*Sorry for the heavy censorship, YT's been a bit sensitive with the channel lately... you can see ad-free uncensored version on my patreon if you'd like: **www.patreon.com/ryanhollinger* Go to expressvpn.com/ryan and find out how you can get 3 months of ExpressVPN free! Sponsored by ExpressVPN.
I truly sympathise mate. Having to censor things can feel very condescending as a producer of anything. But please don't feel like you have to explain yourself, your content is incredible either way.
Legitimately bizarre what you're expected to censor these days, especially considering that it definitely *doesn't* reduce the amount of potentially offensive or upsetting content on the site. Still going to bug you to do Ghostwatch but WeeLin did a great video about it recently so I'm sated now.
The constant bleeping is ridiculous. It got to the point where it feels like I'm watching a parody of what CZcamsrs need to do these days to monetize their work. Is there anything we can do to make CZcams get their shit together?
The creating a film of their crimes is actually pretty similar to a few true crime cases. There was one case (in Brazil I think?) where there was a broadcaster who was famous for covering crimes RIGHT when they happened. Come to find out, he was paying people to murder/set fires, etc so he could show up with a camera crew and cover the story. Another similar case was an arsonist in California who was a fire inspector and he wrote a book about the arsonist who had been setting deadly fires in rapid succession. The book ended up being how he was caught because there were too many details only the arsonist would know. Then there was the guy in Canada who lured men to his garage to kill them. He wrote a script about the crimes and the police were like, “This is way too close and some details weren’t public.” And that’s how that guy got caught.
Now I may be wrong but I believe there is a documentary on that exact case called Killer Ratings with the host Wallace Sousza featured in it. Yeah it came out that they were staging some of those crimes in order to make it seem like they were so in touch with the people that they were calling them first instead of the police.
Ironically I typically listen to your video while doing police blotter at work, (reporter), and tend to write about stuff worse than anything in the video, normally, and the censor bleeps caught me so off gaurd I stopped mid police report because i really thought CZcams had introduced some AI to censor language in videos and went to settings to try and turn it off. The fact you need to do this to avoid demonitization despite much worse content in popular music is wild to me. I couldn't deal with that in a creative job.
CZcams's asinine censorship requirements for the sake of monetization are one of the reasons why it's such a shit platform to work with these days. It's basically impossible to talk about anything worth listening to, especially in the true-crime space, without bumping into the Content Cops.
For anyone who’s interested, it’s also on Shudder, at least here on the east coast of the US. Pretty solid movie, thanks Ryan, I’m glad you brought this movie to my attention!
I paused before you got into spoilers and tracked it down to watch before coming back here. I definitely see why the ending is divisive, but I TOTALLY love it. David’s motivation is pretty clear - he’s got such a cynical view on the internet and media culture being able to distort the truth, but he’s out trying to reveal the truth to the audience the whole time. The whole documentary is being made out of a resentment that Suard is getting the “credit” for his crime, as he refers to Jim not having the “intellect” to commit a crime like that. It even ends with him trying to reveal what he did to Steven, the only one who was never found. He’s so cynical about the media getting his whole crime wrong - making an entire spectacle about SOMEONE ELSE - and just like a lot of narcissistic killers, can’t help but show off how he actually got away with it because he can’t stand people not knowing how clever he is. I’m also reminded of my Film History classes, where in our discussions of Documentary as a genre, the point came up that there is no such thing as an unbiased or objective documentary. Particularly in that the act of editing inherently includes the bias of what the filmmakers believe should be shown at the expense of other information, all in the interest of telling a story. Which is a very nuanced understanding of documentary for an indie film like this to be tackling as it’s core theme. Really glad you brought this film to light, it’s honestly so much better than a lot of indie found-footage mockumentary films I’ve seen, and it’s really insightful and ahead of its time.
Howdy, fellow _The Last Broadcast_ ending enjoyer and understander. I too loved this film. To me, at it's core the film is about how media can be used to manipulate you to believe whatever a director/editor intends. Hell, the film even hints that it's manipulating you when it mentions editor who presented the prosecution's evidence, "The Killer Cutter", explicitly stating his job was to set a narrative. The first half of the film has you all but convinced that Jim Suerd is guilty. Why wouldn't it? It just spent 45 minutes 'showing' you why he is. Then the last half turns around and tells you Suerd can't possibly be guilty. Something is off and the answer, and culprit, is out there. You begin to believe whole-heartedly Jim's innocent even though you were just shown miles of evidence stating his guilt. Why? Because the documentary is now being edited/narrated to say he is. The climax, proves that all along the director of this project has created this whole thing as a monument to his vanity for a crime well done, and that he's so intelligent he can actively fool anyone into thinking what he wants with the power of footage and editing. As the Blair Witch 2 would later quote: “Video never lies. Film does, though.” The video footage always told the truth. But the film, this 'documentary', never did. And that's precisely why I think the ending works, specifically the way it's shot. I've heard people complain that the documentary/selfie-cam footage style is great and immersive, but the traditionally-shot scene at the end ruined immersion and reminded them this was a movie. I disagree. Due to how the film was shot, it shows that the documentary is the traditional style and the conventional scenes are our peek into the 'real' world; the unedited video footage that is not meant to be filmed or taped. It is the only time where Leigh is his honest self, a serial killer. In those moments, he's not in control of what we see. Lastly, I would like to share that this was the first movie that shook me to my core and scared me for weeks by being the first movie I saw that betrays your trust by having the main character end up being the evil you were meant to see defeated. I was only 8 at the time but the movie had done a great job of making me feel the only person I could trust was Leigh given how he was the only one who believed in Suerd's innocence, only to be revealed to be the mastermind behind it all. The shot of the film restorer being smothered by the plastic curtain gave me night terrors all summer long. I love this film.
It’s pretty insane that the eponymous Last Broadcast of "Fact or Fiction" is described as being simultaneously broadcasts on television and the internet, despite the film's location deep in the Pine Barrens making phone calls, let alone internet access, impossible. The specific road they show when talking about where they cut off the road from is a complete dead zone and the signal doesn’t get better when you go into the woods, I can’t even imagine how much worse the signal would be for a show in the 90s.
Other than the obvious need of the censored words this is a great intro to a film I never heard of and will add to my list of things to eventually watch because it seems great.
