PLOT:
Three handicapped psychopaths form a band, and ask famous author Dries (Dries Van Hegan), to join their band as a drummer. He accepts, as he plans to use them as characters in his next book.
REVIEW: Basically, if you took TRAINSPOTTING, mixed it with IRREVERSIBLE, and then made it even more harrowing- you’d get EX-DRUMMER. I find it really hard to review this film, because several days after seeing it- I still haven’t sorted out my feelings about it. It’s an exercise in Belgian nihilism, and as such is definitely not for most people. Truth be told- I almost walked out after ten minutes, but I decided to stick it out.
I found it incredibly disturbing in many ways. None of the characters in the film are remotely likable. There’s the lead singer (who’s handicap is that he stutters), who’s hobbies include assaulting women, and preaching hate. Then there’s the bass guitarist- who’s deaf (naturally), and a junkie to boot- who neglects his young child- leading to the most harrowing scene in the film where the girl dies of an overdose. Last but not least- we’ve got the lead guitarist- who’s handicap is not actually a handicap at all. He’s gay- and in the misogynist world the characters live in, that’s considered a handicap. Finally, there’s the lead character, Dries- who despite not having any handicap, is just as deranged and morally bankrupt as the rest of the band.
I must admit to absolutely hating the film when I was watching it- and during one particularly disturbing rape scene, I almost walked out. The funny thing is that after leaving the theater- I couldn’t stop thinking about EX-DRUMMER. While the film absolutely repulsed me- I think that’s exactly what the filmmakers set out to do. They took me, as a viewer, into a world I would never want to be a part of. So- is EX-DRUMMER a good film? The simple answer is yes- but at the same time, it’s a film I NEVER want to see again.