The Last Broadcast=CRAP!

[screamer581]

What did u guys think of these little stinker? I thought it was dumb, I mean I figured out what or who the killer (or excuse me Jersey Devil) was in the 1st 30 minutes. Blairwitch was much better! How about you arrow, what did u think?

[Sean]

I agree!It's a pile of s--t!I rented it after hearing about the similarities to the BWP,and the fact that the filmmakers actually suggested that BW had ripped them off.Well,whoever had the idea first,BW was a ground breaking film,this is a turd.Infact,to even mention this in the same breath as BW is a joke.It doesn't even come close.I've actually heard people say they think it's as good or better than BW,and I tell them to visit a clinic.

[Adam J. Hakari]

"The Last Broadcast" was one step away from brilliance to me. My only complaint is that you didn't get to know the characters as well as you did in "Blair Witch", but I had no idea who the real killer was, and even though the plot was extremely similar to "BW", at some points I thought it was more scary and frightening, namely the slow discovery of who slaughtered the Fact or Fiction hosts.

Very convincing, truly scary. screamer and sean, you say it's crap, but the next time you do that, give proof as to why it is so.

[the night watchman]

I'm with Adam, although I think LB was a couple steps further from brilliance. Ironically, it was thematically closer to BW2, and presented and developed its ideas better and more convincingly.

[This message has been edited by the night watchman (edited 12-27-2000).]

[Brock Landers]

"The Last Broadcast" was definitely a much more developed film with more to go on, as far as plot, than "The Blair Witch Project". I liked both films very well and thought that more people would like "The Last Broadcast" if "The Blair Witch Project" had not been such a mainstream success.

In fact, I enjoyed "The Last Broadcast" better, right up until the ending, which turned it from a cool fake documentary into a fake documentary with a fictional film twist...if the killer had never been revealed, it may have been a better film...anyhow, I liked them both...

[Sean]

The Last Broadcast may be admirable because it was done on such a shoestring,but to compare it to the BWP is insane.The acting some times made me laugh,the whole feeling of the film was hokey,and it sounded like they were trying incredibly hard to make the narration scary,but it was over the top.Blair Witch was one of those once in a blue moon,brilliant occurances where everything fell perfectly into place:Superb acting,great (non)directing,and scary as hell.It's similar to Halloween,you can try to duplicate it a thousand times,but it will never happen.

[Jezka]

Digging up an old topic...Possible spoilers...

I watched TLB last night (I have it on tape), and while it's not horrendous, it's not brilliant, either. It seems like one of those "haunted places" specials they'd show on the Travel Channel. It's spooky, yes, but some of it doesn't make any sense.

1. Why does the film girl have all those massive sheets of plastic in her house? I suppose it's for the film protection, but does she really need it hanging up on her walls?

2. Why do they go from documentary-style to movie-style? That pissed me off. He could have had an accomplice that filmed him rather than switching styles.

There were, however, some nice touches. The spooky computer voice, revealing why, at one point, he looked downwards while filming himself, the plastic barely visible in the back seat in one shot, etc. I did wonder, though, why he never told what he did to Steven's body. We know that he killed Locus and Rein, and presumably was responsible for Jim's death in prison, but what did he do to Steven?

The accusation that Blair Witch ripped this movie off is silly. The basic premise (a group of people go into the woods to investigate an old legend) is the same, but the styles and executions of the movies are almost completely different. It would be like raising a lawsuit every time a movie used the "old cop and young cop are working together, old cop plans to retire after 'one last case'" plot.

[Jewbo]

when i saw it i thought oh this is good and it was getting better then the ending ruined the whole thing for me.

[someguy]

I thought the movie was ok. But I have to say it has the best suffocation death I've ever seen on film.

[Elgyn]

I thought it was pretty cool. Not on par with "BW", but not too bad either.
I agree the ending was really crappy, not because of what happened, but because the way it was filmed was cheesy.
P.S. - I love the music they play during the end credits.

[DWhots]

I thought the film was great with a budget of only $900 they did an amazing job. It's the film that inspired me to try and make a movie. If they can do it, we all can.

[malaria]

ENDING SPOILERS:
The final revelation was a great twist and I didn't see it coming at all. If it didn't switch narritives which was complete bullshit and if they got a different person to play the 'psycho' psychic guy who was a TERRIBLE actor and the small plot-holes ironed out, then it would've been a better film than BW IMO.

[Horror/GoreFanatic]

i thought it was a great film with a good ending. It was pretty creepy too.

