S&Man (2006)

Though the DVD cover of S&Man is extremely misleading (it makes it look like a crappy slasher), rest assured that the actual film is pretty damn brilliant, challenging and powerful. I was surprised to find that director J.T. Petty (The Burrowers, Soft for Digging) made this film and that I hadn’t heard of it sooner. Though it had a festival run way back in 2006, the film wasn’t released on DVD stateside until October 2010.

S&Man (aka Sandman, not S & M Man, like I originally thought!) is a film that explores the seedier side of horror that encompasses the “hardcore” mock-snuff films like the August Underground or Guinea Pig series that are infamous for their shock value and hyper-realism.

Set up like a documentary, S&Man was originally supposed to be a vehicle for Petty to do a film on a local peeping tom from a suburb he grew up in, but this plan fell through when the man refused to do the film. However, Petty still wanted to pursue doing a film on voyeurism, so he turned to the underground horror world and found three purveyors of low-brow horror films to feature.

First and probably the most well known is Fred Vogel of Toe Tag Pictures, creator of the August Underground series. Vogel is certainly not the originator of fake snuff films, but over the years his extreme films have probably become the most well-known. Featuring brutal violence on grainy film, stunts including real bodily fluids (vomit, feces, you name it), graphic nudity and so on, Vogel’s films, most of which he stars in, really do look like home movies of serial killers.

The next filmmaker is the seemingly perpetually drunk, middle-aged metalhead Bill Zebub, whose films usually feature  busty women in distress, some blood, and not much else. Zebub’s films aren’t really fake snuff or as extreme like Vogel’s and come off as little more than exploitation. He states he makes films for perverts and not much else, which is pretty much echoed in all the scenes shown from his films. In one sad scene he putters around a set in a bar for hours while one of his actresses is forced to lie ass up in a spread-eagle position wearing a thong, bikini top and not much else. The exasperated and bored look on her face pretty much says it all!

The last filmmaker interviewed, Eric Rost (Erik Marcisak), is the only fictional one, as Vogel and Zebub do exist in real life and you can purchase their films. At first, Eric appears like any other horror fan-boy with dreams of making it big with his own “vision” for horror films. He shows up at a horror convention Petty is attending and gives Petty his own horror films, called the S&Man series. The series is very voyeuristic, and features women being filmed seemingly without their knowledge before they are kidnapped and killed. The films look entirely realistic and Petty spends the documentary trying to get more information from Eric, like if he can contact the actresses that appeared in S&Man, but Eric isn’t very forthcoming. In fact, Eric won’t give Petty a straight answer on whether he obtained consent from the women before stalking and filming them. Petty soon becomes suspicious and thinks Eric may be a real snuff filmmaker who is killing his victims.

In between talking with these three filmmakers, Petty interweaves interviews with psychologists, a self-professed “scream queen” (can just any woman that bares her boobs in a few crappy horror movies be considered a “scream queen” nowadays?), and feminist author of Men, Women and Chainsaws Carol Clover (yay, one of my favorites! I adore this woman!). These interviews add to the overall weight of the faux documentary, but the most interesting scenes occur when Petty turns his camera on the three filmmakers.

I found S&Man to be a challenging film to sit through at times, but the issues it addresses like voyeurism, gender, exploitation of actresses and how this exploitation eerily mirrors the exploitation of real-life victims, how far is too far, etc., etc. are what ultimately makes it rewarding. If you are anything like me, you’ll be equally parts repulsed and intrigued by Petty’s film, though in the end it will hopefully make you think and question your own personal limits.

Buy it on Amazon!

The Bunny Game (2010)

The terror you witness on-screen of The Bunny Game is real. Let me clarify…it’s not just realistic…it actually happened. It’s like watching a snuff film, only no one really died during filming (as far as we know). The actors weren’t merely acting, but they were subjected to most everything you see on film. Ballsy actress Rodleen Getsic gives a graphic blowjob, pees in public, is shaved bald and is actually branded in the film, not to mention the preparation that went into her role as an emaciated, drug-addled prostitute. Getsic fasted for over a month to prepare for her role! As you probably have guessed by now, The Bunny Game isn’t your ordinary horror movie. In fact, it feels more like a brutal snuff film coupled with avant-garde performance art.

