Sorry for the Blair Witch comparison, but I it was inevidable so I wanted to get it over with early. That said, on with the comments...
*****SPOILERS******
I had heard of The Last Broadcast (from now on TLB) after I had seen the Blair Witch Project. I was intrigued. Unable to find a copy to rent in my one-horse town, I resorted to buying it. (a practise I never indulge in but what the heck...)
After viewing TLB for the first time I was very displeased. The ending, the big twist and climax of the film, was called. In fact, I said to myself, "Please let it not be the narrator" but alas, it was. The change from "documentary" to "real life" was not smooth and the struggle between the narrator and the reconstructionist was laughable. That is what I thought the first time I saw it. I watched it again a day later and I like it a little better.
The TLB is a "documentary" about a series of murders in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in December of 1995. Four men venture into the Pine Barren to produce a live web/cable simucast of a hunt for the Jersey devil. Only one man emerges alive and is convicted of the murders. He is sent to prison for life and dies there under mysterious circumstaces (Never elaborated on). This is where the "documentary" starts. Through interviews and footage shot by the murdered filmmakers, the story of Jim Seward, the convicted man, is told.
It is shot in digitial video for finacial reasons and to give it a "real" life look. The acting is fine for none actors with the exception of a few bad moments. (The infamous "I'll see you back at camp" shove scene is first to come to mind). The interviews are, for the most part, convincing. This film has a very low budget and it shows. But the makers do alot with what they have. The pacing is a little slow, and you get bogged down by seeing the same footage over and over again.
What really bothered me about the movie is the ending. It is supposed to be shocking but is comes off badly. But when I saw it a second time I appreciated it little more. There were a few small things that I missed.
Alot of people, myself included, do not like the way the movie switches from documentary to real life at the end. It is unexpected and blocky. But the second time I saw it I noticed a few things. One, the documentary "ends", that is, it concludes with the narrator/murderer David Liegh making a cliche ending remark. He then goes to see the film reconstructionist to kill her. Some people think this end sequence is part of the "documentary" (which would be confusing) but it is not. In fact, it doesnt happen at the end of the film. Before the "documentary" ends with the cliche, there is a part in the film where David recreates the trip of the murdered filmakers. He stands in the woods and states "This is a clearing like the one..." This is the same as the ending of the film. The body of the woman is there out of sight.
Another small thing also happens at the end. We see David take the camera, after killing the woman, and basically congradulate himself on setting up then entire thing. He is holding the camera with his left hand. At the very end of the Film, when David is standing over the wrapped body of the woman in the woods and giving the clearing speech, he is holding the camera with his right hand. This is done to show that he is ambidexterous, one of the criterion the police attribute to the killer.
The last bit I missed the first time that made it a little better film is just how sick David is. By the end of the film we know he set the entire event up to make movie. (I think he put the blood on Jim's shirt after he got home) He even pats himself on the back after killing the woman. But he also put clues that he is the killer in the film. The second time he shows the Fact of Fiction duo talking to Jim and the soundman for the first time, one of them says that they got the idea from and IRC chat and a letter from a "D something" D, as in David. But the sickest clue comes exactly 1 hour and 6 minutes into the movie. At the end of the film we see the rendered image of the killer get clearer and clearer until it is David. That same picture is quickly shown an hour and six minutes into the movie. Its like he puts these clues in to show his superior intellect. He is daring someone to catch him. These things are small, but it the little things that count. TLB is not the best film, but it has some moments and is worth a look. *** out of five
*****SPOILERS******
I had heard of The Last Broadcast (from now on TLB) after I had seen the Blair Witch Project. I was intrigued. Unable to find a copy to rent in my one-horse town, I resorted to buying it. (a practise I never indulge in but what the heck...)
After viewing TLB for the first time I was very displeased. The ending, the big twist and climax of the film, was called. In fact, I said to myself, "Please let it not be the narrator" but alas, it was. The change from "documentary" to "real life" was not smooth and the struggle between the narrator and the reconstructionist was laughable. That is what I thought the first time I saw it. I watched it again a day later and I like it a little better.
The TLB is a "documentary" about a series of murders in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in December of 1995. Four men venture into the Pine Barren to produce a live web/cable simucast of a hunt for the Jersey devil. Only one man emerges alive and is convicted of the murders. He is sent to prison for life and dies there under mysterious circumstaces (Never elaborated on). This is where the "documentary" starts. Through interviews and footage shot by the murdered filmmakers, the story of Jim Seward, the convicted man, is told.
It is shot in digitial video for finacial reasons and to give it a "real" life look. The acting is fine for none actors with the exception of a few bad moments. (The infamous "I'll see you back at camp" shove scene is first to come to mind). The interviews are, for the most part, convincing. This film has a very low budget and it shows. But the makers do alot with what they have. The pacing is a little slow, and you get bogged down by seeing the same footage over and over again.
What really bothered me about the movie is the ending. It is supposed to be shocking but is comes off badly. But when I saw it a second time I appreciated it little more. There were a few small things that I missed.
Alot of people, myself included, do not like the way the movie switches from documentary to real life at the end. It is unexpected and blocky. But the second time I saw it I noticed a few things. One, the documentary "ends", that is, it concludes with the narrator/murderer David Liegh making a cliche ending remark. He then goes to see the film reconstructionist to kill her. Some people think this end sequence is part of the "documentary" (which would be confusing) but it is not. In fact, it doesnt happen at the end of the film. Before the "documentary" ends with the cliche, there is a part in the film where David recreates the trip of the murdered filmakers. He stands in the woods and states "This is a clearing like the one..." This is the same as the ending of the film. The body of the woman is there out of sight.
Another small thing also happens at the end. We see David take the camera, after killing the woman, and basically congradulate himself on setting up then entire thing. He is holding the camera with his left hand. At the very end of the Film, when David is standing over the wrapped body of the woman in the woods and giving the clearing speech, he is holding the camera with his right hand. This is done to show that he is ambidexterous, one of the criterion the police attribute to the killer.
The last bit I missed the first time that made it a little better film is just how sick David is. By the end of the film we know he set the entire event up to make movie. (I think he put the blood on Jim's shirt after he got home) He even pats himself on the back after killing the woman. But he also put clues that he is the killer in the film. The second time he shows the Fact of Fiction duo talking to Jim and the soundman for the first time, one of them says that they got the idea from and IRC chat and a letter from a "D something" D, as in David. But the sickest clue comes exactly 1 hour and 6 minutes into the movie. At the end of the film we see the rendered image of the killer get clearer and clearer until it is David. That same picture is quickly shown an hour and six minutes into the movie. Its like he puts these clues in to show his superior intellect. He is daring someone to catch him. These things are small, but it the little things that count. TLB is not the best film, but it has some moments and is worth a look. *** out of five