Abstract

This article examines the possibilities for transgression within European horror film using Srpski Film/A Serbian Film (Spasojevic 2010) as a case study. The aim is not to reject or even celebrate the film but use it to explore transgression within contemporary horror film cultures. The analysis foregrounds the study of film as a social and cultural experience, as a set of social and industrial practices, and as an aesthetic object informed by local, national and global contexts . The argument is that A Serbian Film offers a fascinating case study of edge play, within ongoing cycles of boundary construction, maintenance, and resistance operating across personal, textual, cultural, institutional and trans-national arenas. Structurally the paper is divided into four parts; an examination of the national context within which A Serbian Film was produced and the trans-national contexts that influenced its production; an overview of the films global circulation and reception paying particular attention to its critical reception in the UK; a textual analysis of the film making links to its affective qualities and ethical dimensions; and an analysis of the films regulation focusing on its treatment in the UK, the first country to release it in a cut form.