@@TheMartinChronicles Because CZcams will demonetize your video if you say certain things, no matter the context. It's completely random what videos get affected, there's no rhyme or reason to CZcams's shitty system.
@@TheMartinChronicles in addition to being demonitized, certain words can trigger youtube's automated content monitoring and flag this video, causing it to be suppressed by the algorithm so it doesn't appear in notifications or general recommendations.
The problem is this isn't a " hidden gem" it's a hidden peice of 💩💩.. with a crap ending. Nothing much happens..I wanted the murders to be shown at the end or at least a fuzzy long distance master shot of the killer being eaten or killed by what appeared to be in fact The Jersey Devil. It would've. Made this film much cooler. 4/10 it was cool for a single watch but not worth buying or rewatching tbh. Don't know why @RyanHollinger is standing this movie so hard. 😂😂😬🥴🤦🏻♂️
This was one of my favourites when I went on a found footage binge a few Halloweens ago. The shift right at the end definitely helps set it apart because it's not a meaningless change, it's directly linked into understanding the perspective of the filmmaker. If you're looking for another found footage gem, I'd highly suggest Butterfly Kisses. It's a bit meta, but it's a really excellent look at the genre and how public perception of it has changed and made it more difficult to pull off. I'd also compare it to, and I don't say this lightly, House Of Leaves, with its layers of narrative.
I loved Butterfly Kisses- I recently rewatched it, and it was actually better than I had remembered. It doesn’t get mentioned too often, but it had a really interesting “villain” (Peeping Tom), and I think it deserves more attention.
Looking back at the movie it hinted James only did the Documentary to capture his work and set up the Fact or Fiction team to add theme to his next list for his series of Documentary
This is on my list of films to see. Thanks for the retrospectives Ryan. They help a lot every year when it comes time to put up the Christmas lights on the house lol 🎉
I hate the fact that youtube has been on creators' cases again, lately. But even with all the censorship it's still a great episode, and I was barely taken out of it. Quality writing and editing my friend.
This movie was such a creepy experience, dare I say it was even creepier than Blair Witch Project. It just had that unsettling true crime documentary feel to it which is obviously the route they were going for. Even though the killer’s identity felt out left field, the buildup to it was one of the most suspenseful things I’ve ever seen in a film. Chilling stuff
You mentioned in a previous video you hadn't seen many real werewolf movies. "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" is one of the few recent horror comedies that I've actually really enjoyed. Might make for a good pallet cleanser the next time you do something super disturbing.
Im not sure what a "real" werewolf movie intails for him, there is a movie on Amazon Prime called Howl that has them. Doesn't got into a lot of detail other than, "The things trying to kill us is a werewolf." It was not the most original thing in the world, but it was a good popcorn movie
I remember this being broadcast on Channel 4 when Blair Witch mania was happening. I was actually with it until the ending when it took a sharp detour into Stupidsville.
And the ending is so jarringly sudden, too. There's not only a tone shift, but literally two POV shifts right after eachother. God, this movie fucking sucks. lmao
@JohnStephenWalsh I literally had the same reaction, I loved it so much until the end, honestly though it was still a great movie even though the ending was shit lol.
Just watched it today..Completely agree During the whole movie I was like "wow, this is actually better than The Blair Witch" But then that plot twist... It not only took away the creepy factor from the mystery surrounding the case, but also didnt make no damn sense if you actually think about it 😩
I remember this from James Rolfe's (AVGN's) Monster Madness video about Blaire Witch and saying the Last Brodcast was one of the original found footage films. Glad someone else is giving it some love
I enjoyed "The Last Broadcast". The twist ending comes out of nowhere but makes sense when you realize that as the killer, he had a reason for all the contrived biases in the faux documentary. The final killing at the end makes crazy person sense is that it is no fun to be brilliant unless you have someone know how brilliant you are.
So…he killed them so he could create a documentary to soar him to fame. And he knows the guy is innocent and his hiding the fact he’s the killer by acting like he cares when he’s a maniac
I'd love to see a video on Mandy at some point, even if Cosmatos films are pretty wild to discuss and break down. It's just such a kickass sensory experience.
With the twist ending in mind, the most eye-catching detail upon a second watch, in my opinion, is the title itself. Someone might interpret it as The Last Broadcast for the duo because their careers are dying, but it can be read as the killer's false sense of grandeur, believing this to be a masterpiece that ends an era of broadcasting since no one will be able to do better. He thinks he's immortalized with this found footage, but the significance of the film seems to be that it was insignificant. Nothing became of it, just a string of tragic murders for no fame
One of the most frustrating and unsatisfying films I've ever seen. I get that some people are masochistic and into that kind of thing but I thought it was awful and absolutely undeserving of it's hype
Thanks for such great coverage of this, The Last Broadcast deserves more attention. A few years ago I got in touch with Lance to get permission to write an RPG based on the film, and he was incredibly gracious and was interested in what came of it. Unfortunately never got it done.
Great video as always dude! 2012's "Detention" with Josh Hutcherson and Dane Cook is actually a really cool horror comedy that marketed itself as "hipster scream" and is one of my favorite movies ever because of how good/bad it is and I feel you'd have a fun time watching it!
This movie is 90% amazing low budget horror. It fails epically in the the last 10 min and that nearly nukes the amazing set up. I still love the movie but I can totally see why people despise the ending.
Channel 4 in the U.K. broadcast this not long after Blair Witch came out, I thought it was so cool and it genuinely creeped me out as a 14 year old, they got the feel of a doc for the time very accurate. I knew it was made on a shoestring but never realised it was quite as rare as it is, great more people get to see it now!
Yeay!! Thank you for covering this! I only saw it a few years ago, but really enjoyed it. Especially the ending. When I heard about the low budget, I was shocked. It was so well done. I hope your video gets more people to see it.
Yaaaaaay, so cool to see you tackling this movie. I think the ending is a bit weak for one really specific reason buuuut it's a lot of fun. And even though it's inaccurate, it's still cool to be able to say that it's the Low Budget Blair Witch Project. Also cool to see Alien Abduction maybe getting covered some day.
(The spoilery version is: the ending could be fixed by just flashing up a "RECONSTRUCTION" subtitle when it goes third person. It would've been funny, but hey.
Hell yes, I was just looking for a good CZcams review of this movie the other week. There's surprisingly little coverage on it. Congrats on being a trailblazer!
