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Probably the most fascinating part of this entire film for me was that it was made in 1998. There's just something endlessly compelling about watching an extremely obscure amateur-style film from over 2 decades ago while perpetually being reminded that I'm getting older. It's a sensation completely different from watching a professionally filmed Hollywood movie from the 90s, probably similar to reading a personal diary from someone written in the 1800s rather than a professionally published novel.

But the film itself was mildly intriguing in its own right. My only gripe would be that there was an insufficient balance between the first half (Jim and the trial and the sequence of events leading to the murder) and the second half (casting doubt on the alleged guilt of the suspect and an extremely slight possibility of the supernatural).

I am a complete sucker for subtlety in movies like this, and this film executed it perfectly, to the point where any and all supernatural or paranormal implications are so slight that you could easily miss it completely.

But while those things are dealt with with great subtlety, the film itself doesn't manage to rise beyond "mild" in terms of interest or excitement or compulsion. Aside from the incoherent ending, it all amounts to being overall "Neat", not so much boring or even entertaining. Just kind of neat.

Rather than a descendant to madness, The Last Broadcast is more of a trail into manicism.

The movie slowy shows you each card in its hand, with epiece of the puzzle making less sense than the last, until you see the full flush.

It's a great example of a traditional found footage film still offering something new.

Though it feels more like an adult goosebumps movie with a great reveal, I've come to really appreciate this sleepy horror gem.

There's a silent Statement that perpetuates throughout this film. Whoever directs the scenes you are seeing, also directs the messages being given.

An odd but welcome bit of commentary for a unique experience like this.

I'll be revisiting this movie time and time again in the future.

The Last Broadcast is presented as if it's a "documentary" about the murder of two hosts and a hired hand for a cable access show named Fact or Fiction. In the scenario, Fact or Fiction was in New Jersey's Pine Barrens to present a live show on the Jersey Devil. A second hired hand is convicted of the murders (this isn't a spoiler because it's stated at the beginning of the film). The film also makes an attempt to become more philosophical towards the end, and there is an unexpected twist.

For me, this film failed on most levels, although there were a few small things that worked. The Last Broadcast is often compared to The Blair Witch Project, which arrived a year later. The comparison is appropriate, and it's difficult to imagine that The Blair Witch Project writer/directors didn't lift the basic idea from The Last Broadcast. The Blair Witch Project didn't work for me, either, although in my view, it works better than The Last Broadcast does. Both films rest on a similar gimmick of claiming to be partially a composed "documentary" and partially a collection of videotaped images by a group of young adults who are about to get killed in the woods, and we're watching them as "evidence" of what happened to them. Both have ambiguity whether something supernatural happened, as the characters were exploring a legend about a supernatural being, or whether more mundane homicides occurred. There are finer-grained similarities as well, but I mainly bring it up to give you an idea of what The Last Broadcast is like if you haven't seen it but you've seen The Blair Witch Project.

The first problem with The Last Broadcast is that it doesn't play like a documentary. I've seen many documentaries. I've never seen one that looked like The Last Broadcast. Rather, this film looks like how an amateur filmmaker who has never seen a documentary might imagine documentaries, armed only with a description of the genre. That's a big problem, because the film hinges on playing like a documentary. In a similar vein, there is a problem with the Fact or Fiction program, and the actors playing the hosts. Even though Fact or Fiction is supposed to only be a cable access show, the material is done poorly and the actors are unconvincing. Again, it looks more like an amateur filmmaker who has never seen cable access programming imagining what it would be like based on a description only.

Like The Blair Witch Project, another big problem with The Last Broadcast is that for some strange reason directors Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler decided to use purposefully bad camera-work for much of the material, especially any footage shot by the Fact or Fiction guys, and footage by the documentary host, David Beard. While the idea to use purposefully bad camera-work isn't flawed, the execution is flawed, because the camera-work is so ridiculous that it again comes across like an amateur filmmaker imagining what bad camera-work might be like. Characters inexplicably will not keep the camera still (a really annoying scene showing this is when David Beard is filming himself in the woods towards the end and keeps revolving). They inexplicably have extreme close-ups of mouths, eyes, etc. If the idea is to make the documentary and the cable access show seem real, such exaggerated bad camera-work just does not work.

Another problem is that the documentary keeps repeating material. Most of the videotaped evidence is repeated many times. The 911 phone call is repeated. The narrator keeps repeating the same ideas over and over. It all plays like an attempt to pad out the film's running time. Also, the narrator has a very annoying monotone, which comprises the bulk of the dialogue throughout the film. It is another aspect that does not help sell the film as a documentary.

Finally, the attempt at becoming more philosophical about media's influence on reality perception is very sophomoric, and the big "twist" at the end was fairly inexplicable to me. There were a couple other small points throughout the film that were confusing to me, as well, such as why the soap opera director wasn't involved with the Pine Barrens shoot, but my attention might have drifted a couple times. I was also confused how Fact or Fiction, which was otherwise so technically bare bones and incompetent, was able to manage an audio/video as well as an Internet satellite feed miles into the woods in 1995.

