For the 2005 film see Snuff-Movie (film)

A snuff film, or snuff movie, depicts the actual killing of a human being - a human sacrifice perpetrated for the medium of film for the purpose of entertainment and distribution.^[1] This article is about the 1976 film. ... Snuff-Movie is a 2005 gothic horror film by British director Bernard Rose. ...

Problems of definition

The term snuff film does not, at least currently, have a clear definition. Neither the Motion Picture Association of America, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nor any U.S. agency have put forth legislation or terminology that would define the term "snuff film" authoritatively. Some possible definitions include a number of acts (killing of animals, faked deaths, suicides and murders) which are filmed and only later distributed. In most cases the only motive to risk any exposure of the filmmakers' involvement is commercial. Some definitions state that snuff films must be pornographic in nature ^[2] The most common definition of a snuff film is of a motion picture showing the actual murder of a human being that is produced, perpetrated, and distributed solely for the purpose of profit.^[3] This definition thereby excludes recordings of murders caught by accident, and videotapes of actual murders that were never intended to be released as entertainment films (such as the videos and photos sometimes produced by serial killers like Leonard Lake as "trophies"). Given these criteria, the existence of snuff films is highly questionable, and commercial snuff films have long been relegated by skeptics to the realm of urban legend and moral panic. To date, no film generally accepted as fitting this definition has been found.^[4] MPAA redirects here. ... FCC redirects here. ... F.B.I. and FBI redirect here. ... Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Leonard Lake (October 29, 1945 - June 6, 1985) was an alleged American serial killer. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... Moral panic is a sociological term, coined by Stanley Cohen, meaning a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. ...

History

The first recorded use of the term is in a 1971 book by Ed Sanders, The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion, in which it is alleged that the Manson's Family might have been involved in the making of such a film (although none have ever been found).^[5] Ed Sanders born August 17, 1939 in Kansas City,Missouri is a poet, singer, social activist, environmentalist, novelist and publisher. ... Charles Milles Manson (b. ...

The metaphorical use of the term snuff to denote killing is derived from a verb for the extinguishing of a candle flame, and can be traced to several decades before Sanders's book; for example, in Edgar Rice Burroughs's fifth Tarzan book Tarzan and The Jewels of Opar (1916).^[6] "Snuff it", meaning to die, was used repeatedly in the novel A Clockwork Orange (1962). Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ... Clockwork Orange redirects here. ... // Events Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the longest-running motion picture franchise of all time, running more than 40 years. ...

