**SPOILERS**
Snuff is, in a very twisted way, a masterpiece. Does this mean it's a good movie? No. In fact, it's pretty terrible. It's really, for the most part, an aimless, virtually plot less low budget T&A fest, without much on screen gore and bad dubbing.
Why has this movie stood the test of time? Simple: sly marketing. SNUFF may be the only movie to have drawn an audience based upon rumors about it's final few moments. That, mixed with it's classic tagline ("The movie that could only be made in South America...where life is CHEAP!"), put asses in the seats.
But what about the movie itself? Well, as mentioned, there's not a whole lot to it. Basically the plot is about a group of young women who are under the brainwashed control of a hippie guru who wants them to commit murders for him. It is implied that he wants the girls to target a woman who will be pregnant soon, as the murder of a newborn baby will give him unlimited supernatural powers.
If this sounds more than a little close to the real-life Manson murders, that's not by accident. Plenty of movies have taken their subject matter from real-life tragedy (The Amityville Horror, Summer of Sam, even Titanic), but Snuff is extremely sordid, with nigh a shred of respectability to it, so just the sleaze shines through.
But the real selling point is the infamous finale, in which a beautiful script girl is supposedly murdered for real on camera. Obviously, this is not true. But the enthusiasm with which this sham is executed makes it supremely entertaining for fans of sleaze. I was astonished by the seamless switch from the movie to "reality".
The gore effects at the end are nothing special, but there's still an element of subversiveness that gives it a creepy atmosphere. SNUFF is no Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Last House on the Left, but it delivers, and is recommended for fans of exploitation, if only for historical purposes.
Snuff is, in a very twisted way, a masterpiece. Does this mean it's a good movie? No. In fact, it's pretty terrible. It's really, for the most part, an aimless, virtually plot less low budget T&A fest, without much on screen gore and bad dubbing.
Why has this movie stood the test of time? Simple: sly marketing. SNUFF may be the only movie to have drawn an audience based upon rumors about it's final few moments. That, mixed with it's classic tagline ("The movie that could only be made in South America...where life is CHEAP!"), put asses in the seats.
But what about the movie itself? Well, as mentioned, there's not a whole lot to it. Basically the plot is about a group of young women who are under the brainwashed control of a hippie guru who wants them to commit murders for him. It is implied that he wants the girls to target a woman who will be pregnant soon, as the murder of a newborn baby will give him unlimited supernatural powers.
If this sounds more than a little close to the real-life Manson murders, that's not by accident. Plenty of movies have taken their subject matter from real-life tragedy (The Amityville Horror, Summer of Sam, even Titanic), but Snuff is extremely sordid, with nigh a shred of respectability to it, so just the sleaze shines through.
But the real selling point is the infamous finale, in which a beautiful script girl is supposedly murdered for real on camera. Obviously, this is not true. But the enthusiasm with which this sham is executed makes it supremely entertaining for fans of sleaze. I was astonished by the seamless switch from the movie to "reality".
The gore effects at the end are nothing special, but there's still an element of subversiveness that gives it a creepy atmosphere. SNUFF is no Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Last House on the Left, but it delivers, and is recommended for fans of exploitation, if only for historical purposes.