[ominous_oat]

Bringing up to the top

[nightmareman]

Everytime I see a post on this movie I have to add my 2 cents. When I first heard of this I ran to best buy and bought, my reaction I was highly dissopointed, I gave tjhe movie away the next day. It was slow and boring. 1/5

[The Arrow]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by screamer581:
What did u guys think of these little stinker? I thought it was dumb, I mean I figured out what or who the killer (or excuse me Jersey Devil) was in the 1st 30 minutes. Blairwitch was much better! How about you arrow, what did u think?</font>

Hated the movie...review up soon.

[skweemkween]

Glad to see someone brought this up. I felt the ENTIRE time, like I was watching an "In Search Of" episode only my beloved Leonard Nemoy was replaced by a college drop out on qualudes.
I would rather have headphones glued to my ears with Harrison Ford's monotonic narration from Blade Runner playing over and over again than listen to said college drop out on downers.

Clever idea, not executed well. No thanks, I'm full.

[raphroehler]

I thought Blair Witch was tons better than this. First off, I thought that this would just have footage like Blair Witch. I'm a sucker for that type of stuff. Instead I got a boring film with bad actors, an irritating and horrendous narrator, and a plot about whether a guy, who I didn't care about, killed these guys or not. Then it seemed like when they showed the footage, they showed the same group of footage at each time. It did get good when we saw the footage of the guys finding the blood, but that was extremely ruined because a.) they didn't show a lot of it and b.) you could barely see anything. When I first saw this advertised on television, I thought it'd be about a group of filmmakers in documentary format just like Blair Witch. Except they'd be hearing those eerie computer type voices and blood stains in the snow. Instead I get this. What a disappointment, in my opinion.

[Professor Falk]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Adam J. Hakari:
"The Last Broadcast" was one step away from brilliance to me. My only complaint is that you didn't get to know the characters as well as you did in "Blair Witch", but I had no idea who the real killer was, and even though the plot was extremely similar to "BW", at some points I thought it was more scary and frightening, namely the slow discovery of who slaughtered the Fact or Fiction hosts.

Very convincing, truly scary. screamer and sean, you say it's crap, but the next time you do that, give proof as to why it is so.</font>


Totally with Adam, here. Wholeheartedly. When I first saw Blair Witch advertised, I assumed that this was a replay of the Evil Dead scenario (remake your ultra-low budget movie w/ more cash). Instead, a different group of people come in, ripoff a great idea, and then (and this was the real pisser for me), get praised halfway to Jupiter for their "innovation". There is no way to slice this situation which doesn't have Blair Witch coming off as a stone ripoff. The fact that I knew this, and that almost no one else did, (and those that did didn't see why I was so irked...I got a lot of "Chill out, dude"-type responses from people who apparently think it's okay to steal other people's ideas and get filthy rich and praised to death for them.) I was so pleased when BW2 tanked. For my money, that just proved how creatively bankrupt those assholes were. If they didn't have a pre-existing template to copy, they could only come up with that dreck.

This whole post has been about the similarities, but I should state that I really dug The Last Broadcast when I first saw it. It reminded me, for the return they got on it relative to what they spent on it, of Romero's original Night of the Living Dead. I just love it when someone can use a miniscule budget and get great results. (Unlike that hack Roger Corman who always brags about how cheap his films were: yeah, thanks Rog. It shows.)

This post 666 for me. I had to do it somewhere on the horror forums http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif.


[This message has been edited by Professor Falk (edited 05-25-2002).]

[dellamorte dellamore]

I have to steal a quote from a review i read a while back,the filmis a "striking original".These guys did with a 900 budget what most studios fail to achieve with a 50 mil plus budget and some fancy big name stars.


It's a pure independent effort,from preproduction all the way to the distribution phase.It's simultaneously thought provoking and shocking.Not just a tension filled pseudodocumentary but an expose on the mainstream media and how they manipulate the general public with images.


In the film who the real killer was was'nt important anymore,it was the fact that the media had a story to exploit,that was more important than the truth.


The same attitude is prevalent today,especially with the 24 cable news channels.Ratings supercede ethical journalism and sensationalism,rumor,and innuendo are the order of the day.


This film is a groundbreaking,visionary effort,an insightful,intelligent effort that does'nt pander to the audience,but challenges their assumptions and grip on reality and facts.


Plus not only was the film itself a landmark in independent cinema,but this was the first film to be distributed via satellite to a remote location.