The concept of a "snuff movie" subsequently reappeared and became more widely known in 1976 in the context of the film Snuff. Originally a horror film designed to cash in on the hysteria of the Manson family murders, the film's distributor tacked on a new ending that allegedly depicts an actual murder. In order to generate buzz the producer wrote angry letters to the New York Times posing as a concerned citizen and hired actors to stand outside and protest against the film. The concept of snuff films was further publicised by the Michael Powell Peeping Tom (1960), the Paul Schrader film Hardcore (1979), the Ruggero Deodato film Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Running Man, the Alejandro Amenabar film Tesis (1996), the Anthony Waller film Mute Witness (1994), the Joel Schumacher film 8mm (1999) and was featured in the John Ottman film, Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), Fred Vogel's film August Underground (2001) and its sequels. Online internet snuff movies came into play in such movies like the Marc Evans film My Little Eye (2002), the Showtime series Dexter and the Rick Rosenthal film Halloween: Resurrection. Most recently the subject has been addressed in British film director Bernard Rose's film Snuff-Movie (2005), the Nimród Antal film Vacancy (2007) and also in the WWE film The Condemned (2007). Snuff is a 1975 gore film. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Michael Latham Powell (September 30, 1905 – February 19, 1990) was a British film director, renowned for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger which produced a series of classic British films. ... Peeping Tom is a 1960 psychological thriller film by the British film director Michael Powell. ... Paul Joseph Schrader (born July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an American screenwriter and film director. ... Hardcore is a 1979 film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring George C. Scott. ... Ruggero Deodato, born May 7, 1939 in Potenza, Italy, film director, actor, screen writer. ... For the Brutal Juice song, see Cannibal Holocaust (song). ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation IPA: ) (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-born American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. ... The Running Man (1982) is a science fiction novel by Stephen King, written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. ... Alejandro Fernando Amen bar Cantos (born March 31, 1972) is a Chilean-born Spanish film director, widely considered one of the most important Spanish directors working today even though he has directed only four films. ... Tesis (Thesis) is a 1996 Spanish film. ... Joel Schumacher (born August 29, 1939 in New York, New York, USA) is an American film director, writer, and producer. ... 8mm is a 1999 mystery/thriller film, directed by Joel Schumacher, about a private investigator Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) who is hired to research the authenticity of an alleged snuff movie found in the vault of a recently deceased billionaire, which takes him to some sleazy environments. ... John Ottman (born July 6, 1964 in San Diego, California) is an American film editor, composer and director. ... Marc Evans is a Welsh-born film director, whose credits include the films House of America, Resurrection Man and My Little Eye. ... My Little Eye is a 2002 British horror film directed by Marc Evans about five adults who agree to spend six months together in an isolated mansion while being filmed at all times. ... This article is about the pay TV channel. ... For the Hanna-Barbera animated series, see Dexters Laboratory. ... Rick Rosenthal (born June 15, 1949, in New York, New York) is an American film director known for his work in horror films. ... Dr Bernard William George Rose (1916-1996), was variously a student at the Royal College of Music, organist, soldier, and composer. ... Snuff-Movie is a 2005 gothic horror film by British director Bernard Rose. ... Nimród Antal [pronounced: Nimrode] (November 30, 1973 in Los Angeles, California) is a U.S. film director of Hungarian ancestry. ... Vacancy- a 2007 horror/thriller which stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale was distributed by Screen Gems and was released to the public on April 20, 2007. ... The Condemned is a thriller film directed and written by Scott Wiper, and starring former WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, and Rick Hoffman. ...

Recorded murders

Some murderers have in various instances recorded their acts on video; however, the resultant footage is not usually considered to be a snuff film because it is not made for the express purpose of distribution. In the early 1980s, Charles Ng and Leonard Lake videotaped their torturing of women they would later kill. Serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka videotaped some of their sex crimes in the early 1990s. Though their crimes ended in murder, the actual murders were not videotaped. Only a select few people have ever seen this footage, as viewing was restricted to lawyers and other courtroom personnel. The footage has since reportedly been destroyed. Another example is the video taken in 2001 by the German Armin Meiwes of the killing of Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes. Charles Ng at San Quentin State Prison Charles Chi-Tat Ng (Chinese: 吳志達, Cantonese IPA: , Pinyin: Wú Zhìdá; born December 24, 1960) is an American serial killer who committed his crimes with Leonard Lake. ... Leonard Lake (October 29, 1945 - June 6, 1985) was an alleged American serial killer. ... Paul Kenneth Bernardo, (he later assumed the name Paul Teale) (born August 27, 1964 in Scarborough, Ontario), is a Canadian serial killer, known for the murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka. ... Karla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale, (born May 4, 1970 in Port Credit, Ontario, Canada), is a Canadian serial killer who attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of helping her husband, Paul Bernardo, rape and murder teenage girls, including her sister Tammy Homolka. ... Armin Meiwes (born December 1, 1961) is a German who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim he had found via the Internet. ...