Love your videos, Ryan! Funnily enough I watched this about a week before Halloween and when I went to look for analysis and review videos there weren't many... so I'm so pleased you've made one!
Something being made this well and only being on a $1k budget is really impressive. I'm definitely gonna check this out sometime. I didn't know this existed until now. I always like discovering cool or interesting underrated films from this channel. Nice.
In addition to being one my favorite found footage movies and mockumentaries, this is frankly one of my favorite cryptid movies. Granted there are relatively few in existence and the Jersey Devil doesn’t actually show up, but it captures the fascination and dread around the idea of a yet-to-be-discovered creature of local legend better than any film about Bigfoot or Mothman or any other cryptic critters I’ve seen, in fact it reminds me more of Lost Tapes or The Department of Truth
I’m so glad you covered this movie. I remember it chilled me to the bone when I first watched it, but over the years the only times I’ve heard people talk about it was to disparage it and call it sub par. I genuinely enjoy the film, I appreciate the style it was going for, and I’m glad that now more people will hear about it
Big fan of found footage. This movie deserves more light shed upon it. I watched it years ago and recently found it on Tubi. Gonna revisit it later tonight. Great job on the video
I think I requested this one a few months ago, so I’m glad to see you’ve covered it! I really enjoyed The Last Broadcast when I watched it - there is one sequence in this that thoroughly chilled me to the bone. I think it’s when we see the footage of the blood in the snow? It’s been a few years. I agree that the ending is jarring, but it’s also pretty fresh and unexpected. It’s fun, even if it doesn’t entirely make sense logically.
I absolutely love this movie, it moves at a bit of a crawl but it's so fascinating, it just sucks you in. And the ending legitimately had my jaw drop in surprise.
Great to see one of my favorite found-footage flicks getting some love! Edited to add: be sure to listen to the commentary track to the film, where the creators discuss what they were doing.
That ending made me SO ANGRY when I saw this back around 1999 or 2000 or so. Everything about it was jarring, contrived, and unsatisfying, and I had been 100% bought in to the film up until that point. Like, if the tape had been chewed in the VCR (yes, I am THAT old) and I'd missed the final five minutes, I would have been raving about it to all my friends.
I'm so glad you came to the point of talking about this movie. Years ago I would watch free movies on a site called Putlocker and Ive always been a big found footage film lover and this threw me a loop in a way I didn't expect when I found it on there and I loved it! Thanks to you I finally watched lake mungo and that's another film I also personally enjoyed. Ready to hear your thoughts on this one!
One of the first DVDs I ever owned and loved this ever since (around 2001). Good to know it still getting some love with a new release and your retrospective. It's also on Amazon Prime UK; Saw it again last month (October 2022).
I'm excited to see someone talk about The Last Broadcast! I've always seen it as a movie satirizing True Crime before True Crime even existed. I never understood the hate on the ending though. While very literal, it's a good metaphor for how sensationalist media/True Crime isn't there to help, they usually only hurt and re-traumatize the victims and their families. For example, that recent Jeffery Dahmer true crime mini-series that was on Netflix made the family of one of the victims feel re-traumatized. Honestly, I wish this film was more well-known, it's an amazing film and is probably one of my favorite found-footage/mockumentary horror films!
I actually saw this movie on tv (scifi channel), catching it about halfway through, and me and my mom both thought it was a real documentary until the twist. I was around 7 or 8 at the time, but I watched it again 5 years ago and I thought it still held up. Regarding the twist, I just felt that the jarring nature of it made it the whole movie more interesting, especially in regards to why the director made the film in the first place in the context of the film. Great video! More people need to talk about this movie and other lesser known found footage-type movies.
I've lived in South Jersey all my life and for the past 7 years have lived on the western edge of the pine barrens. I'd heard of this film but had no clue it took place here. To be honest, I rarely stop your videos to go watch the movie before spoilers for those I haven't yet seen, but I'm definitely gonna dive into this one and then come back!
Such a great movie, love it. Subscribed just because you talked about it. Your other videos are great too. Edit: Showed my wife this movie a couple of years ago, first she was angry because of the guy who killed those two friends, then she was sad because of their loss, at the end she was angry at me because she believed it was a real documentary all along..
When I realized you have to censor your words some much I made a little verb sound of shock. Great video either way! I'll have to check it out sometime, I need to give the found footage genre a try.
I watched this but I don't remember much of the movie aside from enjoying it. I guess the main reason people forget this one is the amount of saturation in the specific subgenre. It was done well so nothing really stands out.
I need to give this one a rewatch. I saw it very late at night some Halloweens ago on the same night I watched Lake Mungo for the first time and I recall struggling to stay awake, but being interested in what was going on. Then the ending happens and I kinda hate it, haha. But I should give it another watch when I'm less wore out from a long day of handing out candy and also don't have the emotional impact of Lake Mungo already weighing on me.
It’s amazing that this movie came out one year before The Blair Witch Project. They both have the similar low budget camera style quality,but the stories are different. Here it’s like watching a TV style documentary.
It's also available on Shudder in the US- I clicked right over when I heard it was a horror mockumentary, that's my favorite micro-genre that's IMPOSSIBLE to find examples of! And then I was glad to be able to click back for analysis of the ending- I'm way too faceblind for that reveal! 🤣
I paused this right before the spoiler section and watched the film. And I was genuinely getting tense thinking who it might be. Perhaps it really was the Jersey Devil. But the reveal of David felt so confusing I didn't recognize him in the frame at first. And I was so stumped about what just happened. So I came back and watched the ending of your video. Glad it wasn't just me that felt this came out of nowhere and raises way to many questions to make any logical sense. But it is definitely a bold idea and ending to the film.
Weird that YT made Ryan bleep his own mentions of 'murder' but were happy to accept the 'murders' mention in the clip from the movie at the beginning. 0:06
“Investigating the f***ers” “looking for evidence of the various f***ings” the censor bleep adds so much to this video I love it! But anyway, great video thank you for making it! I thoroughly enjoyed your view on this classic horror film.
I have heard it many times now and feel like I should clarify something: it's pronounced 'pa-kip-see'. I live near the area and understand if it looks like it should be pronounced differently. Great video as always, man!