The film is about a hard-knock prostitute named Bunny (Getsic) who trolls the streets of LA turning tricks and snorting coke whenever she gets the chance. This prostitute certainly doesn’t have a heart of gold, but nonetheless you feel pretty bad for her as you watch her engage in graphic sexual acts, get high, get raped and get robbed. Things go from bad to worse when she is picked up by a trucker (Jeff F. Renfro) who takes her out to the desert and brutalizes her for days on end.

While the plot might make it seem like just another torture flick, let me assure you that The Bunny Game is anything but. Is there torture? Well, yes, but it’s more the nasty psychological kind that sticks with you for days, rather than straight-up blood and guts. And the intense psychological wringer that the film puts both the victim (Getsic) and viewer through makes the film seem that much more realistic, which, believe me, will further raise the audience’s anxiety! And after all the things the cast (namely Getsic) went through, it is no wonder the film feels so authentic!

Director Adam Rehmeier, who co-wrote the film with actress Getsic, says the film wasn’t written with a strict script (there is very little dialogue) and most of the performances came organically from the actors. They were just sorta let loose on one another and given license to go as dark as they could…and, boy, did they ever go dark! Not only were the performances spontaneous, but so was the camerawork. Most scenes were filmed in only one take (usually unheard of in a film), which only adds to the immediacy and realism of the film.

The film also has a very voyeuristic feel, which adds to the snuff-like, performance art quality of it. The shaky camera angles, the constant zooming in and out and so on really make you feel like you are right there with the characters. And no matter how hard you try and get away (or look away), you just can’t.

Despite its shocking brutality, there isn’t that much blood and gore, if that’s what you’re hoping for. Most of its terror comes from psychological torture. Bunny is just as mentally broken down by the trucker as she is physically abused. He locks her up for days and submits her to all kinds of torment – stripping her down, humiliating her body, flashing a spotlight in her eyes, chaining her up, taking her for walks on a leash, shaving her head, etc. And that doesn’t even begin to detail the physical and sexual abuse he perpetuates against her. It is this kind of damaging psychological horror that is most effective, at least in my opinion. Anyone can do gross-out blood and guts, but it takes real talent to get into the audience’s brains and truly disturb them.

Congratulations are in order for director/co-writer Rehmeier and co-writer Getsic, because they have crafted a hauntingly unsettling film! It may be intensely difficult to sit through, but at least it looks stunning and isn’t just a point-and-shoot affair. There are even some beautifully dynamic shots in the film that momentarily relieve you of the brutality on-screen. It is filmed completely in black and white, which gives it a monochromatic and artistic look.

However, even the way the film is shot echoes the manic madness of the film, for juxtaposed against the gorgeously framed shots are choppy, disorienting edits, frantic shaky cam shots, voyeuristic zooms and more to make the viewer experience even further discomfort. Even the music, which features chaotic metal in the first few scenes but devolves into a creepy score as the film progresses, adds heightened emotion to scenes that are already difficult to watch…And just when you think you can’t possibly take anymore the next scene comes up to further test your limits.

I can only use “disturbing”, “unsettling” and their derivatives so much to describe The Bunny Game, but hopefully by now you get the point. This film definitely isn’t for most people, but if you like challenging films that push limits, you should give The Bunny Game a view. It’s probably the closest you’ll ever get to a snuff film!

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Alone With Her (2007)

"1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetimes."

"1.4 million people are stalked every year in the United States."

"76% of women killed by their intimate partners were stalked before they were killed."