In 1997, the Germans Ernst Dieter Korzen and Stefan Michael Mahn kidnapped a prostitute and recorded her torture, with the purpose of selling a snuff movie. The woman died before the movie could be completed, and they kidnapped another prostitute, who was able to flee and alert authorities. The two men were sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecutors involved in the case claimed there is an international market for such videos.^[3][7]

There is undoubtedly a widespread market for genuine footage of murderous violence, whatever the context: as early as the 1940s, Weegee found fame for his photographs of victims of street crime in New York City. In later decades, the American public was fascinated by the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy; the Zapruder film has since been featured in Oliver Stone film JFK, among other fictional works. Similarly, Professione: reporter, a film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, contains a sequence that depicts an actual execution by firing squad. Weegee photograph, The Critic, November 22, 1943, first published in LIFE Magazine, December 6, 1943. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Frame 150 from the Zapruder Film The Zapruder film is a silent, 8 mm color home movie, shot by a private citizen named Abraham Zapruder, of the presidential motorcade of John F. Kennedy through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. ... John F. Kennedy The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 PM Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC). ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone, first released on December 20, 1991. ... The Passenger (Professione: reporter) is a film directed and co-written by Michelangelo Antonioni, released in 1975, in which Jack Nicholson stars as a reporter in Africa who assumes the identity of a dead stranger. ...

In the Maysles' documentary film Gimme Shelter , music fan Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death on screen by a Hell's Angel at the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway. David and Albert Maysles Brothers Albert and David Maysles were a documentary filmmaking team whose films include Salesman, Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens. ... Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the Rolling Stones 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. ... Meredith Hunter Meredith Hunter (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was a spectator at the infamous Altamont Free Concert. ...

The Faces of Death film series found popularity in the 1980s on videocassette, and even on broadcast television, shows like World's Wildest Police Videos have been successful (though for broadcast television, more gruesome footage is usually censored). This article is about Faces of Death, the film. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In the Internet age, it is possible to download videos depicting actual murders or deaths (e.g. the filmed deaths of Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg, Saddam Hussein, Paul Johnson, Kim Sun-il, Kenneth Bigley and a Russian sergeant, the shooting of Yitzhak Rabin and the gun suicides of Ricardo Cerna, and Budd Dwyer). In 1994, Russia was exposed to a stream of videos depicting real murders, production of which started during the conflict in Chechnya (1991-1994), and peaking during and between both Chechen Wars (1994-1996) and (1999-). A fair number of these are still available on peer-to-peer networks. Recently videos depicting suicide bombings and attacks on U.S. military in Iraq have been posted on video sharing website YouTube by extremist groups, which has become an increasingly difficult problem for the U.S. as replacement videos can be uploaded just as quickly as they are taken down.^[8] For other persons named Daniel Pearl, see Daniel Pearl (disambiguation). ... Nicholas Berg (April 2, 1978 – May 7, 2004) was an American businessman seeking telecommunications work in Iraq during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ... A family photo of Johnson. ... Kim Sun-il (September 13, 1970 – June 22, 2004) was a South Korean translator working in Iraq for Gana General Trading Company, a South Korean company under contract to the U.S. military. ... Kenneth Bigley and his wife Sombat at their wedding in 1998. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other persons named Rabin, see Rabin (disambiguation). ... Ricardo Alfonso Cerna (died December 19, 2003) was a man who became famous for committing suicide with a gun while being videotaped in an interrogation room in the San Bernardino County Sheriffs office in Muscoy, California. ... Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was a former Pennsylvania politician who, on the morning of January 22, 1987, committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a revolver during a taped televised press conference. ... Combatants Russian Federation Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Commanders Pavel Grachev Anatoly Kulikov Konstantin Pulikovsky Anatoliy Romanov Vyacheslav Tikhomirov Gennady Troshev Dzhokhar Dudayev  â€  Aslan Maskhadov Strength (December 11, 1994) Up to 50,000 soldiers and Interior Ministry (MVD) (December 11, 1994) 3,000 to 15,000[1] Casualties Military: At least... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...

Perhaps the most famous instance of an alleged recorded death is the scene in The Crow in which lead Brandon Lee was accidentally shot. Urban legend claims that the footage of his fatal wounding was included in the final cut of the film. However, after police review, that portion of film was actually destroyed, and the scene was re-created with a body double. The Crow is a 1994 American film adaptation of the comic book of the same name by James OBarr (who himself makes a cameo in the film). ... For other uses, see Brandon Lee (disambiguation). ...

