The Cohasset Snuff Film – 2012 – Is this the real deal or not?

Director: Edward Payson

Thriller

The story is basically about a seventeen year old kid named Colin Mason. He gets a film camera to use on his schools years book project but he uses it in quite another way. He films himself gruesomely murdering three of his class mates – and publish the films on the internet!

The filmmakers claim this not only to be based on true events – and it looks pretty authentic to be honest, but also to be so called “found footage”! I have a hard time grasping that it could be such a film, which should mean that real murders are included. There’s a thin line between entertainment and a documentary but that would place this movie itself very close to true and genuine snuff! I don’t believe it!

I wasn’t sure if it was based on true events though. I did some fast research on the subject since I didn’t want to rule it out. There are a lot of sick and twisted people out there, why shouldn’t anyone commit murder and film them for their own amusement or to make money from it? I think that one of the questions the film tries to ask its audience! It’s pretty obvious that there’s also a comment in there for those of you (or those of us) that seek out the most gruesome stuff on the internet just to watch it. Remember those Russian guys that killed someone with a screwdriver a few years back and filmed the whole thing? That found its way on to the internet. The film asks you – why do you watch such things? Why do you seek it out? Does that make us monsters?

The film itself isn’t that graphic. I like that it’s kept on a realistic level. Had they gone over-the-top with buckets of blood the whole point would be lost. As it is now the film still is chocking! It makes you think about what going on in the world, starting with the viewers own perspective.

It isn’t your typical run of the mill horror flick. This has something more to offer. I personally like when the flicks try to get under your skin without doing it too much. I don’t know how many times I’ve claimed it but less is more any day of the week when it comes to serious, frightening, realistic movies! So if you think you’re going to see a flick filled with special effects and gruesome murders think again. This might not be for you. But on the other hand, if you’re after something that might challenge your mind, this might just be the right movie for you!

7/10

Naprata – 2013 – A Serbian found footage film

Director: Mladen Milosavljevic

Horror

The film starts out with a documentary team seeking a man knows from an online clip. The clip shows him beating his mother and as their goal is to capture violence against women, it’s very interesting for them. Soon, however, they discover something much more sinister. There’s a local legend of an ancient demon and they ‘even soon finds out how to summon it. This story seems to be far more interesting as they starts to follow it. But as the old saying goes – It’s better to believe than to be convinced!

If I hadn’t got this film sent to me I never would have heard about it. It’s not like I investigate by turning every stone to find all Serbian Films I can. I’m sure there are lots and lots of them out there that’ll never see the light of day. They’re still interesting for a small amount of people but they’ll never get as well known as Sprski Film or Life and Death of a Porno Gang. This doesn’t mean they’re less interesting but if you don’t seek after them you’ll never find them. The majority of easy to get film comes from the USA, that’s a fact.

But I’m glad I got this! It’s an interesting film in many aspects. First of all I think they’d done very well with the found footage thing, or a mockumentary as it really is. It seems legit even though it’s obviously not! Its fiction and nothing else, the interviewed people seem to be very, secret at first, then concerned about the legend and even more so about the teams desire to capture Naprata on camera! There are very specific rules to follow if a summoning is to be made safe. Can the team follow the instructions to the letter or not?

The version of the film that I saw was with the dialog in original Serbian and subtitled in English. Neither is my first language and I was confused a few times by the subtitling grammar. It’s not a big deal but as I don’t know a word of Serbian I’ll have to depend on the subtitles to tell me what I need to know. There were a couple of questions there on however the translation was correct. But on the other hand, I already forgot what it was, so I guess it wasn’t a biggie.

I think there’s too many found footage movies being made nowadays. It seems to be in fashion and I think that very few of them really go all the way making them believable. This one pass the test and it also has an interesting storyline and some suspense as well. There’s no need to tell a supernatural story of this kind if you can’t deliver suspense. But I think they did a fine job of that here. Believable mockumentary, good acting, and suspense. This one is a winner!

7/10