- Actors: Zoë Lund, Eric Bogosian, Brad Rijn, Kevin O'Connor, Bill Oland
- Directors: Larry Cohen
- Format: Colour, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language English
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
- DVD Release Date: 1 Jun 2004
- Run Time: 106 minutes
- ASIN: B0001VTPVI
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 103,717 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Rough-hewn movie buoyed by great lead performance.
25 Oct 2004
Format:DVD
The presence of Ms. .45 star Zoe Tamerlis was what made me rent this DVD in the first place. Unfortunately, since her role in Ms. .45 was as a mute, I had no idea how bad her dialogue delivery could be. She has physical presence and an unusual beauty, but her performance in Special Effects is simply amateurish, like watching an acting student in class. This effectively ruined her character, no matter how much flesh she was willing to show and how victimized the character is.
Luckily, bug-eyed Eric Bogosian delivers the goods big-time as an obsessive, borderline psychotic film director who recreates his murder of an actress in his own film. Bogosian doesn't overdo the mental instability of the character (unlike, say, Joe Spinell in Maniac), relying on low-key menace and internal intensity to do the job, and it succeeds grandly. Fortunate for the film, because Special Effects is an otherwise rough, oftimes pretentious movie with a laughable music score that makes the whole thing look like a porn parody. However, one or two effective thrill sequences (the lights-out ending is great, as well as the murder by film strip) added to Bogosian's terrifically unnerving presence make for a watchable thriller whose strong moments do reward you for enduring through the weak ones. Worth a look.
Luckily, bug-eyed Eric Bogosian delivers the goods big-time as an obsessive, borderline psychotic film director who recreates his murder of an actress in his own film. Bogosian doesn't overdo the mental instability of the character (unlike, say, Joe Spinell in Maniac), relying on low-key menace and internal intensity to do the job, and it succeeds grandly. Fortunate for the film, because Special Effects is an otherwise rough, oftimes pretentious movie with a laughable music score that makes the whole thing look like a porn parody. However, one or two effective thrill sequences (the lights-out ending is great, as well as the murder by film strip) added to Bogosian's terrifically unnerving presence make for a watchable thriller whose strong moments do reward you for enduring through the weak ones. Worth a look.
"The actress shown in the dailies looks so realistic when getting murdered. When can I meet her?" "Well..."
23 Dec 2010
Format:DVD
Keefe travels from Oklahoma to Manhattan and tracks down his wife, a struggling model (Zoe Lund with an awful southern belle accent) still looking for her first big break. Still wanting to pursue her career and having no interest in returning home to resume the role of mother to their toddler son, Andrea sneaks out the bathroom window of her apartment and leaves her hubby (again). In a last ditch effort at stardom, she ends up at the home of Chris Neville, a recently fired director after budget issues on his latest film, in addition to a recent flop. Andrea assumes gaining the attention of a filmmaker when they're down and out should make getting noticed in the business much easier. But refusal to have sex with Neville while on camera leads to being a reluctant participant in a snuff film. Will she finally get her 15 minutes of fame in the afterlife, as Neville prepares a comeback (and, secretly, an alibi) using the footage of her death? And what are the odds of Keefe (the number one suspect in his wife's death) finding an exact look-alike to Andrea (also Zoe Lund, this time in a more natural European accent) in New York? An unusual thriller that only seems to be in the horror subgenre as well due to writer/director Larry Cohen's track record and the snuff film part of the storyline. Intriguing the first time around, but a second viewing may not be necessary. 5.5/10
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A disappointing Cohen film.
2 Sep 2006
Format:DVD
Larry Cohen usually made entertaining movies based on interesting concept, and there's nothing wrong with the concept here; a film director makes a movie about the murder that he himself committed. Unfortunately, a good idea isn't enough to make a good movie and the script here is much below average for Cohen and the pace is much too slow. The soundtrack distracts from the suspense rather than add to it. Don't bother with this movie unless you feel you need to see all of Larry Cohen's movies.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