They never had to convert the film to 35 mm,because 90 percent of it was filmed on Digital Video,and the rest was filmed on 16mm,then they downloaded all the images onto a PC or Mac(can't remember exactly),and did all the post production(editing,visual effects,special fx,sound mixing).The finished product existed entirely in the digital domain,then it was either shown using a digital projector or broadcast via the aforementioned satellite to anywhere in the world that had the eqipment to receive and project the image.This was first time something such as this was ever done,now Lucas is an advocate of this technology.A couple of shmoes from Jersey did it first.


The company that made this possible is Wavelength Releasing.It's definitely a cheaper and more effective way for first time filmmakers with a limited budget to show their films in a theater,especially if you don't use film stock at all.You won't have to develop film,or blow it up to 35 mm(if you use 16mm),to show it in a theater.


This film is a must for aspiring filmmakers,more accurately the independent kind


Lkie someone else said before,what these guys did with such meager resources,is truly inspiring,an instant classic.

A quote i'll never forget from this film,it sums up the media nicely:


"When bodies start dropping,there's money to be made"


How true that statement is.Look at all the people that stand to benefit when their is a murder/s,or a person is missing,or a bunch of people die in an accident,the media vultures,opportunists,Lawyers,and con artists work themselves up into a frenzy when something like that happens.

Even the immediate family(not in every case),will cash in on their loved ones death,everyone shares in the financial pie.

[thingsgoinon]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Professor Falk:

Totally with Adam, here. Wholeheartedly. When I first saw Blair Witch advertised, I assumed that this was a replay of the Evil Dead scenario (remake your ultra-low budget movie w/ more cash). Instead, a different group of people come in, ripoff a great idea, and then (and this was the real pisser for me), get praised halfway to Jupiter for their "innovation". There is no way to slice this situation which doesn't have Blair Witch coming off as a stone ripoff. The fact that I knew this, and that almost no one else did, (and those that did didn't see why I was so irked...I got a lot of "Chill out, dude"-type responses from people who apparently think it's okay to steal other people's ideas and get filthy rich and praised to death for them.) I was so pleased when BW2 tanked. For my money, that just proved how creatively bankrupt those assholes were. If they didn't have a pre-existing template to copy, they could only come up with that dreck.

</font>


Umm...exactly HOW does Blair Witch rip off Evil Dead???? They are totally and completely different stories and styles...


PS: The ppl who made BW had nothing to do with BW2

[Sheepshaver127]

SPOILER
Ahh The Last Broadcast. My reaction: Lets film a fake documentary and then at the end of the movie forget the documentary and have the director of the documentary about the documentary be the killer. I hate this f*king movie!! I don't care if BW copied off this or not because BW was great while this movie sucked ass. No tension, no scares, this movie never once even feels creepy. And why even mention the Jersey Devil if your not gonna do anything with it. I can honestly say watching this was one of the biggest wastes of time, ever. And what were the killer's motives supposed to be anyway? Why did he kill people in the woods and then film a documentary about it? Why would he give incriminating evidence to someone? He existed only for the purpose to provide a stupid twist ending. Did I mention I hate this movie?

[This message has been edited by Sheepshaver127 (edited 05-28-2002).]

[Elgyn]

Sheepshaver - dude you really should post a spoiler warning. You gave away the ending of the movie!

[dellamorte dellamore]

I admit it's more of of drama and a study of media practices than a horror film.Blair Witch was a pure,unrelenting,tension filled white knuckler,this was unsettling because of the aforementioned ending.I totally bought it,and i was anxious to see who killed those 2 men,very suspenseful stuff.Then when it's revealed who really or what really did it,it's even creepier.


That last shot of the film is horrifying,especially when you realize that you've been taken for a sick and sadistic ride,manipulated into thinking you knew the truth,but that you were really so far away from it.


This is another one of those films that works on many different levels,from a false perception of reality,to images manipulated by the media,to false assumptions,to exploitation of tragedy,to talentless cable access hosts deluding themselves,to the obsession of the internet culture,to a preoccupation with myths and legends in all cultures.


I think the Jersey Devil angle definitely made the film more effective(it's a real legend),and who would'nt scared to spend a couple of nights in the pine barrens of Jersey after watching this,i dare you.You say you weren't scared,but that would probably change if you actually went there.


I have to reiterate,this only took 900 dollars to make,and what they did with that 900 dollars was something special and revolutionary.An extremely important film in the Independent film world,a standout.