On the plus side, the premise has promise--the story is interesting, and there are some nice shots of the woods accompanied by atmospheric music. Perhaps if the film were handled more conventionally, The Last Broadcast may have been moderately successful. Even though the twist made little sense to me, the style of the film at that point, which pulled further away from the feigned documentary, worked better for me.

In 1995 a group of presenters for the cable TV show `fact or fiction' travelled into the woods to search for the Jersey Devil. When they are killed, one of the group, Jim Suerd, is convicted for the murder. Years later a documentary maker receives video tape not included in the trial and sets out to find what really happened.

I don't care which film was made first and I don't care if `last broadcast' and `Blair witch' are similar or not. All I care about is if the film itself is any good. The set up is good – a documentary that is put together in the style of many documentaries you might see on channel 5 etc and it is easy to get taken away by it (if not taken in!). it feels like it's building to something and it's reasonably compelling. However this drive loses it's way as the film tries to make comments about the subjectivity of the media and it detracts from what happened on that night.

This is a shame because the documentary style was well put together and believable. But the twist is silly (I think) and the final half hour could have been scary instead of trying to be a comment on the media. The acting is good if basic – it is just like they're playing themselves – but all the documentary contributors are totally believable.

Overall it held my attention and is well made considering the budget. The idea is clever but I was let down by the lack of thrills or scares and the fact that the final 30 minutes is just one big let down as the focus is lost.

Obviously this is shot on really low quality cameras with very rudimentary special effects. The sound quality is poor at best with much wind noise and bass rumble on the microphones. Then again it is deliberate and perfectly fits the intended tone. This is probably the cleverest use of budget. There is no budget and they make a quite well crafted horror out of it. You get the feeling that they are really passionate about making films. There is some repetition as they struggled slightly to fill the time but overall it is interesting throughout. There are some really creepy moments that they could have taken further. I didn't like the third person ending; they could have kept it part of the documentary. It is inspirational for those wanting to make movies with a bit of substance with no money. Add some more thrills and this would have been much bigger. Obvious deliberate technical deficiencies are made up for by passion and suspense.

So this is a mockumentary about a small time cable show about the paranormal. When the show starts to lose popularity, it decides to take on a viewer suggestion that they look into the Jersey Devil. When they do, only one person leaves the woods alive.

I liked this. Very similar to The Blair Witch Project. I really don't know how I have not come across it before now. The Blair Witch Project is filmed with a bit more finesse or maybe I should say more professionalism. If you like found footage films this is a decent throwback watch you should check out.

I had this one on my watchlist for quite some time now and decided to give it a spin this evening. It started of pretty good and I was hooked, but after 30 minutes or so the movie just kept dragging on and became very boring. I noticed that I wasn't closely paying attention because of this and was eager to turn it off. After a minute or 60, it became interesting again for a few minutes but then went back to it's dragging self.

The movie has some similarities to the Blair Witch Project, but doesn't even come close. A lot of the found footage material was so badly shot and 'damaged' that it wasn't even fun to watch anymore because you hardly could see anything.

The acting was decent at best and at some points not even convincing. The characters were dull and had very little backstory.

Without giving anything away, the big revelation is a big letdown and nothing is really explained about the 'how' and 'why', which makes it very frustrating.

Don't be fooled by the 5,5 rating which is pretty good for a horror movie on IMDb these days, it's definitely not worth wasting an hour and a half on. If you haven't seen the Blair Witch Project, you should definitely view that in favor of The Last Broadcast.

A group of guys went into the woods to film an episode of their cable access show "Fact or Fiction?" They bring along a supposed psychic to help them with their mission: to find out if the Jersey Devil really exists. Two of them were found brutally murdered, and one was never found. The lone survivor is the psychic, and the murders get pinned on him. Our narrator, however, believes that something else happened that night, and sets out on his own mission by putting together this documentary using the men's recorded footage. Obviously, this sounds a lot like "The Blair Witch Project," but really the only thing the two films have in common is the basic premise: local legends and disappearances in the woods. The makers of BWP may have taken the concept of this movie to create their effectively scary psychological horror film. The Last Broadcast itself is not much of a horror film. If anything, it is a document that illustrates how blurry the line between fact and fiction can be, especially when media is involved. It could have been better, but all in all this is a very respectable effort for an extremely low budget film. My Rating: 6/10

I wanted to rate this movie much higher than a 3, up until the ending. After seeing the end I struggle to give this more than a 2. The movie drew me in very well, and the documentary style has you believing it all the way through. The acting was fairly good for a low budget horror movie. The story was really good, other than the end.

It was a really good movie up until the ending. I can't believe the ending they went with. It made little to no sense and completely ruined what could have been a pretty decent horror movie. This movie gets filed under the "could have been good" category for sure. It's hard to explain how disappointing the ending was for this film. Probably because the build up was so good.