Thank you for covering this movie. I saw this a long, LONG time ago (probably a year or so after Blair Witch cam out). The ending is very jarring, but overall I do like the movie. I've always thought that found footage movies live and die based off the acting. This is one of the reasons Blair Witch is so well regarded; the actors barely needed to act in that one. I bring this up because I feel that the mockumentary style can go a long way to make up for this; it's okay if one of the "interviewees" sounds a bit stiff. Look at Hellhouse LLC for another example of that route.
I had the backtrack to make sure I'd heard right with the first censor. YT going a bit nuts I see - Great video as always Ryan, sorry you have to deal with them breathing down your neck
Watched this for the first time last night. While I’m not a fan of the final twist, I do think it holds up very well. Especially with how much Netflix docs dominate the scene today.
God damn, I love your videos Ryan! Would you be willing to do one on The Gate? Or have you already? I feel like I’ve seen every one of your videos, even for movies I haven’t seen 😅 have a good day!
Loved this film, an early video treat which preceded Blair Witch and, in my opinion, was much better. Really unexpected twist (although maybe predictable now). Loved the tone. Thanks for covering Ryan.
I was on a mockumentary kick after I watched the Poughkeepsie Tapes the first time and this was one that I watched. Although I had forgotten the name so thank you Ryan for giving me that so I can do some tracking down. I remember wondering at the time if Evidence got some of its ideas from this. BTW, Ryan, I would love to see you cover Evidence (if you haven't already because I haven't seen all your videos and just thought of recommending it now without checking 😊)
@@kiradattei Yeah, "Lake Mungo" is amazing. (-: "SavageLand" is one word. I'm not being pedantic, there are other movies called "Savage Land", so you need to spell it correctly to find the right one. It's from 2015, which should also help you find the right one.
And another film to go on my watchlist, thanks a lot Ryan. I think you should try covering Viy (the 1967 version) because, as a person of partial Ukrainian decent, that Ukrainian horror films are severly underrated and not discussed enough. And given the current situation I think they should be covered far more often. I would also highley reccomend giving the Estonian flick November a review. It's one of the best non-english languge films I've had the pleasure of seeing.
Love your stuff Ryan, would love hearing your thoughts on some of the horror shows out there. Just finished Archive 81 and could imagine an amazing deconstruction of the show as a continuation/evolution of these found footage shows. That or the Japanese movie Occult
Also, I'm pretty sure I just caught this movie one time on TV and thought I was watching an actual documentary, which is probably the best way to experience it.
I remember watching this on cable as a kid back in 1999. It was pretty scary when I watched it back then, but watching it again, that ending was pretty funny lol The documentary style was actually well done and convincing at times.
this movie surprised me in a way I didn't expect, but heavily appreciate it. If you need a found footage horror film to cover Ryan (or watch dear reader) I recommend Incantation on Netflix
I watched this a couple nights ago thanks to this video (stopped before reaching spoilers) and I loved everything but the ending. It didn't really do it for me, and the budget of the film for the first time shone through and was a distraction. The whole altercation looked so strange (like behind the scenes) and felt so sudden that I got confused with what was going on for a moment
Just recently watched it and boy, I hated the ending especially with the shift in perspective. I had binged a number of found footage films that I missed over the years and they covered the range from good to awful including The Last Broadcast, The Andy Baker Tape, Rwd, Specter, and Howard’s Mill. Howard's Mill was my favorite of the bunch and I felt was the most successful.
Yooooo I remember watching this when i was younger randomly on Cinemax one summer and I could never think of the name for the life of me. I just only remember the ending. I swore I was the only one that's ever seen this. Thanks for finding this and putting it out there
*Sorry for the heavy censorship, YT's been a bit sensitive with the channel lately... you can see ad-free uncensored version on my patreon if you'd like: **www.patreon.com/ryanhollinger*
Go to expressvpn.com/ryan and find out how you can get 3 months of ExpressVPN free! Sponsored by ExpressVPN.
Have you ever seen the movie "Skinamarink" by Kyle Ball?
I truly sympathise mate. Having to censor things can feel very condescending as a producer of anything. But please don't feel like you have to explain yourself, your content is incredible either way.
Legitimately bizarre what you're expected to censor these days, especially considering that it definitely *doesn't* reduce the amount of potentially offensive or upsetting content on the site.
Still going to bug you to do Ghostwatch but WeeLin did a great video about it recently so I'm sated now.
The constant bleeping is ridiculous.
It got to the point where it feels like I'm watching a parody of what CZcamsrs need to do these days to monetize their work.
Is there anything we can do to make CZcams get their shit together?
Thank you for the Explanation, Crackdowns are always rough to work around
The creating a film of their crimes is actually pretty similar to a few true crime cases. There was one case (in Brazil I think?) where there was a broadcaster who was famous for covering crimes RIGHT when they happened. Come to find out, he was paying people to murder/set fires, etc so he could show up with a camera crew and cover the story.
Another similar case was an arsonist in California who was a fire inspector and he wrote a book about the arsonist who had been setting deadly fires in rapid succession. The book ended up being how he was caught because there were too many details only the arsonist would know.
Then there was the guy in Canada who lured men to his garage to kill them. He wrote a script about the crimes and the police were like, “This is way too close and some details weren’t public.” And that’s how that guy got caught.
Now I may be wrong but I believe there is a documentary on that exact case called Killer Ratings with the host Wallace Sousza featured in it. Yeah it came out that they were staging some of those crimes in order to make it seem like they were so in touch with the people that they were calling them first instead of the police.
The first case really happened here in Brazil. His name was Wallace Souza
Reminds me of "Nightcrawler".
@@a_Cynthia_Main The Brazil one yeah
You have many of the garage killer's details wrong. I assume you're referring to the "Dexter copycat" case.
'Murder' and 'Killing' being broadcasted shocked me out of my morning coffee
Tell me about it! YT being crazy I guess!
I literally thought it was a joke for a second. What the sh_t CZcams ?? Great video regardless Ryan.
@@RyanHollinger it's very distracting. Yt needs to pull the stick out of its ass
Being broadcast or being censored? Watching this an hour after your post it is censored.
CZcams is really hating on horror content for whatever baffling reason, huh? Kind of a shame, horror is a great genre.
Love that Ryan referred to Bigfoot as “Bare foot” got chuckle out of me.
AW DID I?! … could be the bottle of wine I have in the fridge called barefoot!
I mean, he isn't wrong though?
@@RyanHollinger no worries! It made for a good laugh all the same
Bigfoot needs to get himself a pair of Vessi's.