However, it is not clear that the fascination engendered by these records would extend to filmed murders carried out expressly for the purpose of filming a murder (actual snuff films). Since it is trivially easy today to produce a film that simulates a murder in a completely believable way, there is little commercial incentive to risk the legal repercussions of producing a film in which a murder is actually committed (much less documented on film).

False snuff films

The Guinea Pig films

Main article: Guinea Pig (film series)

The first two films in the Japanese Guinea Pig series are designed to look like authentic snuff films; the video is grainy and unsteady, as if recorded by amateurs. In the late 1980s, the Guinea Pig films were one of the inspirations for Japanese serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki's murders of preschool girls.^[9] The Guinea Pig films (from the Japanese giniipiggu) are a series of 1980s Japanese horror films with extremely detailed special effects. ... Tsutomu Miyazaki , born August 21, 1962), also known as The Otaku Murderer, The Little Girl Murderer, and Dracula, is a Japanese serial killer. ...

The most infamous Guinea Pig film is probably Flower of Flesh and Blood, in which a woman, apparently drugged, is shown chained to a bed as a man in a samurai costume slowly kills her through torture and dismemberment. After viewing a portion of this film, actor Charlie Sheen was convinced the murder depicted was genuine and contacted the MPAA, who then contacted the FBI.^[10] FBI agent Dan Codling informed them that the FBI and the Japanese authorities were already investigating the film makers, who were forced to prove that the special effects were indeed fake. ^{[11] [12]} For other uses, see Samurai (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Torture (disambiguation). ... Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. ... Charles Irwin Sheen (born September 3, 1965) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is a non-profit trade association formed to advance the interests of movie studios. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

While the actual Guinea Pig movies are not snuff films themselves, two of them purport to be based on real snuff films. The Devil's Experiment was supposedly based on a film sent to the Tokyo police in which a small group of people dismember a young woman in an attempt to see how much damage the body can take. Flower of Flesh and Blood was supposedly made after manga artist, Hideshi Hino, received a letter, 54 stills, and an 8 mm film through the mail. The letter described what was on the film. He watched it and shortly after turned it over to the Tokyo police, who could not identify either the girl or the murderer. Hideshi Hino (born 1946) is a manga artist who specializes in horror stories. ... This article is about the 8 mm film format. ...

Other alleged snuff films

Italian director Ruggero Deodato was once called before a court in order to prove that the murders of humans depicted in his film Cannibal Holocaust had been faked, although the killings of the 6 animals in his film were all real. Ruggero Deodato, born May 7, 1939 in Potenza, Italy, film director, actor, screen writer. ... For the Brutal Juice song, see Cannibal Holocaust (song). ...

During the early 1990s, rumors spread of gay bars in Boston showing a film involving homeless teenagers, who were told that they were going to star in a porno film, running away in horror from the movie camera until they were caught up with and shot to death on camera.^{[citation needed]} The Boston Herald newspaper published an article on the subject of such murder films being shown in the Boston area, while articles on the Channel 1 computer bulletin board news groups alluded to such films and claimed they were made in New York City. The Boston Herald is a tabloid format newspaper, though not a tabloid in the traditional sense, and is the smaller of the two big dailies in Boston, Massachusetts (the other being The Boston Globe). ...

In 2000 an Italian police operation broke up a gang of child pornographers based in Russia who, it was claimed, were also offering snuff films for sale to their clients in Italy, Germany, America and Britain. It is unclear whether anything other than child pornography films were ever seized.^[13] Child pornography refers to pornographic material depicting children. ...

In 2007 an underground Argentinian film called SNUFF 102, directed by filmmaker Mariano Peralta, was premiered in the Mar Del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina. The premiere was scandalous because members of the audience claimed some scenes in the film were real and demanded the film be banned from the festival. After the end of the premiere the director was attacked by members of the audience.^{[citation needed]} Snuff 102 is an Argentinian underground hardcore gore film directed by filmmaker Mariano Peralta. ...

