Davitelj protiv davitelja

It's amazing! Somewhere between Hitchcock and Kubrick. So good! It's a Serbian gem

Outrageous dark humour in this film noir style horror. The film is at times genuinely scary, while mostly funny and indulging in dark humour all the way. This is a dangerous ground to tread, not only because of the tonal shifts, but because dark humour can easily become repulsive and alienating. But this film did everything right and remained a thoroughly enjoyable experience from beginning to end. I love this film and I find it equally enjoyable every time I watch it. The noir cinematography and that 80s look, as well as the exploration of the dark corners of Belgrade is quite intriguing and works perfectly, as what we used to think was a pleasant and familiar city turned into a dark place with streets and passage ways that give you the creeps, especially when there is a crazed strangler lurking in the shadows. The strangler, by the way is a sympathetic character, and most of his victims are nasty women we don't really care about. In fact, all characters in this film are sympathetic. There is a real sweetness to it all, which stands in sharp contrast with the murders taking place.

Strangler's handling of deadpan, grotesque cruelty and black humour is somewhat similar to the mixture Alex de la Iglesia would perfect in his movies a decade later. The tonal shifts from horror to humour and back again are done well, with only an occasional unevenness, but the film's artificiality (voiceover narration, intertitles, grotesque exaggeration, etc.) may alienate some viewers. Sijan is to be commended for his courage in parodying a genre that has never been too popular with Serbian moviegoers in the first place. Strangler's thematic and stylistic subversiveness was part of the fresh air in Serbian cinema at the time, inspired by the New Wave movement: a wide front of artists and critics based around Belgrade's Student Cultural Center, involved in alternative rock'n'roll, literature, arts and the movies.

The picture was shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival in the mid-'80s, and I was surprised to meet an American poet there who could recite memorable lines from Strangler a full twenty years later (some of them in Serbian!). It is a testament to this film's lasting power which, unfortunately, remains limited only to Serbian filmgoers since an English-dubbed DVD is still nowhere in sight.

What makes city a city? What makes it different than a village? Is it the traffic jam? The people who live there? Or is it something else?

According to this movie, the criminals and gangsters define the city. While London has Jack the Ripper, Belgrade has his "davitelj", i.e. the strangler. That's how begins an interesting movie, "Davitelj protiv davitelja" a mix of comedy and horror. It is a story about a guy, flower seller, who turns into a mad man, and commits a series of crimes. Also, we have a police inspector who is trying to stop him. The inspector is getting a lot of help and "help" from a young rock singer and a girl working in a local radio-station. To make the picture complete, there is also a strangler's mother, a character inspired by the Hitchcock's Psycho.

The movie is amusing, I liked it, but people expecting an exceptional movie, like "Ko to tamo peva" or "Maratonci trce pocasni krug", director's earlier works, will be disappointed.

This film remains one of the gems of Yugoslav cinema – and one of the most under-appreciated. It is a strange mix of horror and comedy, hilarious, bizarre, unsettling and not for everyone's tastes.

The plot kicks off with the narrator explaining that Belgrade cannot yet claim to be a world metropolis. It is, as the calm female voice informs us, missing a vital ingredient: a master criminal! Petty hoodlums aside, Belgrade is about to get the king of criminals: a Strangler (and as the title suggests, not one but two).

The strangler is the overweight, middle-aged Pera Mitic (Tasko Nacic), still living with his mother and earning a meagre living by selling carnations. Tragically, at the time our story is set, carnations are out of fashion and Pera's flowers are often refused by women, sometimes rudely. To get his revenge, Pera begins strangling beautiful women - especially the ones with a dislike for carnations. The futile investigations of the Belgrade police force are led by the competent (but mentally fragile) inspector Ognjen Strahinjic (Nikola Simic). His prime suspect is a dissatisfied youth named Spiridon Kopicl (Srdjan Saper), whose rock band rides the controversy by releasing the hit single 'Come here baby, so I could strangle you'.

As the above paragraph suggests, the plot is utterly ridiculous. However, the movie (and especially the earnest voice-over) is played absolutely straight, giving this film a touch of comedy genius. Moreover, as the increasingly bizarre events unfold, the film takes on a distinctly unsettling path, with the conclusion being almost out and out horror. The laughs are still there, but they take on a slightly nervous quality.

Most of the actors are at the top of their game. Tasko Nacic is funny and at the same time disturbing as the monster-man-child, talking to his customers, his mother and his victims in the same plaintive, whiny voice. Srdjan Saper is not as effective, but adequate as the deeply confused, talented but quite stupid young man. Nikola Simic is absolutely hilarious as the put-upon inspector, growing increasingly more manic and unhinged during the course of the film, often acting far crazier than the supposed madmen he is supposed to be pursuing. Arguably, the standout is Rahela Ferari, who, as Pera's mother, essentially offers a glimpse at what Mrs. Bates might have been like in her livelier days.

This is also one of the only films I have ever seen where a voice-over narration is used effectively. Delivered in a deadly earnest, reporter style voice, the narration manages to add to the overall mood and also provides some of the funniest moments, including the excellent conclusion.

It is difficult to know who to recommend this film to, as I can think of nothing I can compare it with. Maybe if the Monty Python guys decided to remake Psycho the results might have been similar. Or maybe it was a product of its time and place and we will never see anything like it again. Watch it and find out.