8MM

Joel Schumacher psychologically brutalizes us and the resulting effect is excellent. However, it would have been even better with a more elaborate screenplay with more questions and unexpected twists. Even so, this is a formalistically excellent inducement to depression with brilliant performances by everyone involved. Mentally unstable viewers should avoid 8 MM! (11/04/2002)

Everything bad is good for something. Joel Schumacher knew this well when, after the colossal failure of his big-budget Batman films, he turned his attention to more modest, psychologically solid projects in the late 90s, crowned by this famous depressing thriller. The plot, however simple, powerfully draws the viewer into the sordid world of perverted pornography, underpinned primarily by the perspective of the shocked main character, portrayed more than convincingly by Nicolas Cage still in his golden era. The pacing is perhaps a little too brisk given the seriousness of the premise and the psychological ambitions, the production design could occasionally push the envelope in terms of darkness and violence, and there are a few cheesy motifs (Cage finds immediately a diary that the police have been searching for in vain for God knows how long), but the atmosphere is nonetheless suffocating from the opening moments to the last shot, and the terrific actors (especially Phoenix and Stormare) raise the authenticity and sense of revulsion to highly satisfying heights. The ending admittedly dissolves that authenticity in favour of action satisfaction (this is the most significant difference from Se7en, also by Andrew Kevin Walker), but fortunately it doesn’t feel overstuffed and the filmmakers surprise with ideas that you simply won't see anywhere else (Cage's phone call and request for permission)... Definitely one of the most interesting and ultimately best thrillers of the nineties; where are those golden times… (15/07/2011)

The attribute 8 MM deserves above all is EFFECTIVE. The story from the porn industry is appropriately brutal and repulsive in its subject matter, with a range of twisted characters from the gallery and the decadent environment of high society. The film is energetic and attractive due to the positive hero played decently by Nicolas Cage, complemented by a diligent improved sidekick, and several very skillfully crafted scenes. Overall, it has a depressing tone, which led to exceptionally great commercial success and acclaim from movie fans. It's not Joel Schumacher's best film, but it ranks among the better ones in its genre. Overall impression: 70%. (16/06/2006)

Great Thriller!! I'm very puzzled by the poor rating on IMDB (only 6.4), because this film is excellent in all respects. Nicolas Cage was still in form, an excellent script concerning a very dark plot, a look into the underworld of porn (snuff!) and great twists. Perfect in every way, can't fault it. 95% (18/02/2014)

Unlike some reviews, I don't think Joel Schumacher wanted to make a film about snuff, but rather a film about the fascination and obsession with death and its brutality. The snuff 8-millimeter with the murder of an unknown girl, whose identity private investigator Tom Welles is about to investigate, is merely a means of descending into the darkest corners of the human soul, a hell of brutality and inhumanity that eventually devours for a moment even the man who comes into it as a law enforcement officer. Nicholas Cage is amazing. The transformation from a curious investigator to an obsessive and eventually a crazy avenger is masterfully executed. Finally, the positive hero finds himself facing the inevitable questions of "why are they doing this?", "what do they like about it", which, while aimed at murderers, are designed to shed particular light on the growing darkness in his own soul. Something we all have within us. Schumacher is an excellent director, he is able to do things without unnecessary explicitness and visible brutality, yet the atmosphere of 8MM is only slightly less dense and raw than in Fincher's Seven, and it escalates as the end approaches. As a spectator, I found myself in the shoes of Tom Welles, who is disgusted and horrified, but also unable to stop. The question of "why" is too corrosive... This film is simply not a documentary about one of the scariest film genres, but the embodiment of “why" with all the consequences that come with it. An excellent embodiment... It does not give an answer, but it is the basis for (self)analysis. (07/11/2004)