A snuff movie is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people without the aid of special effects. Some murderers have recorded their acts on video; however, the resultant footage is not usually considered to be a snuff film because it is not made for the express purpose of distribution. Serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka videotaped some of their sex crimes in the early 1990s. Though their crimes ended in murder, only a select few people have ever seen this footage, as viewing was restricted to lawyers and other courtroom personnel. The footage has since reportedly been destroyed. In 1997, the Germans Ernst Dieter Korzen and Stefan Michael Mahn kidnapped a prostitute and recorded her torture. The two men were sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecutors involved in the case claimed there is an international market for such videos. The snuff films inspired a couple of motion pictures, starting with the 1986 movie "Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer", one of the m0st disturbing and terrifying examinations of mass murderers ever filmed. The movie follows Henry Lee Lucas as he selects innocent victims and kills them, capturing their murder on videotape. Many of these murders rank among the most brutal and violent ever portrayed on film.
Another movie, from 2007, "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" is a pseudo-documentary thriller that has some similarities to the crimes of Poughkeepsie serial killer Kendall Francois, who was convicted of eight murders, although he never shot them on tapes. When police raid a house in the suburbs north of New York City, they discover a profoundly disturbing record of one man's ugly crimes. Investigators find over 800 videotapes shot by the killer which present a visual record of his murders in all their horrifying details. Both state and federal law enforcement teams are looking through the gruesome images, searching for clues of the slayers identity, as well as for the identity of his victims and where he could possibly have gone.
And since we're speaking of 2007 snuff movies, "Vacancy" was one of the most truly frightening movies of the year; a suspenseful, classic thriller in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. When David and Amy's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they are forced to spend the night at the only motel around, with only the TV to entertain them...until they discover that the low-budget slasher videos they find in their room were all filmed in the very room in which they're sitting. Now, surrounded by hidden cameras filming their every move, they must struggle to get out alive before they end up the next victims on tape. The advertising strategy for the film has made use of the Internet as well as a free phone number made to sound as if one is actually calling the motel in which the film is set. In the background screaming can be heard accompanying the voice of the proprietor, who informs callers about "slashing" prices and the "killer" deals that the motel has. The number for the ad is 1-888-9-VACANCY. As of October 2009, the free phone number is still valid, and it says "Hello, thanks for calling. Please press 1 to make reservations at the Pine-Wood Motel, press 2 to buy tickets for Vacancy and press 3 for an operator." And if you press 2, "You've reached the front desk of the Pine-Wood Motel."
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