fertilecelluloid Review of Effects

Effects (1979)

Worthy attempt at something different, but slow in spots

[6/10 · 10 March 2006]

With the exception of "Peeping Tom", this was one the first films to address the subject of snuff movies. Produced in Pittsburgh, it has a few surprises up its sleeve and is reasonably well photographed, but it also has too many slow spots and the actors are unappealing. It takes a film-within-a-film approach and focuses on a bunch of low budget filmmakers who are struggling to make their horror film "realistic". There is a sting in the screenplay's tail and the last twenty minutes really hit a horrific stride. Not great by any means, but certainly a worthy attempt to make something different with limited resources. A black and white snuff film watched by several characters in the movie is potent.