ChampDavSlim
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Seraherrera
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Skyler
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
BA_Harrison
After a long hiatus following the brutal murder of his pregnant wife by a Manson-like gang, cult film-maker Boris Arkadin (played by Jeroen Krabbé) opens auditions for a new horror flick to be filmed at his large mansion. Unknown to his chosen cast, however, Arkadin is secretly recording the actors 24/7 on hidden cameras, broadcasting their every move on a website, including, so it seems, their untimely deaths.I've an unhealthy fascination with the subject of snuff movies, and with Bernard Rose, director of the excellent Candyman, calling the shots, I had high hopes that Snuff Movie would be an insightful exploration into one of the most disturbing possible forms of film-making. Unfortunately, Rose's movie tries to be far too clever for its own good, with a twisty-turny plot that blurs reality and fantasy, featuring 'movies within movies' and a silly surprise ending that really isn't worth the wait.3 out of 10: 1 point for the gore and another 2 for the female nudity (Rose's film might be aimed at the art-house/intelligentsia crowd, but at least the director seems to understand the importance of those horror fundamentals: a silicone enhanced bimbo having sex and a gratuitous shower scene).
dragonmaster0303
I really hope these one/two star reviewers aren't confusing this with the film 'Snuff' (which really does deserve only one or two stars) because it'd be a shame if people were put off this film by a misunderstanding.Or perhaps it's just too clever &/or confusing for them? It twists and turns all over the place, in fact I've never seen a movie do so many u-turns! Maybe it's just too much for some people to keep up with and understand - and again it'd also be a shame for anyone to be put off for that reason.This may not be a Candyman type horror movie (and maybe that's the problem they have - it's not a high budget conventional horror film), but even with a lower budget, Bernard Rose shows he's a great director. I only wish he'd made more horror movies over the years.Anyway, I love this film and I can honestly say it's got better with each viewing, which is something I can't say for many films and as of yet I have not lost the urge to watch it over and over - surely the sign of a great film. If you like horror, but don't have 'big budget Hollywood' hang-ups and aren't afraid to watch something a little bit different, give this a go.
johannes2000-1
This is a very strange movie and I find it hard to decide whether it's just over-pretentious or a truly intelligent, maybe even brilliant attempt to unravel the mysteries of the dark corners in the human mind. When the movie began, I thought: man, I got myself the wrong movie, this is some sixties' Hammer horror flick. Ten minutes later I thought: wait a minute, this turns out to be some seventies over the top reconstruction of the Sharon Tate murders. And again ten minutes later it suddenly turned into a movie taking place in the present. These changes were all unexpected and they sort of set the tone for the rest of the movie: nothing is what it appears to be, every time you think: okay, NOW I get it, you keep getting surprised and it turns out a totally different way, even till the very last minutes of the movie. I have to admit that this kept me fascinated and watching, although at the same time I had the uncanny feeling that I was made a fool of, and someone was trying to find out how long you can serve bad food and still make someone eat it. Part of the problem is the almost overall mediocre acting. The only one that stands out is Jeroen Krabbé, he certainly delivers an excellent and very chilling performance as the sinister, perverted, probably psychopathic but also very charming director. Although he's not really attractive, he does have a huge screen-presence and he sort of carries the whole project on his shoulders. Lisa Enos is a feast for the eyes (with and without clothes), but it unnerved me a bit that she let herself be so extremely exploited by appearing for (over)long takes in full frontal nude (like her audition-scene in the beginning and the grand scene in the garden almost at the end). But maybe that unnerving feeling was all part of the plan, it sticked by me during the whole movie. Some goings-on are totally over the top, like the irritating hysteria of the group of weird killer-girls. Other over the top moments (like the deranged and invalid son stumbling into Krabbé's bedroom to kill him), somehow seem to serve their own purpose in creating bewilderment and disbelief. There's lots of gore, albeit not always as graphically displayed as you may emotionally experience it, there's also a lot of suggestion, which of course adds up to the main theme of "real or not-real". This movie is obviously about exploitation, about people abusing other people (and let themselves be abused) out of purely opportunistic motives. But ultimately it's about the very game of fooling. We, the viewers, are tricked again and again, and although we know that in a horror movie it's all fake, (even in a movie that's called "Snuff movie"), here we are forced to make time and again a total mind-switch and re-adjust our convictions. It results in a feeling that you never fully get into control of what is presented to you. Different from that other excellent movie about the theme of snuff-movies, "Tesis", by Alejandro Amenabar, here we are not helped by any coherent plot, it's as if the director wants us to step backwards and just look at things unfold from a distance. As a consequence you never get involved with the persons at all, but it does enhance the awkward feeling of estrangement. The end of the movie – the surprising bow of Krabbé (to us?) – reminded me of the ending of Verdi's Falstaff: stepping out of the role back into the real life and saying (or suggesting) to the public: "really, the whole world is nothing but a sham!". Which feeling gets enhanced when watching the closing credits of the cast roll by: there you see that almost every actor had two or more different roles, and I hadn't even noticed half of them! So it definitely is a movie to watch twice.
phillamg
This film kept every guessing until the very final seconds of the film to try to understand it. The plot is very twisted and you often feel split as to what is actually happening and that's were the problem lies. Because you are detached trying to think about the (not especially graphic) scenes you are seeing you never feel engrossed in the movie or empathise with any of the characters. You always expect that you'll be fooled any second now. For the final 10 minutes I think I figured out what the medium sized plot was all about (either that or there was a prop goof) but while I was 99% sure, I had no idea how to explain it or how it fitted in with the entire film. That may sound complicated and convoluted but believe me, the script really is. Well shot and well acted, but just not scary, even on a simple gore level (watch Haute Tension for that).
