Faces of Snuff is difficult
to contextualise since the film has no credit sequences (at least in the
version I saw). There is a website associated with the film, but it contains no identifiable
production information (at the time of writing). The film itself is a compilation
of unrelated clips, each of which is snuff themed. As the title suggests (with
its direct reference to Faces of Death (1978)),
this is the faux-snuff equivalent of the mondo film. The premise works well
given the crossovers between mondo and pseudo-snuff, both of which typically include
ostensibly real death footage.
The implicit question haunting Faces of Snuff is whether any of its footage is genuine. Most of it
(as with Faces of Death) certainly is
not. Some of the sequences are clearly staged, and some of the acting is unconvincing
(although those sequences highlight just how realistic other parts of the film
are). Other segments have overt narrative arcs and even “twist” endings. There
are also some familiar faces here; some clips are derived from existing
faux-snuff films, and a public information film provides a leitmotif throughout:
I won’t name these familiar assets here, since identifying them will be part of
the fun for fans of the subgenre. Still, the inclusion of pre-existing footage - which is one of the mondo film's common tropes - and the lack of credits might suggest that this is a compilation of clips sourced from the
web (as with MDPOPE (2013)), and in
that case there is a possibility that some of the footage might display genuine
death, even if that was not the compiler’s intention. Again, despite my natural
scepticism, the room for doubt is part of what makes such films (and the snuff
mythos) intriguing.
What I will say is this: the compilation certainly hasn’t
been pieced together in a sloppy, accidental fashion. Faces of Snuff has a clear internal logic. I doubt that the film
has been created by a single director since it appears that while most of the
footage is American, some has been sourced from other countries (one being the
UK). Yet the film has been arranged by individual/s who understand how to carry
the viewer through a compilation that is over two hours in duration. The film
encompasses clips of various lengths and the aesthetic continually shifts. Faces of Snuff does not just contain hand-held
POV material. Aside from the aforementioned public information footage, Faces of Snuff includes inserts from a fictional
1970s film (again, I won’t name it here in case readers want to identify it themselves).
One of the early clips is a talking-head interview with an individual who
discusses the snuff myth. The film also encompasses (what is presented as) tube
site streaming, digital cam footage, analogue VHS, and grungy 8mm (complete with
projection noise). The final, highly stylised sequence is even reminiscent of a
music video. Rather than being jarring, the continually shifting aesthetic makes
the film easier to watch.
This strategy is also what sets Faces of Snuff apart from Murder Collection V.1 (2009), another contemporary mondo-style faux-snuff/death
footage compilation. While the latter was linked together via a host (Balan) waxing
philosophical about the nature of life and death, Faces of Snuff is akin to a video essay on the snuff myth. The public
information footage refers to the kinds of panics surrounding horror comics and
pornography that led to snuff paranoia (and which fed into “video nasties”
panic in the UK). Simultaneously, the ostensibly genuine death images contained
in that public information film were intended to shock viewers into following ideological
and behavioural norms; by recontexualising that footage as part of Faces of Snuff, the hypocrisy of that “public
service” agenda is underscored. The 1970’s fictional movie inserts are reminiscent
of Snuff (1975), evoking the outrage
that followed from the release of its infamous and (obviously) contrived final
sequence. The inclusion of explicit sex in Faces
of Snuff highlights ways in which contemporary hardcore horror draws on
pornographic tropes in order to distinguish itself as “extreme”, reifying the unfounded
complaints some feminist protesters charged Snuff
with at the time of its release. The ‘talking head’ interview segment is
reminiscent of the various documentaries that have been made about the snuff
myth, including Snuff: A Documentary About Killing on Camera (2008) or, perhaps more perversely, J.T. Petty’s
boundary blurring snuff fauxumentary S&Man
(2006). The ‘2 Girls, 1 Victim’ sequence refers to a popular mode of titling genuine
murder footage (‘3 Guys, 1 Hammer’, ‘1 Lunatic, 1 Ice Pick’) for distribution
on the internet. Although the latter will age incredibly quickly, Faces of Snuff also underscores the
potential anachronism of such contemporary references; one segment is built around
Y2K panic, for example.
It is not the place of a film like this to dissect and critique the snuff myth, but Faces of Snuff is clearly compiled by individual/s who are cognisant of the origins of the myth it builds upon. Rather than reproducing faux-snuff in 2016 – which would feel especially tired after a decade of found-footage saturation – Faces of Snuff steps back, takes stock, and forges bridges between past and present, shining a light on the hysteria that perpetuated and has continued to sustain the snuff myth. Faces of Snuff is not strictly an enjoyable film, and most viewers are likely to be repulsed by it. This is to be expected given its format and content. Nevertheless, there is a self-awareness underneath the gore that sets it apart from other films of its ilk.
It is not the place of a film like this to dissect and critique the snuff myth, but Faces of Snuff is clearly compiled by individual/s who are cognisant of the origins of the myth it builds upon. Rather than reproducing faux-snuff in 2016 – which would feel especially tired after a decade of found-footage saturation – Faces of Snuff steps back, takes stock, and forges bridges between past and present, shining a light on the hysteria that perpetuated and has continued to sustain the snuff myth. Faces of Snuff is not strictly an enjoyable film, and most viewers are likely to be repulsed by it. This is to be expected given its format and content. Nevertheless, there is a self-awareness underneath the gore that sets it apart from other films of its ilk.
