"8mm" sucks you in from the moment you watch the snuff film with Nicholas Cage, not letting you go until the very end, where it spits you out encased in a cocoon of bloody phlegm.
The director successfully creates a gritty atmosphere that remains constant right up until the end, but the plot isn't so lucky. As others have pointed out, things get ridiculous towards the films finale, which if crafted with more tact could have made "8mm" a great film rather than simply an entertaining one.
Cage gives a good, rather sombre performance as the private investigator hired to determine the authenticity of a snuff film found in the late husband of a senator's safe. From there on he's plopped into the festering world of deviant pornography, forced to explore the seedy bowels of stomach-churningly filthy underground sexual practices. Amy Morton's performance as Mary Ann's mother is perfect, conveying the emotions of a distraught, depressed mother beautifully. Joaquin Pheonix steals the show as the charismatic owner of a sex-shop.
Full of suspense, this film should at least entertain you as you watch with disgust and repulsion some of the dirtiest human habits imaginable.
7 out of 10.
The director successfully creates a gritty atmosphere that remains constant right up until the end, but the plot isn't so lucky. As others have pointed out, things get ridiculous towards the films finale, which if crafted with more tact could have made "8mm" a great film rather than simply an entertaining one.
Cage gives a good, rather sombre performance as the private investigator hired to determine the authenticity of a snuff film found in the late husband of a senator's safe. From there on he's plopped into the festering world of deviant pornography, forced to explore the seedy bowels of stomach-churningly filthy underground sexual practices. Amy Morton's performance as Mary Ann's mother is perfect, conveying the emotions of a distraught, depressed mother beautifully. Joaquin Pheonix steals the show as the charismatic owner of a sex-shop.
Full of suspense, this film should at least entertain you as you watch with disgust and repulsion some of the dirtiest human habits imaginable.
7 out of 10.