8MM 2: Perversions fatales

1st watched 2/9/2008, 4 out of 10(Dir-J.S. Cardone): Sexual political thriller that doesn't really succeed in any of these areas very well except early on where there are some interesting soft-core scenes. The movie starts off portraying a couple exploring their sexual fantasies amidst their work environments or wherever and whatever suits their fancy. The couple takes an excursion to a retreat and bathhouse where they run into a woman that's willing to be a part of a three-some and fulfill some of their fantasies. At this point, we only know that this couple is well off but we don't know until they return that the fiancé is part of a well-to-do political family. The man hopes to be on the rise to the point of possibly getting a congressional seat after the marriage. They then receive a package in the mail from an anonymous source with explicit pictures of their encounter at the bath house and their qwest begins as to how and why they were filmed, who sent the package, what they want, and how to clear their names before any of this gets out. This qwest becomes an obsession that leads them deeper into seedier worlds and takes a lot of their time, to the point where their friends & family wonder what they're doing all day and why they look rundown all the time. This movie is interesting at times but drifts into ridiculousness as they personally seek out the problem instead of getting the police involved early on because of their pride. This mistake, of course, keeps the movie going. The performances are fine despite the no-name cast but the lunacy of the situation overrides and the movie starts to become ho-hum about ½ the way through. And of course, they throw in a twist at the end that defies and challenges everything that happened prior(as is the norm these days when they don't know what else to do to spice up the movie). This doesn't help this movie one bit, though.

This is not at all a bad movie, if you drop the following expectations:

• 8mm sequel?? It has nothing to do with 8mm, the movie with Nicolas Cage.

• Story? The plot is not hugely elaborate, it's a blackmailing story which takes a slight twist at the end.

• Actors? Acting should have been with more heart and more convincing.

Other than that, it's a highly enjoyable movie. It's full of masterfully photographed erotic, film-noir atmosphere, very nice on-location footage from Hungary and an excellent soundtrack.

Although the story has its deficits, it serves well for generating a big deal of suspense. Much of the suspense originates from the psychological interplay between the different "opponents" in the movie. It's not about dull action scenes or car hunts.

Altogether, still worth a 7. Good time watching.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

David (Johnathon Schaech) and Tish (Lori Heuring) are a couple in Budapest, on business commitments and staying at a luxury hotel. One night, they meet an attractive woman at a nightclub and invite her back to their place, where they end up in a threesome. All is well, until David receives some negatives in the mail and he and Tish end up being blackmailed. But when some people involved in the deception are found murdered, things get messy and they are forced to enter the seedy underground world of pornography and hardcore bondage to track down the woman who may hold the key to everything.

Whereas the original film dealt with the concept of snuff films, this straight to DVD sequel deals with the more wholesome (!!!) theme of threesomes and sleazy sex. It plays like a porn film, a cheap piece of titillation with plenty of hot T/A action going on. If this sounds like your idea of a good film, you'll probably like it, but you'd probably be more at home in a porn shop than a video store.

This tries to copy the original film's dark and voyeuristic feel, but while it does a pretty good job of this, it still can't hold up to that of the original's. It has an apathetic story, with a dodgy narrative flow. And compared to Cage, Schaech comes across as interminably wooden.

Better than I thought it'd be, I suppose, and better than your average one of these DVD direct sequels that seem to be coming out a lot these days, but really, haven't we seen enough? **

This was a complete departure on 8MM. There was no Nickolas Cage looking into a snuff film. This was about a couple that were being blackmailed.

Johnathon Schaech (Woundings), who was or still is married to Christina Applegate, stars with Lori Heuring, a Maxim Top 100 hottie. They take a trip to a hotel, are filmed in steamy sex and blackmailed. Of course. Lori's daddy is going to be a Supreme Court Justice and she is worth millions, which she ends up paying a huge sum of and all is rosy. Or is it? I saw this coming a mile away, but it was still good when it happened.

Even if the journey was predictable, it was enjoyable to see the seamy side of Budapest, and to visit a club where the main attraction is lots of full frontal nudity. The film features some ménage à trois, girl-on-girl, and regular sex with more boobies than you can count. Forget the story and just enjoy the soft porn.

The movie on a whole wasn't bad, it was actually all right, but it has nothing to do with the movie 8mm. There is no reference to it, the plots are not even remote similar. It just seemed like a publicity act to title it that, so that didn't sit well with me. Other than the trick to get you to rent it, its not a waist. The acting in this movie is solid, the characters are believable. The story line is a little sketchy and jumps without really understanding the point. Be prepared for a lot of random nudity. Over all its not so bad. I would recommend it as a date movie for a younger couple. Its a sexy thriller/who did it type story similar to Basic Instinct