Now I wonder what kind of shoes Bigfoot would wear.
Ironically I typically listen to your video while doing police blotter at work, (reporter), and tend to write about stuff worse than anything in the video, normally, and the censor bleeps caught me so off gaurd I stopped mid police report because i really thought CZcams had introduced some AI to censor language in videos and went to settings to try and turn it off. The fact you need to do this to avoid demonitization despite much worse content in popular music is wild to me. I couldn't deal with that in a creative job.
CZcams's asinine censorship requirements for the sake of monetization are one of the reasons why it's such a shit platform to work with these days. It's basically impossible to talk about anything worth listening to, especially in the true-crime space, without bumping into the Content Cops.
For anyone who’s interested, it’s also on Shudder, at least here on the east coast of the US. Pretty solid movie, thanks Ryan, I’m glad you brought this movie to my attention!
It’s on in the UK too, I watched it just so I could watch this review!
They added it to Shudder Canada within the last couple weeks too.
I paused before you got into spoilers and tracked it down to watch before coming back here.
I definitely see why the ending is divisive, but I TOTALLY love it. David’s motivation is pretty clear - he’s got such a cynical view on the internet and media culture being able to distort the truth, but he’s out trying to reveal the truth to the audience the whole time.
The whole documentary is being made out of a resentment that Suard is getting the “credit” for his crime, as he refers to Jim not having the “intellect” to commit a crime like that. It even ends with him trying to reveal what he did to Steven, the only one who was never found.
He’s so cynical about the media getting his whole crime wrong - making an entire spectacle about SOMEONE ELSE - and just like a lot of narcissistic killers, can’t help but show off how he actually got away with it because he can’t stand people not knowing how clever he is.
I’m also reminded of my Film History classes, where in our discussions of Documentary as a genre, the point came up that there is no such thing as an unbiased or objective documentary. Particularly in that the act of editing inherently includes the bias of what the filmmakers believe should be shown at the expense of other information, all in the interest of telling a story. Which is a very nuanced understanding of documentary for an indie film like this to be tackling as it’s core theme.
Really glad you brought this film to light, it’s honestly so much better than a lot of indie found-footage mockumentary films I’ve seen, and it’s really insightful and ahead of its time.
Howdy, fellow _The Last Broadcast_ ending enjoyer and understander. I too loved this film.
To me, at it's core the film is about how media can be used to manipulate you to believe whatever a director/editor intends. Hell, the film even hints that it's manipulating you when it mentions editor who presented the prosecution's evidence, "The Killer Cutter", explicitly stating his job was to set a narrative.
The first half of the film has you all but convinced that Jim Suerd is guilty. Why wouldn't it? It just spent 45 minutes 'showing' you why he is.
Then the last half turns around and tells you Suerd can't possibly be guilty. Something is off and the answer, and culprit, is out there. You begin to believe whole-heartedly Jim's innocent even though you were just shown miles of evidence stating his guilt. Why? Because the documentary is now being edited/narrated to say he is.
The climax, proves that all along the director of this project has created this whole thing as a monument to his vanity for a crime well done, and that he's so intelligent he can actively fool anyone into thinking what he wants with the power of footage and editing.
As the Blair Witch 2 would later quote: “Video never lies. Film does, though.”
The video footage always told the truth. But the film, this 'documentary', never did.
And that's precisely why I think the ending works, specifically the way it's shot.
I've heard people complain that the documentary/selfie-cam footage style is great and immersive, but the traditionally-shot scene at the end ruined immersion and reminded them this was a movie.
I disagree. Due to how the film was shot, it shows that the documentary is the traditional style and the conventional scenes are our peek into the 'real' world; the unedited video footage that is not meant to be filmed or taped. It is the only time where Leigh is his honest self, a serial killer. In those moments, he's not in control of what we see.
Lastly, I would like to share that this was the first movie that shook me to my core and scared me for weeks by being the first movie I saw that betrays your trust by having the main character end up being the evil you were meant to see defeated. I was only 8 at the time but the movie had done a great job of making me feel the only person I could trust was Leigh given how he was the only one who believed in Suerd's innocence, only to be revealed to be the mastermind behind it all. The shot of the film restorer being smothered by the plastic curtain gave me night terrors all summer long.
I love this film.
It’s pretty insane that the eponymous Last Broadcast of "Fact or Fiction" is described as being simultaneously broadcasts on television and the internet, despite the film's location deep in the Pine Barrens making phone calls, let alone internet access, impossible. The specific road they show when talking about where they cut off the road from is a complete dead zone and the signal doesn’t get better when you go into the woods, I can’t even imagine how much worse the signal would be for a show in the 90s.
Other than the obvious need of the censored words this is a great intro to a film I never heard of and will add to my list of things to eventually watch because it seems great.
Why is there a "need" for this censorship? I truly and honestly don't know.
@@TheMartinChronicles because CZcams’s an arbitrary bitch.
@@TheMartinChronicles Because CZcams will demonetize your video if you say certain things, no matter the context. It's completely random what videos get affected, there's no rhyme or reason to CZcams's shitty system.
@@TheMartinChronicles in addition to being demonitized, certain words can trigger youtube's automated content monitoring and flag this video, causing it to be suppressed by the algorithm so it doesn't appear in notifications or general recommendations.
Well, looks like naked yoga is still safe for now.
I've never heard of this movie before, I love being shown hidden gems!
The problem is this isn't a " hidden gem" it's a hidden peice of 💩💩.. with a crap ending. Nothing much happens..I wanted the murders to be shown at the end or at least a fuzzy long distance master shot of the killer being eaten or killed by what appeared to be in fact The Jersey Devil. It would've. Made this film much cooler. 4/10 it was cool for a single watch but not worth buying or rewatching tbh. Don't know why @RyanHollinger is standing this movie so hard. 😂😂😬🥴🤦🏻♂️
@@badado Because the movie is great and well made. Go watch SAW or The Nun if you need straight-forward gore or horror.
Ah yes. The well-known cryptid: Barefoot! 😂
Great vid as always, Ryan. That one just tickled me.
This was one of my favourites when I went on a found footage binge a few Halloweens ago. The shift right at the end definitely helps set it apart because it's not a meaningless change, it's directly linked into understanding the perspective of the filmmaker. If you're looking for another found footage gem, I'd highly suggest Butterfly Kisses. It's a bit meta, but it's a really excellent look at the genre and how public perception of it has changed and made it more difficult to pull off. I'd also compare it to, and I don't say this lightly, House Of Leaves, with its layers of narrative.
