Big Snuff
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Big Snuff |
| Original title | El Ángel de la muerte, The Slaughter, republished under the title Snuff |
| Country of production | Argentina , USA |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 76 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Michael Findlay , Roberta Findlay , Horacio Fredriksson |
| script | A. Bochin, Roberta Findlay, Michael Findlay |
| production |
Jack Bravman , Allan Shackleton |
| music | Rick Howard |
| camera | Roberta Findlay, Roberto Herz Kowicz |
| occupation | |
| |
Big Snuff (in the original El Ángel de la muerte , or The Slaughter ) is an extremely low budgeted horror film belonging to the exploitation genre with elements of splatter and the erotic film , directed by Roberta and Michael Findlay . Depending on the cut, the production is also known as American Cannibale or Snuff .
The film tells the story of an unscrupulous cult leader who calls himself "Satan" and who commits bestial crimes. The production, created in 1971, was inspired by the deeds of the Manson Family and, with mostly Spanish-speaking amateur actors, was completed within a few weeks in Argentina. A dubbing / dubbing then took place in the United States.
A film distributor's marketing gag , according to which a member of the film team was killed during the chaotic shooting, made the film more popular. The supposedly real killing of people later coined the term snuff film .
action
A run down industrial complex somewhere in Argentina. A rocker gang consisting mainly of drug addicts women is up to mischief here. They are all followers of a pseudo-religious community led by the charismatic Satan, who is in his thirties. The “chosen one” demands unconditional obedience and submission from his disciples.
One day the self-confident US porn actress Terry London ends up in Buenos Aires in the presence of her manager Max in order to win wealthy financiers for a dirty flick. Max desires Terry passionately, but his beloved does not return his affection and instead secretly has fun with a young playboy named Hernandes. The sex-hungry bon vivant is in turn loosely in a relationship with the attractive Angela, who only stays with the multi-million dollar gigolo at the behest of Satan. The sect leader hopes to take out the millionaire's son at some point.
Hernandes finally separates from Angela, who is now completely addicted to Satan. Angela later stabs Max, although the motives remain somewhat unclear.
A few months later the small religious community is becoming increasingly radical. Hernandes is attacked by Satan's "sisters" on his property, maltreated and finally castrated . Finally, the pregnant Terry - she is expecting a baby from Hernandes - is brutally slashed while lying in bed.
background
The married couple Roberta and Michael Findlay mainly produced cheap trash films in the horror genre. One of these contributions is The Slaughter , shot in 1971 , which had a production cost of just $ 30,000. Since the work had weaknesses in terms of content and craftsmanship and also had to be dubbed at great expense - for cost reasons, mostly amateur actors who spoke no English were hired - the film distributor Monarch Releasing Corporation initially refrained from publishing it in the USA. The film did not promise to be particularly well received by the audience. In addition, the film flopped at the box office in South America in advance.
When about five years later the Manson Family returned to the center of attention (an attempt on the then US President Gerald Ford had previously failed ), the head of Monarch Releasing Corp. , Allan Shackleton, the potential of The Slaughter for a lurid advertising campaign. Shackleton aroused interest in the B-movie , which was eventually renamed Big Snuff , with both bogus press releases and staged protests from concerned citizens . In addition, the film producer hastily had a new final scene in the style of Cinéma vérité directed by Simon Nuchtern , which integrated well into the finished work, but did not significantly advance the plot. The supposedly real dismemberment of a woman by the film crew and the allegedly illegal creation of the recordings ultimately caused a stir. In order to reinforce the impression of a real documentary , all film overlays were minimized or completely removed. Therefore, there is no mention of the film title, which is common in feature films.
reception
Big Snuff became a huge scandal in both the United States and Germany. In the advertisement by the German film distributor and film producer Alois Brummer it was even claimed that the work was "hunted by the FBI in all states of the USA". The German theatrical version was confiscated at the time for glorifying violence and only released in a cut version of the infamous final sequence. Brummer later had to answer before a German court.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films wrote that the film was a "wretched and vile work in every respect."
Web links
- Big Snuff in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Big Snuff in the online movie database
- Detailed Summary of the film (English)
- Comparison of the cut versions of the German theatrical version and the US version of Big Snuff at Schnittberichte.com