The poster cover of the Last Broadcast claims 'Don't see it Alone'.

This is a joke. This is not a horror film. It's not scary. The ending is a total anti-climax. I am baffled by comments claiming this has caused some viewers sleepless nights. I mean, come on people, really. When I watched this alone, my reaction was: 'is that it?' When I watched it a second time with my mates, after it ended, their reaction was: 'hey, where were the scary moments?'

Forget this and go for the Blair Witch Project. A much superior film.

I don't care what anybody says; I think this lies amongst the most brilliant films I have ever seen. The documentary itself looks totally convincing, and the movie's ending will have you disturbed for days afterward. Sure, it was awkward to switch camera perspectives, but it NEEDED to be done. It couldn't have been worked any other way, and still have the same effect. People don't seem to understand this, and it is why THE LAST BROADCAST gets so much negative feedback.

In order to understand the sheer genius of the movie, you need to watch it multiple times and catch the many, MANY clues about the events that occur at the ending. This flick's rewatchability value is extremely high, and it never gets boring because you spot so many little details that make you think "oh, I see..."

I don't care whether this or BWP came first, but for the record, I don't care. They were both excellent and different films.

I accept this as important in terms of an early found footage genre film. Unfortunately, there is little to no entertainment value. The story probably would've worked better as a 45 minute semi-short film as much of it becames repetitive and tedious.

If you are a die-hard FF fan, then maybe you can appreciate it for being one of the first (as far as I'm aware). But don't expect to enjoy it.

Comparisons… we just can't help ourselves. I see a lot of comparing between this particular shadowy cult effort to the very similar in style, worldwide hit 'The Blair Witch Project (1999)'. Both share a low-budget cost and that documentary edited structure, but other than that. Really that's it. Well it did come out before its more fancied rival. We begin with Steven Avkast and Locus Wheeler hosts of a cheap cable show called "Fact or Fiction" going into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey with the aid of Rein Clackin and Jim Suerd to broadcast the search for New Jersey Devil. However Suerd is the only to come out alive, and accused of the murders. A year later filmmaker David Leigh decides to make a documentary about it using the live footage they shot to get down to the bottom off what really happened in the woods that night. 'Broadcast' has more an entertainingly detailed background (from actual footage to interviews) to its story-telling and for most part it's highly captivating and immensely inventive. Well that's up until the indifferently eye-rolling last ten minutes, which totally spins back onto itself with a ridiculous (if off-putting) revelation. It was going so well (I liked the whole ambiguous, open-minded and eerie nature), then they shot themselves in the foot. It feels like it came from another movie. They lost that chilling vibe and cooked up some glaring plot holes because of that sudden inclusion even if it was undeniably effective. Still the gimmick is provocatively engineered and efficiently presented by the director and his actors (believably capable performances by Jim Seward, Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler, Rein Clabbers and David Beard) to leave an unforgettable imprint. The set-up manages to feel sincere with good use of illuminating the manipulative air stemming from the media to influence an outcome. Be it bullet proof or not. Everything is basically suggestive with a drearily dreaded tone. Some sequences can cause a shudder and make your skin crawl, as things are linked together or put down for us to mull over. A slick, stark and engrossingly blood curdling concept that's almost pulled off.

Another found footage type movie where the buildup was a lot better than the payoff. Surprised to see that it was done on an extremely low budget. I'll give it a 1 star bump just for that. Definitely won't be well received by everyone. I really wanted more from a story about the 'Jersey Devil.'

I rented this movie after hearing all the comparisons with "Blair Witch Project." The idea was interesting, but that's about it. This movie is actually rather boring and poorly structured. However, the film totally falls apart with the ending. A "twist" ending which is just a cheap attempt to surprise the audience. Not only is it ineffective, it destroys everything the film has set up and leaves so many unanswered questions.

My advice: skip this movie and watch "Blair Witch" instead.

You may see The Last Broadcast on the video store shelf and just say its another knock off of The Blair Witch Project. Well actually The Last Broadcast came out before BW. It chronicles a group of independent film makers making a documentary on the Jersey Devil. There are many similarities to BW in The Last Broadcast which would lead one to believe that The BW film makers watched The Last Broadcast and ripped it off.

Blair Witch Project is much better than Last Broadcast, but The Last Broadcast is just as suspenceful in my opinion. Most of it was filmed with a hand held video camera on a shoe string budget like BW, but isn't half way as popular. The Last Broadcast is a little redundant and kind of long winded toward the end, but it is very easy to lose yourself in the movie until the disappointing finale. It doesn't look into the legend of the Jersey Devil or exactly explain what it is, unlike the Blair Witch. She even had a special on the Sci-Fi Channel about her. The film makers all acted in the film and cast their friends in lead roles. The acting is nothing to write home to mommy about, but the character of Jim Seurd is worth the price of admission alone. I had a wonderful time watching The Last Broadcast and wish more people would check out the movie that The Blair Witch Project ripped off. 8/10