The Last Broadcast

Starring:David Beard, Tom Brunt, Rein Clabbers, Jeremy Coleman, Marianne Connor, Jay MacDonald, Holly Madison, Jennifer Nasal, Brett Nielsen, Michele Pulaski, A.D. Roso, Mark Rublee, Jim Seward, Faith Weiler, Lance Weiler, Robert Weiler, Vann K. Weller, Sam Wells, Dale Worstall
Director: Lance Weiler
Studio: First Look Home Ente
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Comparisons to The Blair Witch Project are inevitable for the inventive, satirical The Last Broadcast, a chilling and funny mockumentary by filmmakers Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler. Besides being made and coming to prominence around the same time (though without a Blair Witch-style marketing juggernaut), The Last Broadcast also details the doomed travails of some amateur filmmakers as they track a mysterious, murderous legend in a dark forest. Hmmm, sound familiar? Actually, The Last Broadcast takes a different tack on this premise, one more media-savvy than Blair Witch. Turns out that this is the latest installment of the X-Files-ish public access show Fact or Fiction, and its doofusy hosts (Avalos and Weiler themselves) plan on doing a live broadcast from deep in the New Jersey woods on their ongoing quest for the Bigfoot-like Jersey Devil. Teaming up with two Internet-based fans, they plunge themselves and their equipment into the wintry woods; only one man, the creepy psychic Jim (Jim Seward), returns, and is promptly convicted of the murders of the other three. While it does boast footage made by the "dead" filmmakers, The Last Broadcast is more formally structured as a documentary, complete with officious, muckraking host (David Leigh) and much behind-the-scenes footage. We're let in on the backgrounds of the victims, the 911 phone calls, the murder trial, the inconsistencies the prosecution overlooked, and the painstaking work of reconstructing the film stock, which may unlock the mystery of the true killer. Filmed entirely with digital cameras and assembled on digital systems for a mind-boggling $900, The Last Broadcast boasts a great look and a sharp, satiric eye for sending up the media--Avalos and Weiler are in calm command of their medium and message. The film does take a sharp turn that could either enrage or amaze viewers enraptured by what's preceded, but it's a minor quibble at best. And unlike The Blair Witch Project, The Last Broadcast does answer all the mysterious questions it raises. --Mark Englehart

Average customer rating:

Reminds me of "In Search Of" with a twist...

The ending DESTROYS all that came before: BE WARNED!

Hardly a thinking-man's "Blair Witch"

Big disappointment

Fact or Fiction? 3 1/2 stars for clever thriller

The Last Broadcast
Starring: David Beard , Tom Brunt , Rein Clabbers , Jeremy Coleman , and Marianne Connor
Director: Lance Weiler
Manufacturer: Wavelength Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00001WY86
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Amazon.com

Comparisons to The Blair Witch Project are inevitable for the inventive, satirical The Last Broadcast, a chilling and funny mockumentary by filmmakers Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler. Besides being made and coming to prominence around the same time (though without a Blair Witch-style marketing juggernaut), The Last Broadcast also details the doomed travails of some amateur filmmakers as they track a mysterious, murderous legend in a dark forest. Hmmm, sound familiar? Actually, The Last Broadcast takes a different tack on this premise, one more media-savvy than Blair Witch. Turns out that this is the latest installment of the X-Files-ish public access show Fact or Fiction, and its doofusy hosts (Avalos and Weiler themselves) plan on doing a live broadcast from deep in the New Jersey woods on their ongoing quest for the Bigfoot-like Jersey Devil. Teaming up with two Internet-based fans, they plunge themselves and their equipment into the wintry woods; only one man, the creepy psychic Jim (Jim Seward), returns, and is promptly convicted of the murders of the other three. While it does boast footage made by the "dead" filmmakers, The Last Broadcast is more formally structured as a documentary, complete with officious, muckraking host (David Leigh) and much behind-the-scenes footage. We're let in on the backgrounds of the victims, the 911 phone calls, the murder trial, the inconsistencies the prosecution overlooked, and the painstaking work of reconstructing the film stock, which may unlock the mystery of the true killer. Filmed entirely with digital cameras and assembled on digital systems for a mind-boggling $900, The Last Broadcast boasts a great look and a sharp, satiric eye for sending up the media--Avalos and Weiler are in calm command of their medium and message. The film does take a sharp turn that could either enrage or amaze viewers enraptured by what's preceded, but it's a minor quibble at best. And unlike The Blair Witch Project, The Last Broadcast does answer all the mysterious questions it raises. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews:

