Effects (1980)

Some crew members of a company shooting a horror film begin to suspect that the "killings" in the movie are real, and that they are actually making a "snuff" film.

Director:

Dusty Nelson

Writers:

William H. Mooney (novel), Dusty Nelson (screenplay)

Stars:

Joseph Pilato, Susan Chapek, John Harrison

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Pilato	...	Dominic (as Joseph F. Pilato)
Susan Chapek	...	Celeste
John Harrison	...	Lacey Bickel
Bernard McKenna	...	Barney
Debra Gordon	...	Rita / Mona
Tom Savini	...	Nicky
Charles Hoyes	...	Lobo (as Chuck Hoyes)
Blay Bahnsen	...	Scratch (as Blay Bahnson)
Joe Wittkofski	...	TV Director
John Sutton	...	TV Sound Man
Dave Balko	...	TV Video Man (as Dave Belko)
Jackie Lahane	...	Murdered Girl (as Jackie Lehane)
Cindy Sebastian	...	Dancer
Bobbi Van Eman	...	Campfire Extra
Duke Snyder	...	Campfire Extra

Storyline

Horror movie about an insane film director who hopes his crowning achievement will be a "snuff" documentary about the actual demise of a film crew working on a horror-movie shoot. The director's real cast and crew aren't too pleased when they find out about his project though.

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Plot Keywords:

crew | director | snuff film | film crew | casting | 

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Taglines:

Making movies can be MURDER!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Manipulator

Filming Locations:

Ligonier, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Image Works, International Harmony

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1978.

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Quotes

Lacey Bickle: Would you like to have sex?
Rita: You mean with you or just in general?

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Connections

References The Fury (1978)

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Soundtracks

"I GOTTA RUN"
Written by John Harrison
Performed by Ron 'Byrd' Foster

User Reviews

I smell bad snuff-stuff

This movie seriously had me worried that I might be autistic! Forty-five minutes into the film and there still wasn't the slightest sign of plot development and/or essence. I don't know about you, but especially when dealing with early 80's low-budget horror flicks, I like to know if it's at least going somewhere. I was slowly starting to behave like Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man"; continuously repeating 'I need a plot … I need a plot …. I badly need a plot". "Effects" is a long, slow-moving, incoherent and visually exhausting movie and I honestly regret to say that because I'm a devoted fan of the genre and usually I really, really, really support obscure horror titles like this. Sadly, however, "Effects" is amateurish nonsense with sequences that are endlessly stretched and a story that literally never shifts into gear in spite of its great rudimentary potential. The crew of a cheap horror film, well … actually just the effects guy and the lighting girl, notice that the director is behaving very suspicious on set. They're right, too, because that sleazy bastard is actually planning to turn his little film project into a genuine snuff movie with the cast and crew members as the unaware and probably very reluctant lead players/victims. Sublime idea for a bona fide 80's shock feature, if you ask me, but the execution of the film is horrible. All of a sudden, I'm not even surprised anymore to find out this film was apparently "lost" for 20+ years. Even with Tom Savini and Joe Pilato (the latter giving a terrific performance and totally unlike the role in "Day of the Dead" that made him famous) in the cast, this is an infuriatingly lame movie. There's actually very little gore in the film and if you were, by any chance, hoping to learn some "kitchen secrets" about the special effects industry, you'll be sorely disappointed as well. "Effects" only specializes in overlong and pointless padding footage – especially the chase through the woods seems endless – and oppressed slasher ideas. Another extremely disappointing snuff-themed thriller, joining the same list as Roberta Findley's "Snuff", "Live Feed", "Snuff-Movie", "Vacancy" and Larry Cohen's "Special Effects". For good snuffies, stick to the Spanish "Thesis", the massively underrated "Mute Witness" and the legendary classic "Peeping Tom".