2.5
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| "A film that could only be made in South America, where life is CHEAP!" |
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Snuff
DVD/APPROX. 80 MINS/1976/USA X-RATED
DVD/APPROX. 80 MINS/1976/USA X-RATED
When I was a teenager, I had a book that went with me everywhere. It was called Beyond Imagination, and it bridged the gap between Famous
Monsters of Film land, which I felt I had grown out of, and Fangoria, still in its infancy, and not something I would discover for a year or two.
Published in Australia, it seemed to me to be the definitive tome about horror, sci-fi and exploitation films. Of particular interest in this book was
the section about Video Nasties, the movies we would never see uncut, and featured within this article (which was in a sealed section) was a
lobby card for a film called Snuff. This picture was of two severed hands, hung on a line, a visceral feast for the eyes. This scene fascinated me,
and the accompanying information was vague at best, and so, it became my Holy Grail, and now, twenty years later, I have that Holy Grail in my
hands, and have been disappointed to find it is nothing more than a badly made paper cup.
The story of Snuff goes as follows: a psychic cult leader known as Satan (pronounced S’tan or Satahn) has several young girls in his influence, and
they do everything he orders them to do. Mayhem, murder, taking of their shirts, doing drugs and frolicking in a river are all just in a days work for
them. But Satan has another, more sinister agenda. He wants one of his girls; Angelica, to kill the unborn child of actress Terry London and her
boyfriend Horst Frank, for some kind of non - descript evilness. What follows is an orgy of blood and terror of which has never been seen
before…well not really, but you get the idea. The shift in pace in the last five minutes, which is where the notoriety comes from, will at first make
you wonder what the hell is going on. A wacko ending to a nutso film! Allan Shackleton, through his company Monarch Releasing Corporation,
bought this film in 1976 when it was known as Slaughter, which was a little seen Argentinian movie from 1971, created the air of mystery around
it with its ‘snuff’ qualities filmed a new ending to it, and with advertising propaganda created the legend. Four directors worked on this film: Simon
Nuchtern, Horacio Fredrikson, and the team responsible for such classics(?) as The Curse of Her Flesh and Shriek of the Mutilated, Roberta
Findlay and Michael Findlay (who tragically died in a helicopter accident in New York the following year), some involved in the original, and others
the last ten minutes. Snuff is like an incongruous mix of Easy Rider, Blue Sunshine and the real life Manson murders. Also known as El Angel de la
Muerte and American Cannibale, Snuff is just bad cinema: bad acting, bad sound effects, unoriginal story and well below standard
cinematography.
Like the Blair Witch Project, once the ‘taboo’ appeal of this film is revealed, it loses all credibility. In 1976, the effects were probably below
average, but now they are just awful. The bad dubbing causes unintentional laughs and the voice actors playing multiple roles but with different
vocal inflections or accents are unconvincing, and bordering on ridiculous. Snuff is the seventies version of Kung Pow: Enter The Fist, except that
was deliberate. Is it exploitation? Maybe! Is it horror? No! Is it entertainment? Definitely not!!
The cover of this DVD states: ‘The film that could only be made in South America - where life is CHEAP!" and where film standards are blatantly low.
How you can use it.
Monsters of Film land, which I felt I had grown out of, and Fangoria, still in its infancy, and not something I would discover for a year or two.
Published in Australia, it seemed to me to be the definitive tome about horror, sci-fi and exploitation films. Of particular interest in this book was
the section about Video Nasties, the movies we would never see uncut, and featured within this article (which was in a sealed section) was a
lobby card for a film called Snuff. This picture was of two severed hands, hung on a line, a visceral feast for the eyes. This scene fascinated me,
and the accompanying information was vague at best, and so, it became my Holy Grail, and now, twenty years later, I have that Holy Grail in my
hands, and have been disappointed to find it is nothing more than a badly made paper cup.
The story of Snuff goes as follows: a psychic cult leader known as Satan (pronounced S’tan or Satahn) has several young girls in his influence, and
they do everything he orders them to do. Mayhem, murder, taking of their shirts, doing drugs and frolicking in a river are all just in a days work for
them. But Satan has another, more sinister agenda. He wants one of his girls; Angelica, to kill the unborn child of actress Terry London and her
boyfriend Horst Frank, for some kind of non - descript evilness. What follows is an orgy of blood and terror of which has never been seen
before…well not really, but you get the idea. The shift in pace in the last five minutes, which is where the notoriety comes from, will at first make
you wonder what the hell is going on. A wacko ending to a nutso film! Allan Shackleton, through his company Monarch Releasing Corporation,
bought this film in 1976 when it was known as Slaughter, which was a little seen Argentinian movie from 1971, created the air of mystery around
it with its ‘snuff’ qualities filmed a new ending to it, and with advertising propaganda created the legend. Four directors worked on this film: Simon
Nuchtern, Horacio Fredrikson, and the team responsible for such classics(?) as The Curse of Her Flesh and Shriek of the Mutilated, Roberta
Findlay and Michael Findlay (who tragically died in a helicopter accident in New York the following year), some involved in the original, and others
the last ten minutes. Snuff is like an incongruous mix of Easy Rider, Blue Sunshine and the real life Manson murders. Also known as El Angel de la
Muerte and American Cannibale, Snuff is just bad cinema: bad acting, bad sound effects, unoriginal story and well below standard
cinematography.
Like the Blair Witch Project, once the ‘taboo’ appeal of this film is revealed, it loses all credibility. In 1976, the effects were probably below
average, but now they are just awful. The bad dubbing causes unintentional laughs and the voice actors playing multiple roles but with different
vocal inflections or accents are unconvincing, and bordering on ridiculous. Snuff is the seventies version of Kung Pow: Enter The Fist, except that
was deliberate. Is it exploitation? Maybe! Is it horror? No! Is it entertainment? Definitely not!!
The cover of this DVD states: ‘The film that could only be made in South America - where life is CHEAP!" and where film standards are blatantly low.
How you can use it.
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