The Last Broadcast

I first heard about The Last Broadcast shortly after The Blair Witch Project came out. The story, about four guys that go looking for the Jersey Devil and go missing, until just one comes back and is charged with the murder of the others, was often called a low(er) budget ripoff of the latter, though it was actually made first. I was excited to see a movie about the Pine Barrens, but, since it was so hard to find (probably because it cause only $1,000 to make), I couldn't find it for rent until now.

It took me three weeks to watch this from start to finish. My enthusiasm was immediately dampened when I opened the envelope and found the cheesiest disc image ever: a cartoony looking blue devil rising up over the trees, superimposed by the title in bloody letters.

In execution, the film is actually not all that similar to the Blair Witch Project. For a good hour, it's more of a courtroom drama, as various players are interviewed about the trial of Jim Suerd, accused of murdering his friends who didn't come back from the woods. It's extremely repetitive and very boring. Also, the fact that a major plot point relies on Suerd's use of Internet Relay Chat immediately dates the movie.

The footage deemed to be "the last broadcast" from the group isn't actually shown until 2/3 of the way through, and is supplemented with commentary from the narrator throughout. It's basically a grainy videotape that periodically slows down, the audio track replaced with what sounds like the voice of Satan (though you can't hear what he's saying). The filmmakers could have done with a big dose of the "Show, don't tell" maxim. Also, it's one of those movies where you can tell they just got a bunch of their friends, cause all the characters are white guys in their 30s and none of them can act. The ending, meant to be shocking, was stupid and nonsensical.

After the huge success of the Blair Witch Project, there was an incredible backlash. Though I haven't seen it since it was in the theater, and didn't think it was all that scary, I do remember that the final scene, with the girl going down the steps and finding her friends all facing the wall, gave me chills. That's more than I can say for anything in The Last Broadcast.