pietclausen Never saw this film in 1999 and was eager to see Nicolas Cage in his earlier films. Having now viewed it, I am not disappointed but for 2018, the slow and painstaking buildup in getting to the truth doesn't work anymore. Life is too rushed nowadays and would be found a boring drawback and cheesy movie.I can't say I liked it, but am pleased to have seen it. This 2 hour movie gets my watchable rating of 6. The last half hour of the movie made it work for me.

cinemajesty Movie Review: "8mm" (1999)This highly-effective mystery-thriller directed Joel Schumacher, seeking retaliation for an over-polluted "Batman & Robin" movie for Warner Bros. shooting in season 1996/1997, puts screenplay-struck, fully-motivated actor Nicolas Cage in the position of playing range from timid beginnings of a shocking 8mm film exhibition in a rich man's mansion at night under a roaring fireplace atmosphere ignited by cinematographer Robert Elswit, when private detective Tom Welles dives into a U.S. American nightmare of the hardcore-porn-industry stretching from an East Coast New York based monopolistic film production, owned by the extremes seeking character Dino Velvet played with joy by Peter Stormare to Los Angeles back-alley adult video-store running character of Max California, given face by fully-adaptable actor Joaquin Phoenix, who becomes Tom Welles guide into an underground world of low-resolution film productions, containing actually torture and killings on camera out for sale; an environment where each participants is about to know no mercy in a constant noose-tightening thriller in favors for the daring matured audience, when the original screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker gives director Joel Schumacher the opportunity to put some exceptional character confrontations on never-seen-before intensity to film; from working-woman's daughter disappearances over concrete storage halls of arrow-shoots to the cross, when a striking twin-peaked showdowns of Tom Welles fighting for spiritual freedom in sexual beast home invasion under nerve-strings-playing skipping record-player sound design by Willie D. Burton polishes by sound editor Joseph DiVitale to a mesmerizing finale furioso in an abandoned canyon L.A. house in which Nicolas Cage confronts his darkest fears, in putting nemesis-character Eddie Poole to justice, when precise directions let late actor James Gandolfini (1961-2013) loose under arresting moments of high-tensions.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

Alan Smithee Esq. Nicholas Cage is very inconsistent and quirky as an actor. Joel Schumacher is extremely hit or miss when it comes to directors. So this is an experiment with the two that works very well as one of the darkest films from a major company I can think of. Fascinating story (although disowned by it's writer) that delves into the dark underbelly of society and disturbing curiosities. Great supporting cast too.

Leofwine_draca Joel Schumacher may have bombed out with the atrociously-received BATMAN AND ROBIN, but his latest thriller is a complex, thrilling movie which gives us a detailed character breakdown of the hero, who himself is partially seduced by the dark side and not altogether good. It's not often we get psychological insights like this in mainstream movies, but Nicolas Cage is able to pull the role off, and still come out on top as a likable figure.The movie starts out well, depicting the classy side of the obscene, before gradually moving into murkier and murkier depths, eventually leading to a conclusion where Cage commits acts just as bad as the people he's after. Cage is fast becoming one of my favourite actors of recent years, and he once again excels himself. A solid cast is built around him, including an intelligent, likable sidekick with Joaquin Phoenix, an up-and-coming star, and also the actress playing his wife, who portrays her mental suffering excellently. In fact, there isn't a bad performance in the whole film, from the grief-stricken good guys to the drugged up bad guys, who simply have no compassion and no regrets about what they do: it doesn't even bother them.The subject matter was enough to put a lot of people off this film, but it really isn't that bad, apart from quite a few sexual situations, this is nothing worse than what you'd see late night on Channel 5. The most disturbing thing of all is the actual snuff film itself, especially the drugged, dozy eyes of the young victim as she gets butchered to death. This is pretty hard to take, especially when we learn how she was just a normal girl, who got seduced by promises of a career in the movie industry. This is pretty close to reality and it could happen, which is why it's all the more disturbing. When we meet the bad guys in the final half of the film, it's not that bad as they're just like you and me, making money.This is perhaps over-emphasised at the end of the film, with the unmasking of the central character Machine, who acts as an executioner in the snuff film. He turns out to be just a normal, overweight man with glasses; there's nothing strange about this man who could be a friend, or neighbour. On the outside he's perfectly normal. On the inside, he's a twisted pervert. Much of the violence is kept off screen, except at the end where Cage goes around bringing much-deserved vengeance to all the scum and sickos involved.8MM turns out to be an intelligent, thoughtful look at one man's obsession and the depths to which the human race will sink. It's got it's fair share of flaws, but these have unfairly meant that it's got something of a bad reputation, probably from cinema goers hoping for the CGI effects or explosions of the latest blockbuster, or for something really profound. It's underrated, and surprisingly good.