At a university in West London, a group of film students screened Guerrilla Metropolitana’s film DARIUSS in front of an audience of about 200 people.
They watched the film in detail and studied its unusual structure.
At the end of the viewing questions were raised regarding its true meaning and hidden subliminal subtext.
Some were shocked by the brutal sexual graphic violence and realism, calling it ‘obscene’ and ‘bizarre’, whilst the majority concluded that it was a singular piece of filmmaking done with unprecedented craftsmanship.
The film had been circulating around the horror world causing a lot of debate.
Some regard it as a masterpiece to the level of past controversial gems such as Caligula and Pasolini’s Salo’ or the 120 days of Sodom, whilst others think of it as a ‘weird product’.
The London based Italian film director Guerrilla Metropolitana makes no mystery about his own cinema and doesn’t seem to care too much about it.
In his interviews, he clearly shows no interest in conventional rules and truly believes in his artistic vision, with both arrogance and self-confidence.
His reputation as controversial underground filmmaker started to grow with the YouTube short horror film THE CENSOR – A British horror tale of Real politics and social-moral code, which was about censorship in Britain and the ruling class.
However, it was with the feature film DARIUSS that he came to prominence in the horror world as a unique director able to use visuals in a way no other filmmaker ever did.
The film cost the director three mental breakdowns.
It was turned down by several distribution companies for its extreme content and unusual style, before SRS CINEMA decided to buy it.
It is currently out on both Blu-ray and DVD (the second with its original provocative artwork which has the director’s own erected penis as letter I in the title) and it is going viral, but not unnoticed.
Several movie theatres in Europe and New Zealand refused to screen the film due to its sexual graphic content and extreme gore.
The film is already developing a cult status among many horror fans, whilst others look at it with sinister suspicion.
The fact is that DARIUSS is an artistic work deeply polarizing that could never satisfy the entire horror audience.
It is since A Serbian Film that we haven’t seen this degree of controversy and polarization.
Metropolitana’s vision seems to be beyond our time.
Independent film reviewer Del Gibson wrote that ‘it is dividing the populace in the horror world’.
We could not agree more.
DARIUSS is a true work of art that comes at you like a ‘punch in the face’ and does not leave you indifferent.
It is the work of a visionary filmmaker who decided to go way beyond the classic model of cinema.
However, the debate on its morality (and its own creator) seems to grow day by day with the publicity of the film.
DARIUSS – Official Trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVIjNZFPxcYOrder DARIUSS Blu-rayOrder DARIUSS | Amazon UK
