S&man [Blu-ray]

spoilers followThis one actually had me hoodwinked! I read the Amazon blurb carefully and convinced myself that it was, in fact, a narrative feature about a horror director who gets caught up in something dark and sinister while looking into the (fascinating to me) world of underground horror. Something like Shock Value.So I watch the movie for about forty minutes and then the truth begins to sink in...this really is just a documentary.Let's just set the record straight. I HATE Bill Zebub. Yeah, in the same way you hate that painful hangnail you just can't stop playing with. Surely there shall come a day when I allow the darker elements of myself to watch Bad Acid, but until then I try to keep myself as far away from the man as possible.And yet I found myself enjoying him most of all. And he was among some pretty esteemed company. Fred Vogel and Christy "Crusty" White. Wow! Yeah, sure, the whole thing was transparently just a behind-the-scenes project for Toe Tag, going all mersh, but still, I liked it enough to merit a four star, which is as much as any documentary this side of Titicut Follies can expect to get from me.And then I realized that this wasn't real at all.That Eric Rost guy. Total make pretend. And oooh, it all took a dark turn after I realized that...You have to love this movie. You just have to.

Loved it! Hard to describe without giving too much away so I'm dropping the SPOILER ALERT in case you'd rather have it unfold organically. If not... keep reading.S&Man draws the horror film aficionado in by splicing together various out takes and interviews including with various film makers including the infamous August Underground players. It humanizes the producers of these kinds of snuff films rather than demonizing them. We see them peddling their "art" at underground festivals and selling their cheesy cinematic explorations to an even more deranged group of people... the viewers. In doing so this film makes you keenly aware you are among the dweebs buying this stuff. After all, you're here aren't you, and you're still watching? We meet a ragtag motley cast of characters who are involved in the making, acting, directing, producing and purchasing the kinds of films most people cannot stomach. Some are a bit more pathetic than others but for the most part they are a lovable bunch. It was great to hear from the Scream Queens of horror and the splicing of a psychologist perspective regarding cameras perspective is a nice touch. Out of all the characters we meet in this "documentary," however, perhaps the least interesting and worst filmmaker of all us in fact, a real serial killer. His films are the least colorful and flamboyant, precisely because real death and murder is nowhere need as sensational as we have come to expect as viewers. It's not until the end that our suspicions are confirmed and the nauseating feeling of befriending a deranged lunatic has already sunk his teeth into our psyche. I found this to be a very interesting movie on a whole host of levels. Not the least of which was the question: When you watch enough death, carnage, and mayhem for entertainment, does real death loose its power? What's more real? For the Sandman, his victims know the answer first hand. Cool movie.

This film was just… terrible. It has a good premise, but it fails to deliver in any way. There were so many ways they could have made this work, but instead it just plods along barely moving the plot ahead at all. If there’s any saving grace, I guess it’s that the subjects of the faux documentary actually say some interesting stuff about the genre, and it uses interesting footage from other videos. The screenwriter, etc., should have made the actual story underlying it move forward to a climax. It doesn’t do that. Waste of time and money.

I appreciated the material with Bill Zebub (groan) and Fred Vogel, et al., mostly because I've brushed against their, um, work in pushing my own limits for watching sub-cinema horror. I haven't - and never will - indulge, so it was interesting to see clips (ew, vomit) and hear their reasoning for what they do (Bill needs an alcohol intervention and Fred needs to get out of Pittsburgh for a while). The interviews with clinicians and an academic film scholar was likewise engaging without being particularly enlightening, ultimately the take-away from this film overall. The fictional stuff with S&Man fell flat, since the wrapping of all the other material negated its effect - it was fake and obviously so - and the online incel movement renders Eric trite and hugely annoying. However: WARNING, there's genuine filmed death here, largely ancient footage (including Edison's infamous, grotesque elephant execution), so be cautious. Also, ew, vomit.

I love this film. It is a movie that lingers well after watching. The movie is a true documentary on the Underground Horror movie scene with a Horror movie weaved in. I have attended festivals such as the one portrayed in the film and the people at the booths who sell some of these underground Films are exactly as in the movie. There is a whole different world of horror out there and you need to know what you are doing when searching it out or you will never find what you are looking for. The director gives us a glimpse of this world and there are some great interviews with some of the more well known of the Underground Horror folks.

This is about a documentary filmmaker who goes into the world of underground horror & meets a snuff filmmaker. Chilling, convincing & uncomfortable to watch. Do not listen to the commentary extras until after you watch it or it has less impact. JT Petty also made the wonderful Hellbenders.

Arrived quick in great condition. Thanks!

If you are a fan of underground horror films, indie horror films, and or just like being scared to the edge of your seat, get this movie.This movie looks so raw and real, you'll think you're there with the camera man.Very spooky movie.