Snuff

OK first of all, if you watch this movie because you are expecting a real snuff film (or at least a realistic looking fake), you will be greatly disappointed.

First of all, there's no record of an actual snuff film being made. The fact that there is a DVD of this film available should tell you right away there's no way that it could be real snuff. If snuff exists, it is an extremely well kept secret.

Second, the snuff scene is so fake that I can't believe that anyone actually believed that it was real. You can see exactly how the gore was faked, not to mention the fact that the actress is not very good.

If you watch this film, watch it for the movie preceeding the snuff scene. It is extremely poorly written, directed and acted, but it is so bad that it will make you laugh. My friend and I think that this movie should be called SATAN'S B*TCHES, because it's kinda like CHARLIE'S ANGELS, but the women are evil and their master is Satan (pronounced Suh-TAWN). Rent this one if you just want to see a funny 70s movie.

Any glutton who loves awful movies has sat through dozens of inherently unwatchable films in the hopes of finding the rare beast that is both completely un-viewable and completely awesome at the same time. While Snuff leans more ardently toward the former, the current DVD presentation of this film helps this deservedly obscure classic drift a bit toward the latter.

Let's clarify that this film wasn't intended to be passed off as an actual "snuff" film. If such a genre truly existed, which we won't debate here since we're clearly talking about a film that is NOT a "snuff" movie, chances are it would look a bit more like the footage hinted at in Mute Witness or 8mm than a carefully edited multi-camera affair with dubbed audio and generous arrays of stock Carnavale footage. If anyone ever truly believed that filmmakers murdered someone on camera and surrounded that footage with a pseudo-story about biker chicks who kill random people in surprisingly un-bloody ways, somehow found a way to bypass all of those dicey regulations concerning murder and its illegalites, and found a distributor to get a theatrical release for said footage... Seriously, no one did. I promise you.

Yes, this movie is tedious, far too long, and so ineptly made that I can not find a single reason to recommend it. To normal people, that is. However, if you actually know what this film is, and still have any interest in seeing it, then you kind of need to, because it is as wretched an example of film-making as you could ever hope to encounter. Scene after scene, it is a shining an example of crappy C-grade schlock. But, you know, some of us really love crappy C-grade schlock.

We don't want good dubbing, quality special effects, or actors who had heard of the phenomenon of "acting" before the cameras were turned on them. We aren't concerned with continuity, character development, or coherent story structure. We simply want to spend 80 minutes of our life watching something that vaguely resembles a film, yet ends up being an hour and twenty minute exercise in incredulity that forces us to question what's wrong with us for enjoying something that is clearly so un-enjoyable.

This film is a joke. And one would suspect that the film-makers knew this. Now, the reason that Snuff is awesome is that not only did a piece of unwatchable trash like this gain some level of infamy, but 30 years later, there is a reasonably intelligent person sitting at their computer typing this missive at 3:33 in the morning, and another one reading said missive because they have yet to view this film.

Ignore what you've heard about the grand guignol finale of this film, because it truly is a disturbing bit of nastiness. The fact that it follows such a laughably bad precursor is probably the point of this entire affair. And kudos to Blue Underground for presenting this film as they did, in a package without cover art, synopsis, or special features, which, contrary to the numerous criticisms of this I've read, captures this film perfectly. If you would really want a Criterion Collection pressing of Snuff, then you are clearly missing the point.

Fans of terrible movies won't find one much more primitive than this (although I'd also tip my hat to The Last Slumber Party). If that sounds appealing to you, then you will thoroughly enjoy Snuff. If not, I really have to question what you thought you were in store for when you popped in a non-existent-budget South American film from the '70s called "Snuff".

Do I recommend this? No, absolutely not. But do I own it and love the fact I own it? I kind of have to...

Crappy movie that leads to the infamous "snuff" scene. However, after the poor actress looses her one of her left fingers, the final scene of her innards being removed clearly shows all fingers on the same hand intact. Come on. Even if the gore appears fake, at least get the details right. It is actually kind of fun watching movies like this and noting the inaccurate video illustrating the true fakeness of it all.

Besides that, the movie itself is quite funny without trying to be. Not to mention it is not in English, so the voice-over only ads to the enjoyment of it all. If you can watch it for free or downoad it, go for it. However, save your money for something more believable. The "Guinea Pig" series would be a better place to start than this.

Notorious cult item that has to do with a Manson-like cult leader and his bevy of lovely women who do his bidding. They kill a bunch of people before finally targeting a pregnant actress and her rich boyfriend.

Aside from that main storyline, there's also a tacked on ending that was falsely advertised to have been real snuff footage. The gore doesn't even look realistic though, especially the snipping off of a finger. No question about it, this is a bad movie. It's also pretty aimless, and there's a ridiculously overlong parade scene that made me want to hit the fast-forward, though I resisted. There is admittedly some fun to be had, as much of the film is really cheesy with some elements that you can't help but laugh at, not the least of which is the dubbing. Other than the cheese, the only other thing I liked about this movie was the presence of cult actress/director Roberta Findlay as one of the cult followers. I've always had the hots for her, so seeing her here or in any other film is always a pleasure.

My praise for "Snuff" stops there, however. Most will flat-out hate it, and frankly, I can't blame them.

Well, here it is...the biggest hoax to be perpetrated on the (admittedly slow-draw) 42nd-Street crowd. When it was a mere out-of-print obscurity on VHS, there was a bit of intrigue into the 'authenticity' of "Snuff," but such claims are absolutely ludicrous (the transition to the alleged murder on film is too inept--and shot from too many different angles--to have any realistic basis). What we have here is a dull (and clearly foreign) spin off of the Manson massacre, ineptly edited, and dubbed by morons (a lone redeeming quality that eventually loses its ability to entertain); after being subjected to an hour or so of exposition and relationship ties among a famous starlet and her rich boyfriend, the film devolves into the ridiculous, out-of-nowhere murder sequence. Compared to other provocative, 18+ shockers of the time ("Cannibal Holocaust" comes to mind), "Snuff" is incredibly tepid in the realms of cheap, sleazy titillation and gruesome mutilation--the result is a film that might have been morally objectionable or sickening had the people behind the camera not been so damn daft.