Yeah I had nearly the same reaction. It was too over the top and sometimes downright comical for me to be disturbed. There was also no point or build-up to some of the more shocking scenes and felt more like it was done just to see how far they could go.

Blame the fanboys for the hype.

It was boring!

I saw this one night in a double viewing with Ichi the Killer a few years back. I saw Ichi first, and after that, this one could barely hold my attention. And yeah, the shocking moments just kind of wash over you, that's all.

Oh I love Ichi! Have ya'll ever seen Visitor Q? Now that is a fucked up movie. Takashi Miike directed both.

I've seen it. I have a certain amount of brain damage now that I attribute to watching Miike's films.

Visitor Q was actually the 1st disk I got from Netflix. I saw Ichi and looked up more of Miike's movies. He was the reason I got Netflix in the first place, lol

This is not a movie! This is a big sick sh*t. 1/10

It's all about shock value with this one. It's a movie you will watch once and only once. 5/10 stars.

@Satch_the_man said:

the shocking moments just kind of wash over you, that's all.

I think that was the point. I wouldn't call this an art house horror movie, but it had a lot more meaning than a casual watch might suggest. It reminded me of Martyrs, but not as good. I was surprised that the shocking and disturbing scenes didn't really shock and disturb me, but like I said... that was the point, in my opinion. Interesting film, and I wonder what people in Serbia thought of it.

@Dedoc1967 said:

@Satch_the_man said:

the shocking moments just kind of wash over you, that's all.

I think that was the point. I wouldn't call this an art house horror movie, but it had a lot more meaning than a casual watch might suggest. It reminded me of Martyrs, but not as good. I was surprised that the shocking and disturbing scenes didn't really shock and disturb me, but like I said... that was the point, in my opinion. Interesting film and I wonder what people in Serbia thought of it.

Here is a 'blurb' from the Wikipedia article (It's the second paragraph):

"Upon its debut on the art film circuit, the film received substantial attention and controversy for its graphic depictions of pornography, rape, necrophilia, and child sexual abuse. Despite the director's claims that the film is a political allegory, it was investigated in Serbia for crimes against sexual morals and crimes related to the protection of minors. The film has been banned in Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Norway, and was temporarily banned from screening in Brazil."

Are you stalking me? LOL. I was aware of course of the controversy, but hadn't read any side articles. It doesn't surprise me that the director said it was a political allegory (and social one, I would think). Many horror movies are a social or political allegory to some extent, just as were most of the Grimm fairy tales centuries earlier. The Serbian authorities, not exactly a bastion of free speech, might have felt it hit a little too close to the bone.

@Dedoc1967 said:

Are you stalking me? LOL. I was aware of course of the controversy, but hadn't read any side articles. It doesn't surprise me that the director said it was a political allegory (and social one, I would think). Many horror movies are a social or political allegory to some extent, just as were most of the Grimm fairy tales centuries earlier. The Serbian authorities, not exactly a bastion of free speech, might have felt it hit a little too close to the bone.

Me? A stalker? No way. 🕵️‍♀️

I haven't seen the film (have heard & read about it, I'm not a big fan of films that are made just to shock), Serbia might not be a 'bastion of free speech', but I'm surprised it is banned in Norway, New Zealand, Australia.