I loved Butterfly Kisses- I recently rewatched it, and it was actually better than I had remembered. It doesn’t get mentioned too often, but it had a really interesting “villain” (Peeping Tom), and I think it deserves more attention.
Looking back at the movie it hinted James only did the Documentary to capture his work and set up the Fact or Fiction team to add theme to his next list for his series of Documentary
This is on my list of films to see.
Thanks for the retrospectives Ryan. They help a lot every year when it comes time to put up the Christmas lights on the house lol 🎉
I've seen "the Last Broadcast" several times, and it's probably the found footage movie that's stuck with me the most.
The Jersey Devil is out there.
I hate the fact that youtube has been on creators' cases again, lately. But even with all the censorship it's still a great episode, and I was barely taken out of it. Quality writing and editing my friend.
This movie was such a creepy experience, dare I say it was even creepier than Blair Witch Project. It just had that unsettling true crime documentary feel to it which is obviously the route they were going for. Even though the killer’s identity felt out left field, the buildup to it was one of the most suspenseful things I’ve ever seen in a film. Chilling stuff
You mentioned in a previous video you hadn't seen many real werewolf movies. "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" is one of the few recent horror comedies that I've actually really enjoyed. Might make for a good pallet cleanser the next time you do something super disturbing.
I second this!
@@deirdrejones5974 third!
I don't think Wolf of Snow Hollow is a comedy. Great movie though.
Oh my god, when he chugged the juice at the funeral, I was dying! 😂
Im not sure what a "real" werewolf movie intails for him, there is a movie on Amazon Prime called Howl that has them. Doesn't got into a lot of detail other than, "The things trying to kill us is a werewolf." It was not the most original thing in the world, but it was a good popcorn movie
I remember this being broadcast on Channel 4 when Blair Witch mania was happening. I was actually with it until the ending when it took a sharp detour into Stupidsville.
It was so good til the ending happened I just didn’t get how the heck this guy planned the murder. It seemed so random
I was loving it SO much until the ending. I wanted to throw the TV out the window but fortunately I was too tired.
And the ending is so jarringly sudden, too. There's not only a tone shift, but literally two POV shifts right after eachother. God, this movie fucking sucks. lmao
@JohnStephenWalsh I literally had the same reaction, I loved it so much until the end, honestly though it was still a great movie even though the ending was shit lol.
Just watched it today..Completely agree
During the whole movie I was like "wow, this is actually better than The Blair Witch"
But then that plot twist...
It not only took away the creepy factor from the mystery surrounding the case, but also didnt make no damn sense if you actually think about it 😩
I remember this from James Rolfe's (AVGN's) Monster Madness video about Blaire Witch and saying the Last Brodcast was one of the original found footage films. Glad someone else is giving it some love
I enjoyed "The Last Broadcast". The twist ending comes out of nowhere but makes sense when you realize that as the killer, he had a reason for all the contrived biases in the faux documentary. The final killing at the end makes crazy person sense is that it is no fun to be brilliant unless you have someone know how brilliant you are.
So…he killed them so he could create a documentary to soar him to fame. And he knows the guy is innocent and his hiding the fact he’s the killer by acting like he cares when he’s a maniac
I'd love to see a video on Mandy at some point, even if Cosmatos films are pretty wild to discuss and break down. It's just such a kickass sensory experience.
WHAT did we ever do before you Ryan, how did we ever get by ??? Yours is the channel we didn't realise how much we needed until we found you!!!!
With the twist ending in mind, the most eye-catching detail upon a second watch, in my opinion, is the title itself. Someone might interpret it as The Last Broadcast for the duo because their careers are dying, but it can be read as the killer's false sense of grandeur, believing this to be a masterpiece that ends an era of broadcasting since no one will be able to do better. He thinks he's immortalized with this found footage, but the significance of the film seems to be that it was insignificant. Nothing became of it, just a string of tragic murders for no fame
PLEASE do a video on speak no evil 🙏 one of the most anxiety inducing slow burns I’ve seen in a long time!! Keep up the great work Ryan!
One of the most frustrating and unsatisfying films I've ever seen. I get that some people are masochistic and into that kind of thing but I thought it was awful and absolutely undeserving of it's hype
Anxiety inducing yes but also a strong of weird/stupid decisions.
that movie sux if ur ratchet like me and would throw hands the first 5 minutes of meeting those people
Thanks for such great coverage of this, The Last Broadcast deserves more attention. A few years ago I got in touch with Lance to get permission to write an RPG based on the film, and he was incredibly gracious and was interested in what came of it. Unfortunately never got it done.
Great video as always dude!
2012's "Detention" with Josh Hutcherson and Dane Cook is actually a really cool horror comedy that marketed itself as "hipster scream" and is one of my favorite movies ever because of how good/bad it is and I feel you'd have a fun time watching it!
I live when movies at the dawn of the digital age predict what's coming so perfectly. Another great review! 👍
This movie is 90% amazing low budget horror. It fails epically in the the last 10 min and that nearly nukes the amazing set up. I still love the movie but I can totally see why people despise the ending.
Channel 4 in the U.K. broadcast this not long after Blair Witch came out, I thought it was so cool and it genuinely creeped me out as a 14 year old, they got the feel of a doc for the time very accurate. I knew it was made on a shoestring but never realised it was quite as rare as it is, great more people get to see it now!
Yeay!! Thank you for covering this! I only saw it a few years ago, but really enjoyed it. Especially the ending. When I heard about the low budget, I was shocked. It was so well done. I hope your video gets more people to see it.
Yaaaaaay, so cool to see you tackling this movie. I think the ending is a bit weak for one really specific reason buuuut it's a lot of fun. And even though it's inaccurate, it's still cool to be able to say that it's the Low Budget Blair Witch Project. Also cool to see Alien Abduction maybe getting covered some day.
Next week!
@@RyanHollinger wood hooo
(The spoilery version is: the ending could be fixed by just flashing up a "RECONSTRUCTION" subtitle when it goes third person. It would've been funny, but hey.
Hell yes, I was just looking for a good CZcams review of this movie the other week. There's surprisingly little coverage on it. Congrats on being a trailblazer!
