听 Turgid doesn't even begin to describe this insufferably dire tale about three Belgian punk rock degenerates and their newly appointed drummer. Life is one long winded rollercoaster of brutal rape, bloody violence and bashing out extreme music that's as tuneless as this film is watchable. For the problem with Ex Drummer is that the film, so desperate in its attempts to shock the viewer through showing the dark side of humanity, is crippled by the fact that the characters are so thinly drawn they have no depth to them.
Aside from being several screws short of a toolbox, the band, fronted by skin-head nutjob Koen de Geyter (Norman Baert), all suffer an impediment (one has a lisp, one is deaf and another has a stiff arm inflicted by his mother who caught him playing with himself). Their real handicap however, is the lack of a drummer. They approach arrogant novelist Dries (Dries Van Hegen) - who thinks that joining a band of headcases will inject some nihilism into his normal existence - to help them win the impending battle of the bands competition. Only Dries can't actually play. Oh well - it's only a punk band.
"LONG WINDED ROLLERCOASTER OF BLOODY VIOLENCE"
What follows is a catalogue of abuse and manipulation by Dries who ends up screwing over the rest of the band for his personal gain. Unfortunately director Mortier opts for a style over substance approach, as tedious experimental camerawork - Geyter is filmed upside down, presumably to disguise the fact that little is actually happening - and profanity-laden dialogue takes precedence over any plot development. Ultimately what you're left with is 104 pointless minutes of execrable drivel.
Ex Drummer is out in the UK on 9th November 2007.
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