by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Serbian anthology Videoteka (AKA Videotheque) by writer/director Luka Bursac.
Synopsis
Running from the police, a small-time thief (Đorđe Kadijević) finds refuge in an abandoned video rental store. Forced to spend the night in the old store, he decides to watch mysterious tapes of three horror films he finds there, which are:
“Balanar”: A traveler (Bogdan Farcas) finds himself in the remote home of an elderly man and his blind daughter.
“Dubai”: Fast food employee and soccer player Aleksandar (Relja Popović) longs for a better future for himself and his girlfriend Vanja (Miona Markovic). He may just get that shot when elderly criminal Petar Racković (David Tasić Daf) offers him a deal.
“The Prophecy of the Kupreš”: Police officer Manuel (Igor Benčina) is stressed from the manhunt for a serial killer (Vahid Džankovic) in his village, and his seemingly fractured relationship with his pregnant wife and apparent fixation on a teenage girl doesn’t help matters.
The Good
Joseph: It should be stated up front that although the tagline for Videoteka states “three horror films,” the installments don’t deliver on that promise. “Dubai” is more of a The Twilight Zone style of story, and “The Prophecy of the Kupreš” is a mystery thriller with supernatural elements at play. “Balanar” is the most horror-related of the trio, with a tale rooted in the occult, with folk horror tones, as well. For me, it’s the second-best entry, with “The Prophecy of the Kupreš” being the best. The production values feel the strongest here, and it boasts the most interesting characters, acting, and situations. Some questions are left unanswered, which works well for the segment as viewers can bring their own interpretations to certain plot elements. “Dubai” is the least strong of the trio, though I wouldn’t call it weak. It just happens to be a variation on the classic “Be careful what you wish for” genre-story trope, making it the least original of the three. The direction and performances are solid in all of the segments, and there isn’t a dud among them, which isn’t always the case for anthology films.
Mike: Videoteka is a strange beast of an anthology film that proves the old saying "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". “Balanar”, while being the weakest of the three segments, was beautifully shot and was easily the most “horrific” of the three.
“The Prophecy of the Kupreš” was solid with some good horror elements and an engaging plot line, but I found “Dubai” to be the strongest of the three with a much tighter three-act structure than the other two and a story that grabbed me.
The wrap around segments featuring the robber inside of the video store felt like the best part of the film, however. Perhaps because it’s the shortest and thus leaves to the viewer’s imagination.
All three (four if you count the wrap around segments), are tonally far cries from one another and perhaps that is what helps this work so well.
The Bad
Joseph: It puzzles me why a writer/director would have a character commenting negatively about the quality of the videos — so, the actual installments in this portmanteau — he is watching because why, then, should viewers feel any different? It seems like quite an odd choice.
Mike: The easy - and probably far too snarky way - to fill this section would be to just quote the robber who spends the night in the video store after he watches each of the films. However, far be it from me to take the low road. Instead, I’ll just say that like most anthologies, there’s always a weak link and for me it was “Balanar” which I found rather boring with no real payoff. The other two segments, although not perfect, were much better, although neither really unspool flawlessly.
Despite there only being three segments, Videoteka feels every minute of its nearly two hour runtime - a fact that may send some viewers looking at the clock a little too often.
The Verdict
Joseph: Videoteka is worth a watch, and I recommend it for the impressive “The Curse of the Kupreš” alone, although the other segments are far from a chore to sit through. Horror hounds hoping for the fright fare promised in the tagline are likely to come away disappointed, but viewed as a genre-film anthology rather than a fright-fare one, the film offers some intriguing moments.
Mike: There’s not a lot of horror in Videoteka, although it DOES have some horrific visuals. That said, this is not a bad film, it merely suffers from a little bit of bait and switch. Viewers looking for some standard genre-fare should find the film interesting even though its runtime is a little on the long side.
The strange thing is that, despite none of the segments coming across as something the viewer won’t soon forget, the movie itself will likely manage to take root, staying with people for longer than separate parts will.
Videoteka
Directed By: Luka Bursac
Written By: Luka Bursac
Starring: Sonja Vukicevic, Igor Bencina, Bogdan Farcas
Run Time: 1h 52m
Rating: NR
Release Date: August 9, 2024 (United States)
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