The dull hum of neon lights, the stench of sweat and stale cigarette
smoke. All these things invaded my senses as I approached the
counter at a local adult video store. The clerk, a pregnant
Spanish girl with a listless look in her eyes, asked what I
needed as I neared the counter. I'm looking for a snuff movie.
She glanced up at me briefly, then pointed to a well-lit corner
of the store. Everything you want is right over there, she
stated. I was shocked, I thought it would be much more difficult
than this. The corner walls were lined with movie boxes, most
with leather-clad sex mistresses on the cover. Others showed
tightly bound women or men, asses red and blue from severe lashings,
each ball-gagged and staring wide eyed at the camera. As I looked
over the boxes, each seemed to be what I was looking for, but
upon closer examination I noticed a warning in small letters
on each, stating death and rape depictions are for entertainment
purposes only, no actors/actresses were harmed in the making
of this film." These were not what I was looking for. These
were not the scourge of the Christian right, nor the Holy Grail
of porn. These were not real snuff films.
But what is a snuff film, what defines it? A snuff film is a
movie (film or video) that depicts the rape, torture and eventual
murder of the actor/actress (victim) while engaged in a sexual
act. The victim being filmed is not aware of his/her impending
death and usually they are young prostitutes, kidnap victims,
or girls from foreign countries. The films are made for sexual
gratification by the most extreme sadists and are for sale to
only the most bizarre collectors. They are said to mainly originate
in South America but this might be related to a 1970 film called
The Slaughter that was filmed in Argentina. Wel, at least that
is what the rumors state. You see, the more you investigate
snuff the more it seems nobody has every really seen a snuff
flim.
The hype about snuff films really began to circulate in the
early 1970s. It seems it started with a letter to the FBI from
Raymond Gauer, then-director of The Citizens For Decency Through
Law. "They're producing snuff films now," he wrote, and went
on in detail describing the making and use of the films. The
FBI (being a law enforcement agency) was obviously interested
in finding some of these films. This began an almost 25 year
investigation, that is now revealed through the freedom of information
act. It shows that although the FBI has constantly heard rumors
of snuff films, they have never actually seen one or been able
to purchase one. The one thing about snuff, is someone always
knows somebody else who has seen it. Hmmm ... quite interesting.
The hype was amazing, the search was excruciating. Al Goldstein,
owner of Screw Magazine, once put up a reward of $100,000 to
get his hands on one of these films. No luck. In 1976 the FBI
thought they were hot on the trail when an underground cinema
in Indianapolis announced it had a copy of a film called Snuff.
Among the 12 people attending the screening were two agents
and a criminal pathologist. The film depicted a gory and amateur-type
sex and death sequence, which the pathologist stated was a theatrical
staging. Come to find out, to the trained eye cow intestines
do not match human intestines. Later, it was also determined
that the producer had hoped the FBI would investigate the film
to bring him more publicity. Another dead end.
(On a side note, the film title Snuff is actually the early
'70s movie titled Slaughter. This was filmed in Argentina, and
is directly related to the persistent rumor that snuff comes
from South America.)
It seems snuff is something many want (for various reasons),
but no one can find. A San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Rider
McDowell, spent over six months trying to track a film down.
He talked with pornographers, collectors, police, murderers
and others, with no luck. While he did find movies claiming
to be snuff, these were all deemed theatrical representations.
This search was also attempted by the LAPD, after hearing rumors
of satanic cults making snuff films on the beaches in California.
This investigation actually went on for a while, but It turns
out the eye-witness was making everything up. Geesh.
One of the more famous or infamous snuff legends involved Son
Of Sam killer David Berkowitz. It is rumored that Berkowitz
filmed the murders of his victims to circulate among the Church
Of Satan members. Maury Terry, author of a book on Son Of Sam,
states that on the night of Stacy Moskowitz's killing, a VW
van was parked across the street from her death site. This van
was supposedly used to film the murder. Unconfirmed reports
state this footage was obtained by Roy Radin, a financier and
well-known porn collector. It is said that about 10 copies of
this film exist, although none have ever been found or seen.
The trail continues.
An expert on pornography and obscene material once stated that
he had seen a snuff film, and that Scotland Yard had numerous
copies of these types of films. But when contacting Scotland
Yard, Detective Mick Hames states, although they have never
found any in England, they surely exist in America. Once again,
this is not what the FBI says. What is interesting about snuff
films is that it is not actually illegal to view or own one.
If one were to turn up the police would have to use local obscenity
laws to even confiscate the tape (and only as long as the owners/viewers
were determined to not be involved in the murder). The FBI even
questions its own ability to prosecute if such a tape were to
be found. Since there hasnt ever been one found, there have
never been any laws enacted against snuff films, states a California
agent.
Members of Screw Magazine state that the snuff film is an urban
legend perpetuated by the Christian right to give pornography
a bad name. Christians claim that snuff films exist and are
the work of the devil and evil pornographers. Police in the
United States say they exist in England. Scotland Yard states
they dont have any but they surely exist in the states. One
thing is sure, fake ones exist and do a thriving business at
adult video stores and online. But what about the real thing?
Well, in the past four years, more information has surfaced.
In 1999 we finally get a break in the case. Two men in Germany
were arrested for making a snuff film. It seems they kidnapped
a 21-year-old girl, raped and tortured her. The only problem
was she died before production could finish. They then attempted
another kidnapping but this woman managed to escape and alert
authorities. So it seems the myth of snuff is not a myth anymore.
Also, in Italy, a child pornography ring that allegedly sold
films of children being raped and tortured to death for prices
ranging from $60-$6,000 dollars, depending on how brutal the
film was, was broken up. Hard evidence at last? Or just a couple
of random acts?
It only seems logical, in a world where murder can be bought
on the streets for a few hundred dollars, teen sex tours can
be bought from countries like Thailand and South America, and
video equipment is easy to operate and obtain, that these movies
exist. And it seems that with the proliferation of image transferring
media on computers, this style of film will become more and
more real, leaving the back alley world of dark pornography
and invading Web sites and mainstream media. That is, if they
really exist
Nick Razer ( nickrazer@toosquare.com
)
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