The August Underground series is a false depiction of a snuff film, with very realistic special effects and realistic "snuffings." They are filmed with a hand-held camcorder and feature nudity, killing and special effects.

In fiction

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (December 2007).

Snuff films have occasionally inspired fictional works (such as Michael Powell's 1960 film Peeping Tom). As noted above, there was a wave of such films in the mid-to-late 1970s, and the mid-to-late 1990s saw another cycle of snuff film-inspired motion pictures. The Great American Snuff Film tries to take the viewer inside the mind of a killer who seeks revenge for his abusive foster home upbringing, by kidnapping two girls to make a snuff film. Mute Witness (1994) depicts the eponymous heroine's discovery of a snuff film in progress. Strange Days (1995) revolves around several snuff films involving murders of prostitutes and high-profile African American civil rights heroes. The Spanish horror movie Tesis (1996) revolves around a student discovering a library of snuff films hidden in a room beneath her college. 8mm (1999) is a similar movie about a private investigator hired by a widow to determine if the film her husband kept hidden in a safe is a real snuff film. My Little Eye, a 2002 Marc Evans horror film depicts the story of several teenagers in a Big Brother style house who end up being part of an elaborate live snuff movie. Similar to this is Halloween: Resurrection which features several deaths occurring on web cameras. The Brave (1997) tells the story of a man who agrees to be in a snuff film in return for $50,000 to help his poverty-stricken family. Polish movie Billboard (1998) is a story of an ad agency worker who discovers a snuff tape apparently recorded on the set where he works. Most recently, the film Vacancy concerns a couple who discover a motel room is the site of a series of snuff movies. A more post-modern take on illusion, reality and sexploitation in this genre is taken in British film director Bernard Rose's 2005 film Snuff-Movie. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Michael Latham Powell (September 30, 1905 – February 19, 1990) was a British film director, renowned for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger which produced a series of classic British films. ... Peeping Tom is a 1960 psychological thriller film by the British film director Michael Powell. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Strange Days may refer to: Strange Days, an album by The Doors Strange Days, the title track of the album Strange Days, a science fiction film Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, a Canadian TV series Strange Days, an episode of the TV series Entourage Category: ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Tesis (Thesis) is a 1996 Spanish film. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... 8mm is a 1999 mystery/thriller film, directed by Joel Schumacher. ... This article is about the year. ... My Little Eye is a 2002 British horror film directed by Marc Evans about five adults who agree to spend six months together in an isolated mansion while being filmed at all times. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Marc Evans is a Welsh-born film director, whose credits include the films House of America, Resurrection Man and My Little Eye. ... Big Brother is a reality television series broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Channel 4 and E4. ... The Brave (1997) is a film adapted from the Gregory McDonald novel of the same title directed by and starring Johnny Depp. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Vacancy- a 2007 horror/thriller which stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale was distributed by Screen Gems and was released to the public on April 20, 2007. ... Dr Bernard William George Rose (1916-1996), was variously a student at the Royal College of Music, organist, soldier, and composer. ... Snuff-Movie is a 2005 gothic horror film by British director Bernard Rose. ...

In Joe Hill's novel Heart-Shaped Box the main character, Judas Coyne, possesses a Snuff Film which is said to be cursed. In José Carlos Somoza's novel La caja de marfil a story is about a snuff films director, who kidnaps a young girl being searched for by main characters. In the Japanese movie Pyrokinesis, a girl named Yukie, the recent friend of the main character and the sister of the main characters crush and colleague, is kidnapped and killed for the purpose of making a snuff film. Joe Hill (born 1971 as Joseph Hillstrom King) is an American writer of horror fiction. ... Heart-Shaped Box is a 2007 horror novel by author Joe Hill, his first. ... José Carlos Somoza José Carlos Somoza is a Spanish author born on November 13th, 1959 in Havana, Cuba. ...

