Ex Drummer

While this may be uncomforting for some, this is something which draws you to a cinema (or not, for some) It might be offensive, it might be raw, but the plain stupidity depicted in this movie is not far from reality, and that is what make this movie so haunting in the first place. If you like a story about little people not making it in the big world, this movie is for you. If you like movies where things all work out in the end, stay away, not for you.

Although I must admit I like the author from the novel on which this film is based upon, I was quite shocked to see a film like this, it's quite serious in some parts, quite ridiculous in others, but never falls apart, and that is very, very smart. Thank you Belgium for giving us a decent movie from Europe this year.

There needs to be films made that have this type of shock effect to your mental and emotional system, but it took me three years to work it out. I watched it at the Gothenburg Film Festival and my immediate reaction was: "Heck, this shouldn't have been shown in public, I am now permanently damaged in my mind and in my soul. Help me." Now, however, after a few years of pondering the images and issues presented to me and how it was done, I must say that it is a masterpiece, utterly destroying previous conceptions of what the world is like. With great "wit" and "style" (I will refine these points!) the story is told in a rapid tempo and with no loose ends and no censoring. The "style" thing: I propose that this is realism taken to a new level, with the really, really shitty reality of these low-life misfits shown at its worst, both from within and from without as is should be presented, uncensored like a bad nightmare, but presented a if it were true. And this is the shocking part: the movie makes you feel like it is true. This is sort of balanced with the "wit" part; burlesque, ironic and totally black humour; to make a soup so thick it can't be swallowed without being chewed really well, and when you chew it you just want to spit it out because the taste makes you want to throw up. 9/10, would have got full points if it had actually made me throw up.

EX DRUMMER is about a group of three very sick, handicapped punks who are in a punk band, practicing to play a single concert at the battle of the bands. They recruit a famous renowned writer to be their drummer. However, once he becomes part of their group he decides to take advantage of his being higher up on the social spectrum than they are and begins to manipulate them and turn them against each other. Soon they begin to lash out at each other, but this drummer's actions soon have unexpected consequences.

EX DRUMMER is an ultimately fascinating and furious piece of work. As a film, EX DRUMMER is one hell of a sick rush. I will state right now that about 95% of people who will see it will find it to be either the most disturbing film ever made or the most offensive or both. Personally, it doesn't quite reach that honor in my mind, but regardless of all that I do think that it's one of the funniest films I've seen in years and certainly one of the all time greatest black comedies. When I mean black, I mean pitch black. Blacker than coal. Black as ultimate evil.

I rarely find the content that is depicted in this film to ever be funny, but this film pushes everything to such an extreme that it becomes ultimately surreal in it's humorous nature. EX DRUMMER is such an extreme, taboo breaking, and brave film that one has to feel at least appreciative of it's success in milking so much humor out of it's grotesque horror.

The three main characters are sick. One beats and rapes people nonstop and has a skewed perspective as his view apparently is upside-down. His handicap is that he has a speech impediment, but who's to say that that's a real handicap? One is a homosexual who's mother is domineering and whose father is chained to his bed. He can't bend his arm due to a masturbation mishap. One is a deaf junkie who is also a wife beater and a father of a baby girl. His wife and child are both also junkies.

These are the most sympathetic characters however. The real monster of the film is the drummer. The drummer is rich and lives in a wonderful condo with his wife who brings other women to bed for them to have multiple sex partners with. Aside from these people, we also have a man named "Big Dick" who's penis is extremely large and dangerous. We also have a huge cast supporting cast of freaks, degenerates, queers, and general all around scum.

Imagine a combination of IRREVERSIBLE, TRAINSPOTTING, MAN BITES DOG, and DiG! and you'll have an idea as to what this film is like. This film is one of the goriest, most brutal, shocking, sexually explicit, bizarre, and gritty films I can say I've ever seen. However, it's such a fantastic and brave piece of film-making that it deserves to be admired for it's sheer reckless nature in it's extreme desires. Everyone, including black people, women, homosexuals, AND homophobic people all better beware. They might be offended by the content in this film.

A very raw movie that explains the life in a certain category of the population. Some people will be shocked watching this movie but this is reality. That kind of people exists. Be prepared when you see this movie. It's about racists, homophobia, disabled persons, violence, poverty, mistreating children. But there is also humor,lot of sarcasms. The movie was filmed in Ostend, my birth town and the place really fits to that movie. The soundtrack is also great. If you have the chance to see that movie don't hesitate. It give you a realistic view how some people live in the 21 th century. It also give you the chance to learn about Herman Brusselmans, the writer of the book.

I have rated 755 films on IMDb; I've watched many more, I suspect. Finally, a film has caused me to write a review out of pure respect to the creators.

If you like:

surreal cinema, extreme violence, dark humour, transitions from guilty laughs to gut-wrenching, sickening imagery, thought-provoking intelligent drama which superficially looks and sounds unintelligent

then you may well feel the same about this film as I do.

Quentin Tarantino is one of my all-time idols. If he had made this film the world would have raved about it.