Reminds me of "In Search Of" with a twist..........2006-11-19

I heard of this about the time "Blair Witch" came out, and just had to see it. It reminded me of the old "In Search Of" episodes, with the creepy synth music and the basic, simple camera work. I was also impressed that for such a small amount of money (purported to be under 1000 dollars,) and with such simple digital equipment, the makers did such a good job.

Now, I'm a big guy, and the ending even gave me a bit of the shakes toward the end; I found myself clutching a chair with sense of real disorientation. Some who like more conventional horror films, heavy on effect and light on story, might not like this; it takes a different sort of perspective.

Me, I liked it, so watch it for yourself, just make sure the house is locked up tight before you do...

The ending DESTROYS all that came before: BE WARNED!.......2006-11-12

This has an intersting premise (forget all the BLAIR WITCH comparisons)and they do an okay job building on the set up.

But the end -- the last 10 minutes -- discounts all that went before, so you're left with a bad aftertaste!

So rent it -- just to see how bad they screw up -- but don't buy it!

Hardly a thinking-man's "Blair Witch".......2006-10-31

A bunch of media doofuses trek into remote woods in search of an old and horrific local legend - and are never seen alive again. By now, "Last Broadcast" will go down (for those few who've seen and remember it) as that other mock-documentary project about the supernatural. I wanted to give this flick a chance given how I've seen "Blair Witch", and not only does "Broadcast" fail by comparison, but fails to escape comparison - painfully ironic given that "Broadcast" is actually the older of the two movies.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: "Broadcast" is a (wholly fictitious) documentary about the 1995 murders of several men who ran a local cable-access show called "Fact or Fiction". When ratings sag, Steve Avkast, Rein Clackin & Locus Wheeler decide to devote a show to the mysterious "Jersey Devil". With the "help" of a local magician and (alleged) psychic named Jim Suerd, our trio make a winter's journey deep into the remote "Pine Barrens". While there, they have their cameras and internet access - they're connected to the outside world, but not protected by it. Only Suerd will emerge alive from the Barrens - luckless, he will be convicted of the brutal murders of two of the others. No body is found of Avkast, precluding feckless prosecutors from pursuing a triple bill against Suerd. (Avkast's hat and gobs of his blood leave little doubt of his fate.) Lacking a confession, prosecutors seal Suerd's fate with his blood spattered clothes, but largely on the strength of preserved video footage showing him as randomly violent and (most importantly) the guy leading the group deeper into the barrens. The documentary begins after Suerd's mysterious death in prison - where he was to serve consecutive life sentences. When the documentarian receives battered remains of an additional video tape - the actual final broadcast of the "Final Broadcast" crew - producer David Leigh switches gears. Reconstructed footage critically undermines the timeline advanced by prosecutors at Suerd's trial, forcing Leigh to rethink the events leading up to the horrific multiple murders of the Pine Barrens, and the very meaning of such legends as "The Jersey Devil" in the modern digital age. (The flick was released in '98, based on events occurring in '95.)

