Singapore Sling (2003)

The reflexive urge to label any film that flaunts its own sense of willful ambiguity as "in the vein of Lynch" is an overused cliché in the realm of armchair film criticism. And it's all too easy to overstate the paranoid influence of Polanski on films that take a maddeningly subjective approach to their characters. And it's easier yet to label a movie released in 1990, yet utilizing gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, as a satirical-noir counterpart to Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" and the black-humored psychological horror of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" But "Singapore Sling," true to its alcohol-blended title, cribs all of these seemingly disparate influences into a bizarre original that, while not yielding the most emotionally resonant result, offers a hypnotic descent into a gradually escalating nightmare. Greek writer-director Nikos Nikolaidis offers a simple setup, revealed through the title character's voice-over narration: for three years, he has been searching for a woman named Laura, and an injury (for which no explanation is given) finds him on the doorstep of a deranged "Mother" (Michele Valley) and "Daughter" (Meredyth Herold), who proceed to torture and degrade our protagonist in all manner of revolting ways. "Singapore Sling" is well aware of its capacity to disgust and provoke, but what keeps the proceedings fascinating (and watchable) are performances (particularly Valley's and Herold's) that take on an inspired madness that convinces the viewer that their actions are consistent with their unglued personalities (and not mere showy torture fodder in the "Hostel" mold). Complementing Nikolaidis's madhouse aesthetic is the black-and-white cinematography, where one beautifully-conceived shot follows the next, and gives the proceedings a paradoxically classy look, despite the sharp contrast with the subject matter. While not without pretension, "Singapore Sling" straddles the line between "arthouse" and "grindhouse" with gleefully mad abandon, its unapologetic weirdness a breath of fresh air.

This movie surely is the best artistic piece of cinema ever made in Greece.The story tells us about a guy who has to confront the nightmares of his broken heart visualized as a couple of bizarre women doing horrible things in their lame house. During his stay out the house, he will soon come to realize not only that his passion was a mere delusion, but will also discover the emptiness of many things that are generally considered enjoyable such as food and sex.The storyline is neither straight nor clear. However, this non-straight format is essential because the films aim is not just to tell a simple story. I would say that it deals more with ideas and thoughts than with persons and their deeds.Carefully crafted to the last detail, with great performances, I would consider this film equivalent to Eraserhead by David Lynch and Vargtimmen by Ingmar Bergman.

A gun-shot gumshoe stumbles upon a secluded villa inhabited by a certifiably insane, incestuous, sadomasochistic mother-daughter couple. The daughter straps him down and administers high electric voltage through his forehead, while the mother rides his convulsing pelvis and then proceeds to cool him down with a golden shower. Then things get weird...I won't give you a play by play of this sick and twisted piece of European cinema. If you're simply interested in seeing some of the most extreme S&M stuff ever put on cinema, then by all means see it. However, if you're looking for a little bit more than that, then you might be left wondering "what was the point of all this?" Interesting themes are developed in this film, such as the omnipresence of the absentee father who is the root cause of the womens' insanity, the gumshoe's Pygmalion-like stubborn attempt to "rescue" the girl from her predicament, the mother-daughter rivalry with the inevitable matricide, death as liberation from the misery of life. But none of these themes are adequately fleshed out, making the plot feel disjointed and incomplete.Some of the scenes in Singapore Sling would make Marquis de Sade proud, but Nikolaidis' storytelling would make Pasolini wince. Still, the movie is competently directed and photographed and overall is worth a look. Just don't eat anything before you watch it. You'll thank me later.

Going into Singapore Sling I knew almost nothing about it. I knew that it was supposed to be somewhat "extreme" and that's about it. But what was delivered was nothing I could ever have expected. Holy moly was this a strange movie. Let me rephrase that. Holy f@ckin sh!t was this a strange movie! Yeah that's much better.Singapore Sling is about a mother and daughter duo who have gone completely nuts after father died. Not saying they weren't nuts before, but I'm guessing father wouldn't have approved of everything they're now doing....even though father was a murderer. Haaha, OK, the story revolves around this duo and a man they named Singapore Sling. Singapore is a investigator on the trail of a woman named Laura who is missing and presumed dead. He follows a trail of clues and ends up finding these two whackos. The duo then hold the injured Singapore hostage in their home, while pretty much just trying to make him go nuts. But it's really just they're way of playing and having fun. Having fun for them consists of torture, sex, role-playing, masturbation with fruit, messy eating and the list goes on and on. The movie goes like this for quite a while, just the viewer getting to know these ladies.Singapore Sling is one of the strangest flicks I have ever seen, and also one of the most well made. Shot in a film noir type way, reminiscent of old style classics and combined with stylish, beautiful shots and fantastic music, the movie looks and sounds incredible. But the high praise should go to the actors involved. They were fantastic. Especially the daughter, talking about a role she was born to play....hot chick too. Singapore Sling's only problem is that it is a little long. It's a movie you definitely should watch more than once to fully digest what they're throwing at you. The acting alone is worth another watch. And it's not really a movie to fast-forward either. It's a movie to soak in. Singapore Sling should be a must see for any serious film lover out there. It's too unique not to be. 9 outta 10