Love your videos, Ryan! Funnily enough I watched this about a week before Halloween and when I went to look for analysis and review videos there weren't many... so I'm so pleased you've made one!
I had a guitarist in a band in high school that showed us this. On VHS no less. Amazing!
If I didn't work at a video store at the end of the 90's I would have never known the film existed. It was a really impressive flick!
Ryan, you are one of a very few creators I am excited to watch. I look forward to every new video. Thank you
Thank you for shining a spotlight on this underrated gem. Keep up the good work. 👊
If the video doesn't include a HOYEVER and a promo code, then it's definitely the Last Broadcast.
Something being made this well and only being on a $1k budget is really impressive. I'm definitely gonna check this out sometime. I didn't know this existed until now. I always like discovering cool or interesting underrated films from this channel. Nice.
I completely forgot I had seen this and loved it! ❤❤❤ Thanks for the reminder, man. Good lookin out!
I'm extremely greatful you covered this found footage gem Ryan. 🤘
In addition to being one my favorite found footage movies and mockumentaries, this is frankly one of my favorite cryptid movies. Granted there are relatively few in existence and the Jersey Devil doesn’t actually show up, but it captures the fascination and dread around the idea of a yet-to-be-discovered creature of local legend better than any film about Bigfoot or Mothman or any other cryptic critters I’ve seen, in fact it reminds me more of Lost Tapes or The Department of Truth
I’m so glad you covered this movie. I remember it chilled me to the bone when I first watched it, but over the years the only times I’ve heard people talk about it was to disparage it and call it sub par. I genuinely enjoy the film, I appreciate the style it was going for, and I’m glad that now more people will hear about it
Big fan of found footage. This movie deserves more light shed upon it. I watched it years ago and recently found it on Tubi. Gonna revisit it later tonight. Great job on the video
Excellent analysis, as always. Great work Ryan!
i know what im watching on my break today, perfect timing as always
Thanks for the video Ryan! Never heard of this movie and will definitely check it out as I'm always down for an obscure gem :)
I think I requested this one a few months ago, so I’m glad to see you’ve covered it! I really enjoyed The Last Broadcast when I watched it - there is one sequence in this that thoroughly chilled me to the bone. I think it’s when we see the footage of the blood in the snow? It’s been a few years.
I agree that the ending is jarring, but it’s also pretty fresh and unexpected. It’s fun, even if it doesn’t entirely make sense logically.
I had no idea this even existed. I like the idea of these nearly unknown film gems still out there waiting to be rediscovered. Cool video and subject.
I absolutely love this movie, it moves at a bit of a crawl but it's so fascinating, it just sucks you in. And the ending legitimately had my jaw drop in surprise.
Great to see one of my favorite found-footage flicks getting some love! Edited to add: be sure to listen to the commentary track to the film, where the creators discuss what they were doing.
Damn! You really got it! It's gratifying when people figure out what we were trying to say, all those years ago. Great video!
Thanks for making such good video's. Really love all of them 💓
That ending made me SO ANGRY when I saw this back around 1999 or 2000 or so. Everything about it was jarring, contrived, and unsatisfying, and I had been 100% bought in to the film up until that point. Like, if the tape had been chewed in the VCR (yes, I am THAT old) and I'd missed the final five minutes, I would have been raving about it to all my friends.
“ goat bat demon chicken thing” has to be my favorite phrase of 2022.
I'm so glad you came to the point of talking about this movie. Years ago I would watch free movies on a site called Putlocker and Ive always been a big found footage film lover and this threw me a loop in a way I didn't expect when I found it on there and I loved it! Thanks to you I finally watched lake mungo and that's another film I also personally enjoyed. Ready to hear your thoughts on this one!
Finally, if there anyone I can count on to bring up obscure films of interest, it's you.
I forgot this movie but remember loving it and being completely shocked by the ending.
You did it!!! I am so happy💙
One of the first DVDs I ever owned and loved this ever since (around 2001). Good to know it still getting some love with a new release and your retrospective. It's also on Amazon Prime UK; Saw it again last month (October 2022).
i used to work for AGFA events thru alamo drafthouse and can say they are truly the unsung heroes of film restoration
Hearing about this movie as a teen helped start my obsession with looking into more obscure and experimental movies and art in general, Good times!!
I'm excited to see someone talk about The Last Broadcast! I've always seen it as a movie satirizing True Crime before True Crime even existed. I never understood the hate on the ending though. While very literal, it's a good metaphor for how sensationalist media/True Crime isn't there to help, they usually only hurt and re-traumatize the victims and their families. For example, that recent Jeffery Dahmer true crime mini-series that was on Netflix made the family of one of the victims feel re-traumatized. Honestly, I wish this film was more well-known, it's an amazing film and is probably one of my favorite found-footage/mockumentary horror films!
thank you for giving this movie the love and admiriton it so greatly deserves. this really was ground breaking.
Great to see a Northern Irish lad doing well on CZcams! Was surprised when I heard your voice man. All the best, from a fellow Emerald islander.
I actually saw this movie on tv (scifi channel), catching it about halfway through, and me and my mom both thought it was a real documentary until the twist. I was around 7 or 8 at the time, but I watched it again 5 years ago and I thought it still held up. Regarding the twist, I just felt that the jarring nature of it made it the whole movie more interesting, especially in regards to why the director made the film in the first place in the context of the film. Great video! More people need to talk about this movie and other lesser known found footage-type movies.
I found myself wondering who was holding the camera, filming him, at the end.
I've lived in South Jersey all my life and for the past 7 years have lived on the western edge of the pine barrens. I'd heard of this film but had no clue it took place here. To be honest, I rarely stop your videos to go watch the movie before spoilers for those I haven't yet seen, but I'm definitely gonna dive into this one and then come back!
Such a great movie, love it. Subscribed just because you talked about it. Your other videos are great too.
Edit: Showed my wife this movie a couple of years ago, first she was angry because of the guy who killed those two friends, then she was sad because of their loss, at the end she was angry at me because she believed it was a real documentary all along..
When I realized you have to censor your words some much I made a little verb sound of shock. Great video either way! I'll have to check it out sometime, I need to give the found footage genre a try.
Ngl, the twist at the end ruined it for me. It felt very "student film project."
Which sucks, cause the build up to the Jersey Devil was fantastic.
The Last Broadcast is genuinely a good found footage flick; my only gripe was it abandoning the found footage aspect towards the end.
