Variola vera

One of those movies that keeps you awake at night and makes you wonder about things like bio-terrorism and stuff like that... Like your own safety in those "what if" situations... Absolutely every single segment of this movie is shocking and frightening... Music theme containing some middle-East motifs keeps playing in your mind from the very first minute of the movie, and stays in it even after you have watched it. Horrifying story of pilgrim who came back and brought along one of the deadliest diseases known to men surely sounds scary, but what makes it even more creepy is the fact that it's based on true story... The event that made the whole world vulnerable, and reminded us that no matter how strong we appear to be, there's always one invisible enemy we cannot fight and cannot defeat. Cast is terrific, some of the best Yugoslavian actors had their career highlights in this movie... Especially brilliant role of Rade Serbedzija. If you like this type of movies, this is a movie that you just cannot miss... And if you don't... Well..rent it out anyway. Highest recommendation.

A masterpiece of Serbian cinematography for several reasons: 1. The plot is inspired by a real life event that happened in Belgrade, the outbreak of the Variola Vera pox virus that was brought to Yugoslavia by a person who has traveled to the Middle East. 2. The claustrophobic environment of the quarantined hospital gives you chills down the spine. 3. A struggle of humanity in the darkest times 4. Doing research before making the film. Goran Markovic, the director of the movie, had a team of doctors who contributed in making the movie so it would look realistic, and not a fictional horror movie. Outstanding acting and cinematography.

This is really scary and shocking movie that deals with true events of smallpox epidemic that hits former Yugoslavia in 1972 (I was one year old and my parents still remember all this). Movie works excelent in building tense atmosphere from the first second - when you hear amazingly creepy score and see first scenes where a pilgrim buy a little "doomed" flute from a man infected with smallpox, to the moment when he get sick and spread desease that finally stuck in General hospital in Belgrade where main plot of the movie occurs. We see, death, fear, anarchy, people get crazy, army build quarantine ... the creepiest moments of the movie are showing infection (makeup are stunning) and suffering of patients and definitelly occurence of main infectologyst dressed in scary white suit which, in conjunction with amazingly simple and effective score give unbearable tension and unpleasant feelings (only remark I have is that he reveal himself at the end of the movie - and I think it would be better that we don't know any fact about him). It is only sad that we don't see any events that occurred outside hospital (many people was infected and died in the city and everywhere where infected pilgrim passed) and that main plot is stucked in hospital.

Anyway, one of the best and creepiest movies I ever seen with several moments that will stuck in your memory for a long time.

Now this is the real horror!

The story,camera,acting are classics and sometimes really poor, but the atmosphere in the movie is priceless and unforgettable. Even the score is fantastic,It's rear but it's there. Rade Serbedzija is great and only one who seams to have fun. And the begging of the movie is just simply excellent. Variola Vera is an absolutely merciless horror drama, a movie so real and scary that,it keeps you nervous and jumpy rather than pleasurably excited, and it's a classic.

The one and only authentic Serbian horror movie!

I love it !

This film will scare you. It's an unpretentious, yet very well made horror that builds a genuinely creepy mood and introduces us to likeable characters we really care about. I have seen it several times and I have found it enjoyable every single one of those times. The interesting thing is that the film is based on real events, but that is also a potential problem, because the filmmakers cared more about putting together an effective screenplay than remaining true to actual events. This is no docudrama, but a film that takes great liberties. However, they are justified, because the screenplay they ended up with was pretty much flawless. You won't forget this film.