These are just a few of the distasteful facts about stalkers that are revealed at the beginning of Alone With Her. As a woman, the dangers of "peeping toms" and stalkers have always been prevalent, but technology today is making it easier than ever for anyone to purchase cheap and tiny video cameras that can be hidden in alarm clocks, cell phones, pens, plants, teddy bears, eyeglasses, hats and clothing.

Doug (Colin Hanks) enjoys bumming around town, hidden camera shoved into a bag, and video taping women without their knowledge. He loves taping scantily-clad sunbathers at the beach, up girls’ skirts and down their tops at the store and the occasional pretty dog-walker at the park. It’s at the park that he first sees Amy (Ana Claudia Talancon) and is attracted to her vulnerability after she gets teary-eyed when watching a touchy-feely couple. Doug feels some kind of twisted connection to her, so he follows her home and bugs her house with tiny cameras – in the bathroom, in the bedroom, on the patio and in the living room. He watches her day and night, learning all her secrets, all her likes and dislikes and her schedule until he deems himself ready enough to meet her face-to-face in a “chance” encounter. The nebbish Doug manipulates Amy and uses his knowledge of her to infiltrate her life. After they become acquaintances at the coffee shop Amy frequents, Doug puts himself in a position to continually come to Amy's rescue. A budding artist, Doug designs her a site where she can feature her paintings and also gets her a gallery showing, where she sells her first pieces of art. Yet, when a new man comes into Amy's life or a concerned friend gets the heebie jeebies from him, he makes sure to clear the pathway so nothing and no one will interrupt his pursuit of her. He even goes so far as to get Amy fired, poison her, make her violently ill and give her a severe allergic reaction with a substance he puts on her sheets. How far is Doug willing to go to fulfill his obsession?

Alone With Her is an intelligent, socially aware film that scared me enough to lock all the doors, close all the blinds and peer suspiciously at my alarm clock as the end credits rolled. There's no doubt that after viewing this film you too will have these severe, paranoid reactions!

The entire film is viewed through Doug's network of hidden cameras. We watch along with Doug as Amy takes a shower, does her makeup, talks on the phone with her mom, speculates with her friend, plays with her dog or plays with herself. Even when Doug encounters her in real life he is wired to tape her every move. Writer/director Eric Nicholas and cinematographer Nathan Wilson wisely chose to give the film an all-too-real and immediate feel as they present the story through the hidden cameras. The result is an unsettling and even dirty feeling that settles over the viewer (and voyeur). I can tell you that after watching this film I felt like I needed a shower! The hidden cameras are invasive and the random static that pops up occasionally never lets us forget that we are trespassing into someone's private life. In fact, this invasion of privacy makes you yourself feel vulnerable and exposed, which gives you all the more reason to sympathize with Amy.

The performances in the film, by both Colin Hanks and Ana Claudia Talancon, are remarkable. Colin Hanks plays against his typical "aw shucks" character as the detached voyeur and obsessive stalker. Hanks as Doug, with his seemingly emotionless voice and twisted logic, is scarier than Michael, Freddy, Jason and Leatherface put together. He is real and he is out in the world, perhaps outside your window right now. Ana Claudia Talancon is vivacious, expressive and gorgeous as Amy. She comes across as natural and someone I would genuinely like to know in real life. This makes her situation all the more tragic and makes us really feel for her throughout the entire ordeal.

The script is never forced, but moves along at a slow yet natural pace. There is no gore, just a slowly building sense of dread as Doug moves in closer and closer to his prey. Let me tell you, though, the dread is almost palatable as the film nears its finale. By this point, I had grown so close to Amy's character that I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the little twerp as he kept invading and messing with her life. When the film finally concludes with the inevitable, I felt sad, scared and disturbed.

Alone With Her hopes to bring to attention the voyeuristic society we live in. Reality shows rule the boob tube and we are told the government is always watching, so how soon before we start incorporating voyeurism into our own lives? Part cautionary tale, part wake-up call, Alone With Her succeeds in creating an unsettling, uncomfortable, and fear-soaked film with a message.

It comes highly recommended from yours truly.

Available from Amazon!