The Last Broadcast (1998)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Directors:

Stefan Avalos
Lance Weiler

Writers:

Stefan Avalos (writer) &
Lance Weiler (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

What actually happened that night in the woods?

Plot:

Bristling with equipment, two enthusiastic local access cable TV producers recruit an assistant and...

Plot Keywords:

Jersey Devil | Live Broadcast | Filmmaker | Internet | Evidence

Cast

David Beard	...	David Leigh, The Filmmaker
Jim Seward	...	Jim Suerd - The Accused
Stefan Avalos	...	Steven Avkast - 'Fact or Fiction' Host
Lance Weiler	...	Locus Wheeler - 'Fact or Fiction' Host
Rein Clabbers	...	Rein Clackin, Paranormal Sound Man
Michele Pulaski	...	Michelle Monarch - Data Retrieval Expert
Tom Brunt	...	Tom Branski - Technical Director of 'Fact or Fiction'
Mark Rublee	...	Clair Deforest - Editor for the Prosecution
A.D. Roso	...	Anthony Rosi - Lead Investigator of Murders
Dale Worstall	...	Dr. Dale Orstall, Jim's Child Psychologist
Vann K. Weller	...	Dr. Vann Waller - Forensic Pathologist
Sam Wells	...	Sam Woods - Television Soap Director
Jay MacDonald	...	Jay McDowell, Web Designer
Faith Weiler	...	Joyce Dryer, Jim's Landlady
Marianne Connor	...	Mary Brenner, TV Reporter

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R | Germany:16 | UK:18

Company:

FFM Productions

Trivia:

The premiere screening was released digitally to cinemas across the U.S. via satellite and shown using Texas Instruments' DLP digital cinema projectors.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Soundtrack:

Little Sadie

A brilliant, but ultimately flawed film

I had heard so much about this film, particularly when all the discussions about the Blair Witch Project came out, that when the opportunity came to watch it I seized the day and sat down.

Two producers of a failing cable show Fact Or Fiction go on a hike into the woods with a soundman and a local boy to search for the famed Jersey Devil. Only the local boy comes back, and reports the other three as missing. The case that follows, and the footage shot by the crew that night, lead to a trial and conviction for murder.

The question remains, however, did he commit murder? The film takes the form of another documentary maker investigating the case. Slowly the evidence is gathered, and tape previously unusable is painstakingly recreated until.........

The style perfectly suits the film, and the fleeting glimpses of police photographs, evidence and glimpses of the tapes effectively builds a growing feeling of impending and catastrophic doom. For the vast majority of this film, you are taken on an increasingly dark journey into what happened that night.

Had the film ended with the final caption, and then the last restored image, it would have been a brilliant film. Unfortunately, it does not, and as others have said here the film is spoiled by that.

If not for that, I think this film would have acheived the fame and circulation of Blair Witch. As it stands, it is cerytainly worth watching, but you may want to switch off after that last caption......