Do we really need another digitally shot found footage horror film? We don’t, but the French made SORGOI PRAKOV (a.k.a. DESCENT INTO DARKNESS, MY EUROPEAN NIGHTMARE), which is very much an example of found footage horror, comes strongly recommended because, 1) It’s not actually “new,” having been completed in 2013; 2) Its approach is far different from those of most other found footage opuses (there are no scenes of people running from things that aren’t there while the camera shakes); and 3) It is, despite its familiar façade, an entirely unique and dazzling work of cinematic dementia that plays like BORAT’s psychotic sibling.
The pic’s creator was Rafaël Cherkaski, a painter, musician and performance artist who conceived SORGOI PRAKOV back in 2003, as a student project at Beaux-Arts de Paris. The finished film, shot in sequence (so Cherkaski could be seen progressively losing weight) and costing a reported 10,000€, premiered at the Cinémabrut festival and went on to become a cult film in Europe. There it gained a fair amount of popularity on the streaming and downloading (often of the illegal variety) scene, and was given a limited edition Blu-ray release—although the pic remains frustratingly little known in the US.
Sorgoi Prakov (Cherkaski) is a young journalist from the fictional country Sdorvia. This nerdy fellow, who never appears without microphones strapped to his head and a camera mount attached to his chest, is stationed in Paris, filming a documentary exploration of the “European Dream.” His overly rosy outlook (represented by the fact that his itinerary is mapped out in the shape of a heart) is at odds with the more cynical natures of the Parisians he initially encounters, who are nice enough on the surface but radiate condescension. Thus a note of conflict is introduced that steadily ballons, with Sorgoi’s alcohol consumption increasing dramatically and his behavior growing quite erratic.
After being attacked by some street punks one night Sorgoi’s transformation begins. He abandons the swanky hotel where he was residing and moves into an abandoned hovel, and takes to annoying, insulting and physically assaulting people—and his outrages, hard though it might seem to believe, only increase in ugliness and severity, with murder, pyromania and cannibalism(!) coming into play.
The pic’s mock-documentary façade is flawlessly maintained, despite a few telltale discrepancies (such as the fact that seemingly everyone with whom Sorgoi comes into contact speaks English). Many of the early portions take place amid large crowds (and, in one scene, a political demonstration), amid which the acting of Cherkaski and the supporting cast is remarkably naturalistic. Even more impressively, that sense of naturalism is fully sustained in the later, more elaborately staged scenes, in which special effects come into play—an area where most found footage films tend to fall short.
That Cherkaski was able to maintain momentum may be due (as some crewmembers have alleged) to the fact that as filming progressed he came to identify completely with the character he plays. Certainly Cherkaski’s physical transformation, which sees him becoming notably gaunt, growing his hair out and eventually shaving it off, attests to an abnormal amount of dedication. Another attribute is the image quality, which becomes afflicted by (intentional) glitches and imperfections that by the end, in a mirror of the protagonist’s deterioration, come to overwhelm the screen.
A kids’ movie this definitely isn’t. SORGOI PRAKOV is harsh, claustrophobic and relentless in its trajectory (and even more so in the little-seen director’s cut, which runs ten minutes longer than the more common 85 minute version). Yet for those who can take it, there’s an undeniable tragic grandeur in Cherkaski’s depiction of an amiable nerd descending into the darkest depths of degradation and insanity.
Vital Statistics
SORGOI PRAKOV (DESCENT INTO DARKNESS, MY EUROPEAN NIGHTMARE)
POV Horror
Director: Rafaël Cherkaski
Screenplay: Rafaël Cherkaski, Quentin Boeton, Simon-Pierre Boireau
Editing: Quentin Boeton, Emmanuel Perez, Jean-Pierre Voillot
Cast: Rafaël Cherkaski, Simon-Pierre Boireau, Jérémy Lornac, Jorge Rodriguez, Annah Schaeffer, Elodie Bouleau, Charles Dhumerelle, Julien Billeaudeau, Maxence Riffault, Alexandre Herroux, Stephane Froidureau, Guillaume Geyent, Sarah Tatine, Iris Verda, Omar Salim, Mohamed Mehaleg, David Rudier, Fabien Guez