up business.
shareI don't know if you were actually serious or not, but this actually is a possibility.
Ruggero Deodato made a contract with his actors in Cannibal Holocaust so they stay out of medias or any public events just to make people believe that they actually died in the movie (and that they had to go on television to prove that they are actually alive) for advertising purpose. If this was a thing, I don't see why what you said couldn't be as well.