WHAT GOES WRONG: overshadowed by "Blair Witch", "Broadcast" actually derives its inspiration from two other movies - but naming them would spoil the ending (which the producers obviously consider a real twist). "Blair" and "Broadcast" have similar sounding premises but each takes a different turn - one that informs the superiority of "Blair". While "Blair" just gave us the raw footage of 2 films (the documentary that Donahue was shooting AND the DAT she shot documenting her journey), "Final" is structured like a documentary itself - it's the single-minded product of Leigh's vision, complete with his voice-overs and his perspective. "Final" lacks that sense of natural transition from reasoned observation to mad desperation that we enjoyed in "Blair" as our heroes realized that they had become trapped in their own project. "Final" has Leigh directing us as much as his film - telling us what we were to think, what direction to pursue, what to expect. The story has some chills, but mostly that's undermined by its slickness - it looks produced rather than nurtured, with some computer graphics, and actors who bring admirable vigor to their characters without escaping the thin dossiers created for them. (Suerd is a laughable, if harmless idiot who thinks he really is a magician; Avkast, half the visible face of "Fact or Fiction" is a self-important hack desperate to save his stupid show, even though cable access slots are supposed to be given on a first-come basis; Wheeler & Clackin are just a couple of loudmouths who mercilessly ridicule anybody who takes their show seriously.) "Blair" excelled in its ability to show the nuanced changes suffered by its characters, but there's no nuance here.

If anything, "Broadcast" probably enjoyed, rather than suffered exposure to "Blair", offering an alternative to anybody turned off by the latter film's shameless promotion (vindicated by "Book of Shadows") or otherwise made into a "Blair Hater". Unlike "Blair" which relied on a steady stream of shocks, "Broadcast" leads up to a twist ending, one which requires suspension of our disbelief, and shamelessly relies on our reflexive skepticism of the media (and just about everybody else). Fans of this movie must think that if it's less popular than "Blair", it must be more worthwhile than that movie, more of a thinking-man's version of that movie, even though it doesn't evince any more thinking of its own.

Big disappointment.......2006-10-21

This movie was an incredible disappointment. After reading numerous reviews portraying this movie to be considerably better than Blair Witch Project, I was quite excited. The Last Broadcast turned out to be nothing more than a low-grade psychological thriller. The makers of Blair Witch Project clearly took notes and improved this entire documentary concept by actually injecting an element on the supernatural. Not only did The Last Broadcast fail to deliver any chills or creepy moments, but it gave virtually no historical background to the story of the Jersey Devil. Furthermore, at no point in the movie was there ever a slice of information which eluded to anything other than human foul play.

I feel bad even mentioning The Blair Witch Project in my review, because its an insult to compare the two. Hell, it doesnt even compare to Blair Witch 2. I gave this movie 2 stars merely for the fact that its an indie film.

Fact or Fiction? 3 1/2 stars for clever thriller.......2006-10-20

A surprisingly powerful indie project "The Last Broadcast" follows the hosts of a cable TV show entitled "Fact or Fiction" as they head into the Pine Bluff Woods of New Jersey. Made in a documentary style the film is creepyThey are hoping to boost their saging viewership with this stunt and involve someone who they believe has psychic ability as well as a sound man that reportedly can catch unearthly sounds in pursuit of the New Jersey Devil. When all of them except the psychic are brutally murdered he becomes the chief suspect and is convicted of the crime. The documentary filmmaker behind "The Last Broadcast" uses video footage shot by the hosts of "Fact or Fiction" in reconstructing what exactly happened.

Made before "The Blair Witch Project" but without the studio hype behind it "The Last Broadcast" was shot and put together for less than $900.00. The project is very convincing and the filmmakers do a terrific job with the story. While the denouncement at the conclusion of the film is shot differently than the previous faux documentary style footage the film works very well. It seems many viewers were puzzled by the change it style it was dictated by the change in the story direction. I found the film to be equally as disquieting and creepy as "The Blair Witch Project" was before all the media frenzy that surrounded that film.

The DVD comes with a number of featurettes covering everything from the conception of the project to post production and marketing. Surprisingly the film's directors (who also star in it by the way) managed to put this on the indie circuit without transferring the digital images to film. They were happy with their independent project and kudos to them for sticking to their guns and not giving into pressure from those who wanted to distribute the film changing it.

Average customer rating:

Reminds me of "In Search Of" with a twist...
The ending DESTROYS all that came before: BE WARNED!
Hardly a thinking-man's "Blair Witch"
Big disappointment
Fact or Fiction? 3 1/2 stars for clever thriller

The Last Broadcast
Starring: David Beard , Stefan Avalos , Lance Weiler , Rein Clabbers , and Jim Seward
Director: Stefan Avalos
Manufacturer: Heretic Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video