• Release year: 2025
• Director: Aleksandar Radivojevic.
• Producers: Milos Djukelic and Predrag Popovic.
• Screenplay by: Aleksandar Radivojevic.
• Cinematography by: Aleksandar Jakonic.
• Music by: Djordje Miljenovic.

Shotgun Commentary: love me some Christian horror.

Review

Karmadonna is wild, insane, gory, and pretty confusing. Not the story. The story is plain and straightforward, possibly even a little obvious if you channel your inner Christian. The confusion comes from the style, which is so incredibly Eastern European that you can almost smell the rakija.

The story follows Jelena (Jelena Djokic), a pregnant woman in her forties who gets a threatening phone call. If she does not follow the orders of the voice on the other side of the phone, Glas (Sergej Trifunovic), she will lose her baby. As a result of this ultimatum, she begins to kill, steal, and do any other thing that the voice tells her to do.

The dark side of the Earth

The narrative combines ultraviolence with sci-fi elements and religious aspects. In particular, it explores humanity’s use of technology in regard to entertainment and how the dystopic reality we live in fits inside classic religious tropes. The result, as expected, is absolutely unhinged.

It is not uncommon to find depressing nihilistic narratives in Western European cinema, but for us Westerners, it can still be a bit of a culture shock in the best way possible. Even for a big fan of nihilism—or as The Fall Guy (2024) calls it, “the juicy bacon”—like yours truly, there is a certain point where stories turn a little too aggressive or too cynical. So much so that you are impressed, yet again, by a topic you thought could not impress you anymore.

There is no denying that, after many film festivals and even more chaotic movie recommendations, this critic has seen her fair share of violence. Still, Karmadonna showcases a distinctive penchant for it. Unbridled imagination meets raw talent in some of the most unforgettable scenes of this film. Moments in which you do not know whether you should be more amazed by the writer or the makeup artists. Full disclosure, personally it is probably the makeup artists. Not because the writing is flawed in any way, but because the tsunami of talent that hits you in the face from that particular department is one you won’t soon forget.

Conversation starter

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while already knows that it is quite rare for me not to get into the gender dynamics presented in films when reviewing them. This piece will not be the exception, and for good reason. Mainly because it is so hard to form a stable opinion on this matter.

The story plays with power dynamics, keeping them in constant flux so you cannot make an actual reading on them. If one were to analyse the film scene by scene, the conclusions drawn about this topic on each would be completely different. As such, it is definitely a fascinating object of study that I am sure many gender studies scholars would love to get their hands on.

Fascinating research topics aside, the film stirs in the audience uncomfortable questions. The type of questions you might not particularly want to ask of anyone, much less yourself. As a result, it proves to be more than just a pulpy story; it is a narration with a point, with a target.

All in all, Karmadonna is a film that, for good or bad, won’t leave anyone indifferent. It is certainly a conversation starter and maybe even the beginning of a very long night of rambling and reflecting. If you are not squeamish and enjoy a good thought-provoking film, this might just be what you’ve been looking for all along.

Karmadonna received its UK premiere at FrightFest Glasgow on the 7th of March as part of the Glasgow Film Festival programme.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Life sucks, but one has to live it nonetheless.
• No one is without guilt, so do your best and let everyone else be.
• A nice bloodbath is always a good addition in a movie.

What’s your take? Have you watched Karmadonna? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message on my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