Snuff (film)

Infobox Film
name = Snuff


image_size =
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director = Michael Findlay
Roberta Findlay
Horacio Fredriksson
producer = Jack Bravman
Allan Shackleton
writer = Michael Findlay
Roberta Findlay
A. Bochin
narrator =
starring = Margarita Amuchástegui
Ana Carro
Liliana Fernández Blanco
Roberta Findlay
Alfredo Iglesias
Enrique Larratelli
Mirtha Massa
Aldo Mayo
Clao Villanueva
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 1976
runtime = 80 min.
country = U.S.A. / Argentina
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0072184

"Snuff" is a 1976 splatter film most notorious for being marketed as if it were an actual snuff film.

History

The film started out as a low-budget gore film titled "Slaughter" which was written and directed by the husband-and-wife grindhouse filmmaking team of Michael Findlay and Roberta Findlay. Filmed in Argentina in 1971 it depicted the actions of a Manson-esque murder cult. The film went unreleased for several years, although after the controversy that erupted when it was released in 1976, there were reports that it had previously been released.

In 1976, Allan Shackleton, an independent low-budget distributor and sometime producer, added a new ending to the film in which a woman is brutally murdered by a film crew, supposedly the crew of "Slaughter". Filmed in a vérité style, the new ending purported to show an actual murder. This new footage was spliced onto the end of "Slaughter" with an abrupt cut suggesting that the footage was unplanned and the murder authentic. This new version of the film was released under the title "Snuff".

Once the film was released, distributor Shackleton is reported to have hired fake protesters to picket movie theaters showing the film. Soon this effort became moot, however, as the group Women Against Pornography began staging real protests, outraged at the film's purported imagery of sexual violence. The group's protest received coverage by such media outlets as the CBS Evening News.

After realising that their film had been reissued in this form, Roberta and Michael Findlay reportedly threatened to sue Shackleton, later accepting an out-of-court settlement. Shortly thereafter, Roberta Findlay left her husband for Alan Shackleton.

"Snuff" is believed to be one of the bases for the urban legend of snuff films.

Cast

* Margarita Amuchástegui as Angelica
* Ana Carro as Ana
* Liliana Fernández Blanco as Susanna
* Roberta Findlay as Carmela
* Alfredo Iglesias as Horst's father
* Enrique Larratelli as Satan
* Mirtha Massa as Terry London
* Aldo Mayo as Max Marsh
* Clao Villanueva as Horst Frank
* Michael Findlay as Detective (uncredited)

External links

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