I have to disagree about Balir Witch.How did it copy from Evil Dead.ED was an in your face gore fest,an over the top horror film,Blair Witch was a suspenseful,subtle,unrelenting thriller,that relied on the suggestion of horror to scare,not actual images.

The sound was used to great effect,as was the premise,the establishment of the myth is what set the stage for the horror that was to come later,excellent film all around.


Don't get me wrong,i love Evil Dead,but it was as subtle as a group of Green Bay Packer fans at a playoff game.


If you want,you can make the argument that Evil Dead copied from Friday the 13th(a group of teens go into the woods and are murdered by an evil entity),or Excorsist(ihave to think the deadites were inspired by that Linda Blair creation).

Thing is right,they are polar opposites with regards to style,substance,and technique.


I see Blair scaring people for a long time to come,especially new generations of horror fans that know nothing about it,and are far removed from the hype,it's a classic,and strikingly realistic.I bet there would have been a good number of people that would have believed this really happened if the secret was'nt out before they saw it.

[Professor Falk]

I didn't write or imply that Blair Witch ripped off Evil Dead. Read what I wrote again. The Evil Dead II is less of a sequel to The Evil Dead, than a remake, an alternate version of the story, filmed by the same main man (Sam Raimi), but with a bigger budget. This is what I thought when I first started seeing promos for Blair Witch, that the basic premise (dead people who leave a videotaped record of their last hours wandering around in the woods looking for something supernatural) of The Last Broadcast (which I had seen on IFC), was being taken to feature film level.

[This message has been edited by Professor Falk (edited 05-25-2002).]

[dellamorte dellamore]

For some reason,besides the woods part,i just don't see the similarities.And the found tape recorder that contained an incantation as opposed to a found videotape/s is a reach.I would'nt doubt the makers of LB were influenced by Evil Dead,almost any low budget horror director is,but they are so different,same goes for Blair.I see Cannibal Holocaust and In search Of influencing these two films more than ED.


For the record,the second one was way to cartoonish to be creepy.The first had that raw,claustrophobic,terrifying,hopeless atmosphere going on.The second looked all nice and cleaned up,i guess because it was filmed in a studio.The weakest one of the trilogy.

[thingsgoinon]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Professor Falk:
I didn't write or imply that Blair Witch ripped off Evil Dead. Read what I wrote again. The Evil Dead II is less of a sequel to The Evil Dead, than a remake, an alternate version of the story, filmed by the same main man (Sam Raimi), but with a bigger budget. This is what I thought when I first started seeing promos for Blair Witch, that the basic premise (dead people who leave a videotaped record of their last hours wandering around in the woods looking for something supernatural) of The Last Broadcast (which I had seen on IFC), was being taken to feature film level.

[This message has been edited by Professor Falk (edited 05-25-2002).]</font>

Ahhhh..I get it now....misunderstood...sorry about that Chief http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif

[Professor Falk]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by thingsgoinon:
Ahhhh..I get it now....misunderstood...sorry about that Chief http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif
</font>


No problem. I just wanted to set the record straight.

[Terror Australis]

I wasn't that bad, but they could've worked on it more.

[Elgyn]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dellamorte dellamore:

For the record,the second one was way to cartoonish to be creepy.The first had that raw,claustrophobic,terrifying,hopeless atmosphere going on.The second looked all nice and cleaned up,i guess because it was filmed in a studio.The weakest one of the trilogy.
</font>

Weakest of the trilogy?
Wait a minute.....you`re saying that "Army of Darkness" is BETTER than "Evil Dead 2"?
They`re all three completely different types of movies. I like them all, probably Part 2 the best and "Army" the least (too much comedy and no horror).

[Sheepshaver127]

I think the Jersey Devil angle definitely made the film more effective(it's a real legend),and who would'nt scared to spend a couple of nights in the pine barrens of Jersey after watching this,i dare you.You say you weren't scared,but that would probably change if you actually went there.


I have to reiterate,this only took 900 dollars to make,and what they did with that 900 dollars was something special and revolutionary.An extremely important film in the Independent film world,a standout


[/B][/QUOTE]

Would I be scared to spend a night in the Jersey barrens after watching this? NO. Maybe if the movie had actually made the legend seem disturbing or even the slightest bit creepy I might think twice about it. The use of the legend in the movie was far from effective. Since it was used as the purpose for them going into the woods I think they should have done a bit more with it. It seemed to me that just about everything in this movie served to exist a very stupid ending. And since that stupid ending exists it's okay that nothing else makes sense. And as for them only spending 900 bucks on this... I would have gladly paid them that to not make this crap.