Snuff (1976)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Directors:

Michael Findlay
Roberta Findlay

Writers:

A. Bochin (writer)
Michael Findlay (writer)

Release Date:

16 January 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A film that could only be made in South America, where life is CHEAP!

Plot:

A so-called "snuff" movie involving the exploits of a cult leader leading a gang of bikers in a series of supposedly real killings on film. |

Plot Keywords:

Cult Leader | Biker | Killing | Psychotic | Stabbed In The Side

Cast

Margarita Amuchástegui	...	Angelica
Ana Carro	...	Ana
Liliana Fernández Blanco	...	Susanna
Alfredo Iglesias	...	Horst's Father
Enrique Larratelli	...	Satan
Mirtha Massa	...	Terry London
Aldo Mayo	...	Max Marsh
Clao Villanueva	...	Horst Frank

Also Known As:

American Cannibale (USA)
El ángel de la muerte (Argentina)

Runtime:

80 min | UK:76 min

Country:

Argentina | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | West Germany:18 (re-rating) | West Germany:(Banned) (original rating) (cinema release) | Japan:R-18 (DVD) | Australia:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:X | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:R (re-rating) (2005) (uncut)

Filming Locations:

Argentina

Company:

August Films

Trivia:

The final scene involving the simulated murder of a cast member was shot much later than the rest of the film at the behest of the film's distributor.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The dubbing does not match throughout the film.

Quotes:

Angelica's Father: [discovering farmer in bed with Angelica] Pig! Filthiest of all animals! I will cut your heart from your body and feed it to the dogs!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Dying: Last Seconds of Life, Part II (1988) (V)

You'll get what you deserve

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 find 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 see it, 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 70's 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...