Review: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Criterion Collection Spine #17)

The Endurance Test

Oof, I am just glad this movie is over.

Spine #17 is widely considered the most disturbing film in the Criterion Collection, and having watched it, I can confirm that reputation is earned. I have seen Irreversible, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, and Pink Flamingos—films legendary for their shock value. Salò is harder than all of them.

The film depicts the ritualized torture of kidnapped teenagers by four Fascist libertines, structured around a series of extremely unsettling stories told by four women. These stories serve as the blueprint for the depravity that follows, escalating in vulgarity until the screen is filled with images that are nearly impossible to process.

I believe this escalation is aimed specifically to desensitize the viewer. The horror is so relentless, so organized, and so devoid of hope that to get through the runtime, one has to psychologically disengage. You cannot empathize with the victims because the film allows no hope for them; you cannot understand the villains because they are pure manifestations of power. You are simply stuck in the room with them.

The Verdict: Salò is not entertainment. It is an experience designed to make you sick, likely to prove a point about the absolute moral vacuum of Fascism. It is a film I respected for its uncompromising vision, but it is a film I never want to see again.

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