Universal Studios theme parks Halloween Horror Nights has repeatedly used an original character to promote the event. This character, the Director, is a deranged Eastern European Snuff Film maker who is obsessed with capturing the "realism" of pain and fear, going so far as to torture and kill his reluctant "actors" on camera. This article is about the American media conglomerate. ... Halloween Horror Nights is one of the largest Halloween events in the U.S., presented annually at Universal Orlando Resort, and off-and-on at Universal Studios Hollywood. ... You are probably looking for one of the following for The Director: The position of Director, as used in everyday English. ...

In video and computer games, Manhunt is possibly the first example of such depiction - the story of the game revolves around a convicted criminal, who avoids his execution when a wealthy producer "buys" him to star in his snuff movies. Manhunter: New York and Manhunter 2: San Francisco Manhunt is a controversial video game released by Rockstar Games in November, 2003. ...

Martha Grimes chose the production of a snuff film as the motive for the investigated double child murder in her 1999 Inspector Jury Novel The Lamorna Wink. Martha Grimes is a American author. ...

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis has a chapter where Clay watches a (supposed) snuff film. One of his friends was pretty sure it was real because a castration couldn't be faked.

In the pilot episode of the television series Dexter a murderer is killed after admitting to creating a snuff movie and posting it on the internet.

In music videos

Perhaps the most infamous music-related "snuff" video is the Broken Movie by Nine Inch Nails, which features a young man being kidnapped, forced to watch music videos while tortured and later murdered by a psychopath. The "snuff" part of the movie is shot on amateur stock film, making the impression that the footage is in fact real. One of the actual music videos shown during the film, "Happiness in Slavery", depicts performance artist Bob Flanagan being tortured and "executed" by a machine. In 1992, Nine Inch Nails released the Broken EP. It was followed in 1993 by a short film, roughly 20 minutes in length, known as the Broken Movie. ... Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Happiness in Slavery is a song by the American musical group Nine Inch Nails. ... For other persons with similar names see Bob Flanagan (disambiguation). ...

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dark Side of Porn is a documentary series that examines the Adult Entertainment Industry. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Project Gutenberg (PG) was launched by Michael Hart in 1971 in order to provide a library, on what would later become the Internet, of free electronic versions (sometimes called e-texts) of physically existing books. ... Daily Record building at Central Quay, Glasgow The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper, based in Glasgow. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• David Kerekes and David Slater. Killing for Culture: Death Film from Mondo to Snuff (Creation Cinema Collection). London: Creation Books, 1996.

Alternative reading

• Joël van der Reijden, Beyond the Dutroux Affair: The reality of protected child abuse and snuff networks (2007).

A note of caution: This article goes into the Belgian X-Dossiers, which originally were part of the Marc Dutroux dossier, and compares it to other, previous controversial child abuse cases. The testimonies of these "X" victim-witnesses are rife with references to snuff movies and part seven of this article specifically goes into the history and evidence for snuff movies. All this being said, the details and (censored) chid abuse pictures contained within this article are likely to be very upsetting to the average person. It is also an article with views that are as far removed from the mainstream as possible, but to a large degree it does rely on official documents and the work of experienced journalists. Marc Dutroux (born 6 November 1956 in Brussels) is a Belgian criminal, convicted of having, in 1995 and 1996, kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused six girls, ranging in age from 8 to 19, four of whom he murdered. ... Child abuse is the physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others. ... A journalist is a person who practices journalism. ...

External links

• SnuffMovies.it - Italian Website about Snuff Films
• Snopes Urban Legend Reference Pages article on 'Snuff films'
• The Dark Side of Porn: "Does Snuff Exist?": 'British Documentary on Snuff Films'
• The Straight Dope: "Is there such a thing as a snuff film?"
• "Snuff Said": 'Mark Kermode on Snuff films'