I watched this but I don't remember much of the movie aside from enjoying it. I guess the main reason people forget this one is the amount of saturation in the specific subgenre. It was done well so nothing really stands out.
I need to give this one a rewatch. I saw it very late at night some Halloweens ago on the same night I watched Lake Mungo for the first time and I recall struggling to stay awake, but being interested in what was going on. Then the ending happens and I kinda hate it, haha. But I should give it another watch when I'm less wore out from a long day of handing out candy and also don't have the emotional impact of Lake Mungo already weighing on me.
Thanks for this, great video :)
It’s amazing that this movie came out one year before The Blair Witch Project. They both have the similar low budget camera style quality,but the stories are different. Here it’s like watching a TV style documentary.
I started watching this review, halfway through decided to watch the movie, and came back to end the review.
What a crazy reveal.
YESSSS! I've been waiting for you to cover this film for so long!
My first found footage experience and still one of the best.
It's also available on Shudder in the US- I clicked right over when I heard it was a horror mockumentary, that's my favorite micro-genre that's IMPOSSIBLE to find examples of! And then I was glad to be able to click back for analysis of the ending- I'm way too faceblind for that reveal! 🤣
I paused this right before the spoiler section and watched the film. And I was genuinely getting tense thinking who it might be. Perhaps it really was the Jersey Devil. But the reveal of David felt so confusing I didn't recognize him in the frame at first. And I was so stumped about what just happened. So I came back and watched the ending of your video. Glad it wasn't just me that felt this came out of nowhere and raises way to many questions to make any logical sense. But it is definitely a bold idea and ending to the film.
Weird that YT made Ryan bleep his own mentions of 'murder' but were happy to accept the 'murders' mention in the clip from the movie at the beginning. 0:06
This film deserves some more love.
Sorry youtube is being so dumb with censorship lately. Great vid either way. Keep up the great works
“Investigating the f***ers” “looking for evidence of the various f***ings” the censor bleep adds so much to this video I love it!
But anyway, great video thank you for making it! I thoroughly enjoyed your view on this classic horror film.
I have heard it many times now and feel like I should clarify something: it's pronounced 'pa-kip-see'. I live near the area and understand if it looks like it should be pronounced differently. Great video as always, man!
Blame the movie for pronouncing it that way
Thank you for covering this movie. I saw this a long, LONG time ago (probably a year or so after Blair Witch cam out). The ending is very jarring, but overall I do like the movie.
I've always thought that found footage movies live and die based off the acting. This is one of the reasons Blair Witch is so well regarded; the actors barely needed to act in that one. I bring this up because I feel that the mockumentary style can go a long way to make up for this; it's okay if one of the "interviewees" sounds a bit stiff. Look at Hellhouse LLC for another example of that route.
I had the backtrack to make sure I'd heard right with the first censor. YT going a bit nuts I see - Great video as always Ryan, sorry you have to deal with them breathing down your neck
Watched this for the first time last night. While I’m not a fan of the final twist, I do think it holds up very well. Especially with how much Netflix docs dominate the scene today.
God damn, I love your videos Ryan! Would you be willing to do one on The Gate? Or have you already? I feel like I’ve seen every one of your videos, even for movies I haven’t seen 😅 have a good day!
Appreciate your coverage. Not enough ppl have seen either of these films.
Granted, I saw this movie after the Blair Witch Project. And it's just as good if not better than that one.
Loved this film, an early video treat which preceded Blair Witch and, in my opinion, was much better. Really unexpected twist (although maybe predictable now). Loved the tone. Thanks for covering Ryan.
I was on a mockumentary kick after I watched the Poughkeepsie Tapes the first time and this was one that I watched. Although I had forgotten the name so thank you Ryan for giving me that so I can do some tracking down. I remember wondering at the time if Evidence got some of its ideas from this.
BTW, Ryan, I would love to see you cover Evidence (if you haven't already because I haven't seen all your videos and just thought of recommending it now without checking 😊)
If you haven't seen them yet, I highly recommend "Lake Mungo" and "SavageLand".
@@fisheyenomiko I've seen Lake Mungo and enjoyed it after watching Ryan's video on it. I will check out Savage Land. Thanks 👍
@@kiradattei Yeah, "Lake Mungo" is amazing. (-:
"SavageLand" is one word. I'm not being pedantic, there are other movies called "Savage Land", so you need to spell it correctly to find the right one. It's from 2015, which should also help you find the right one.
And another film to go on my watchlist, thanks a lot Ryan.
I think you should try covering Viy (the 1967 version) because, as a person of partial Ukrainian decent, that Ukrainian horror films are severly underrated and not discussed enough. And given the current situation I think they should be covered far more often.
I would also highley reccomend giving the Estonian flick November a review. It's one of the best non-english languge films I've had the pleasure of seeing.
Love your stuff Ryan, would love hearing your thoughts on some of the horror shows out there. Just finished Archive 81 and could imagine an amazing deconstruction of the show as a continuation/evolution of these found footage shows.
That or the Japanese movie Occult
I think about The Last Broadcast every now and then, but mainly just about that ending.
Also, I'm pretty sure I just caught this movie one time on TV and thought I was watching an actual documentary, which is probably the best way to experience it.
I remember watching this on cable as a kid back in 1999. It was pretty scary when I watched it back then, but watching it again, that ending was pretty funny lol The documentary style was actually well done and convincing at times.
this movie surprised me in a way I didn't expect, but heavily appreciate it. If you need a found footage horror film to cover Ryan (or watch dear reader) I recommend Incantation on Netflix
I watched this a couple nights ago thanks to this video (stopped before reaching spoilers) and I loved everything but the ending.
It didn't really do it for me, and the budget of the film for the first time shone through and was a distraction. The whole altercation looked so strange (like behind the scenes) and felt so sudden that I got confused with what was going on for a moment
Just recently watched it and boy, I hated the ending especially with the shift in perspective. I had binged a number of found footage films that I missed over the years and they covered the range from good to awful including The Last Broadcast, The Andy Baker Tape, Rwd, Specter, and Howard’s Mill. Howard's Mill was my favorite of the bunch and I felt was the most successful.
Yooooo I remember watching this when i was younger randomly on Cinemax one summer and I could never think of the name for the life of me. I just only remember the ending. I swore I was the only one that's ever seen this. Thanks for finding this and putting it out there