Snuff 102

Gory Argentinian film that doesn't really have any plot, the film switches between a girl's home, a room where three women are being held captive by a psychopath and psychobabble by an expert who tells us what are the reasons behind Snuff films and why the subject holds the publics interest. Snuff 102 also intersperses some dodgy internet "Snuff" clips, all in all the film is a sickening viewing but it left this viewer cold. I like this kind of material on occasion, but it was more the styling of the film i don't care for. Like the expert in the film says, those who watch such films don't really care for those that are being butchered, i have to agree.

My quick rating - 2,4/10. Ok, first an explanation. These are NOT horror movies. This is its own category, Shocksploitation. The whole point of these movies is to look so poor quality, and shocking you question it being real. If you think this is new, it is not. Guinea Pig started this 40 years ago with underground torture movies that got government attention when they thought it was real. And yes, they graduated to fake snuff. This movie mixes the grainy, fake torture but tries to incorporate a plot of a man being interviewed about the existence of "snuff" movies, all the while the viewer is bearing witness to it supposedly happening in what we assume the man is a part of. The interviewer preps for this by searching the web and finding some well known BS snuff that you may have seen before and the ever popular "beheading" video that was from a terrorist executing "someone." Blah Blah, so they showed something real, but one big rule of these movies, if you are trying to fool people into believing this nonsense, first off, don't tell them at the beginning "all the torture and violence in this film is real" Immediately you know it isn't. Second, what guinea pig did right was shoot in single camera long straight cuts. Made it far more difficult to tell it was fake. These movie has camera angles shifting and moving all the time. Who has time for editing film while torturing someone they kidnapped, am I right? LOL. The atypical camera angles hiding the most depraved scenes forcing you to figure them out or imagine it is also used. My point is, don't let crap such as this make you believe This is not horror, this is a filmed stunt to fool and shock you. I watch this because I am interested in the lengths people go to achieve this but in reality, it is just plain boring. This actually tried so it wasn't as bad as Guinea Pig was. That was a straight 1.5 hours of fake torture, no slim plot. And since American Guinea Pig has come and shifted into making plot driven gorefests now, and August Underground has been shocking in the USA for a while as well, this falls into just another attempt. It fails. Not a single part grossed me out, it has all been done before, and I have seen far WORSE. I give the little points it got on merit of some of the dialogue as it was an educated opinion about snuff at times. Do I think snuff films exist? YES, people are inherently evil and to think none of the sickos haven't filmed their murders before would be hard to believe. I am sure they have, but is their an underground market for it? Hard to say, if there is, I don't care to see it. I get nothing out of watching women get slapped around, and raped with various objects (which is always up to you to figure out since they make sure it is dark or camera is just off enough so you can't see, luckily). Long winded but lots to say on the subject. Long story short, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, AVOID UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE IT.

Now to start with, I would never recommend this film to anyone, with a clear conscience. This is the work of utter evil and sheer cruelty of the highest order. Even if you are familiar with the works of Extreme Cinema, this one rises to an even higher level than that. Upon watching this film, I got the impression that it was a work of hatred towards humanity and without a shred of apologetic or good intentions. This is an exercise in sheer depravity. It depicts acts of violence from characters without a shred of redeemable qualities. Mind you, the film never pretends to be anything that its not and it promises on what it delivers. Sheer torture, not only for the characters, but the viewer as well. We are thrust into a very very dirty atmosphere with a low budget that is evident in every scene, but the director takes advantage of this, making it even dirtier, if that were possible. Having said all of this, does this film serve a purpose? Yes, I think it does. Unlike August Underground, which was just based purely on shock value, this film attempts to explain the meaning of snuff films and the types of people who are into it. So, it separates itself from the usual Pseudo Snuff Film, by at least attempting to give us an insight into the psychology behind these sorts of films in the sub genre. However, this isn't much of a redeeming quality, and although it is of a higher standard in the Pseudo Snuff sub genre that in itself is a sub genre thats lacking in real movie quality talent, that is not saying much. Viewer, definitely beware!

As the title suggests, this is a Snuff version of classic I Spit On Your Grave. Three chicks get tortured, until one of them escapes, and kills the main villain. There's also a side plot to this film, that the chick that escaped did a investigation on the suspect, that did his mass-murders.

I'm going to be brutal honest here, when it comes to fictional Snuff-Movies, this one is probably the tamest i have seen, which was really a let down. Comparing this to Guinea Pig, Grotesque, Altroz and The Butcher, it's safe to say that Snuff 102 has no weight to the fictional snuff movies i have listed and seen.

The main problem i got with this film, is how boring it was. The whole movie was so slow, and repetitive, half of the scenes could of been cut out in order for this film to flow better. Until the last 20 minutes, everything else in this movie was painfully boring, and i could not wait for it to end. I have to mention, this movie does contain scenes of some real death gore scenes, one of which is where they slaughter a pig in Croatia, and they present is as snuff, which is understand why, is to compare the human body to a pig, for Snuff killers, the victims body is just like a Pig.

The movie is trying to prove a point, that Snuff-filming is just equal as Pornography, in the sence, that the human body is being exploitated and humiliated, and that there's no limits on the internet, that you can be perversed as you wish on the internet.

This movie could of been way better, if we had more likeable victims, that had any kind of backstory, the only one that has a flat barely exsisting backstory and development, is the chick that is investigating this guy. Sad to say but hour and twenty minutes of this was so boring, and you barely cared really. Yes the movie has some graphic scenes, if you never watched a fictional snuff flick, this probably could move you ill, however if you are somebody that is a veteran to extreme cinema, it's probably not going to bother you, and most of the effects look really cheap, and all of it is blacked out, probably because the budget was not there.

The only thing keeping this film at two stars, is the fact that it has a plot, because there's movies out there that nearly have zero plot, and are just a brain melter, like Gummo, Where The Dead Go To Die, and Begotten.

Like almost all (horror) films, Snuff 102 requires a minimum of open-mindedness, and above all trying to understand what it is: like what is this work? (this is a clichéd remark, but I insist and I will explain).

In my opinion, snuff 102 is first and foremost an excellent survival movie. We follow characters involved in bizarre events, we see them suffer, look for solutions to escape, communicate, etc. There are some ultra-thrilling scenes and I love survival! Especially when survival appears realistic within the ecosystem of the film.

So: 1st point: a great survival.

Then, Snuff 102 is a very gripping snuff movie, with a careful, glossy atmosphere, AND it is a formally very original film, on the border between reality and fiction.

Mariano Peralta wrote and directed a work that mixes genres: we follow a journalist, the film is like a documentary of her work. There are videos of real violence, real-fake snuff passages created by the director, and flashbacks to the daily lives of the tortured characters. I really try not to spoil anything, so it's not easy to tell the story. The mix is perfect, it really feels like it's a real doc and a real snuff (both at the same time). The structure is therefore quite complex, even if the narration is very refined.

So: 2nd: an extraordinary found-footage.

Finally, there are the directing choices: Mariano Peralta did not want to make a classic torture-porn (a genre that I really like). Above all, he wanted to cover important subjects with his film, to make himself think and make the viewer think. This film is from 2007, and poses very interesting questions about our relationships with image, bodies, violence, private life, etc. Far from being a film that wants to shock or delight in violence (and there are plenty of them that are cool), we are almost faced with a social chronicle approach (which requires fans of splatters to move on, the goal is not to push the limits of gore). It also shows a very critical view of society (and many other things), while letting the viewer form their own opinion about the events (there is no over-commenting on what we are told ; just food for thought). In short, it is this accumulation of elements which makes it so striking, which blurs the boundaries between myth and reality. Snuff 102 is therefore astonishing, glib, sticky, intelligent and the young director has produced a committed film with mature writing. The two main characters are brilliantly written.

I would add that the actors are great (the pregnant woman was actually pregnant: everyone was very involved) and you never feel a lack of budget.

So, 3rd: rich content that will work with you long after, if you accept the journey

Needless to say, I love the ending, perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the film.

Here are my impressions of this remarkable first film. We have excellent entertainment and a great horror film (which offers its share of strong sensations and cold scenes - one of the true extremes movies), which also allows itself to be exciting. I've seen it 3 or 4 times, it's a sure/solide thing!