Cigarette Burns

A must see for every horror/underground film obsessive who spends hours on weird little forums and secret torrent sites trying to track down the perfect obscure treasure, THIS is your life as a horror movie. Balls-out grotesque visuals plus a creepy, darkly funny script, by far one of Carpenter's tightest works and miles ahead of all the dumb-as-fuck remakes and Eli Roth shit that makes it to theatres nowdays.

Disturbing horror about audiences vs films, filled with an amazing build-up and, maybe, the most mesmerizing and bloody finale of Carpenter's career. Like in In the mouth of madness, there is an obsession with what's on screen and what's not -- or what's fiction and what's real --, but here the insanity is that what was supposed to be a lie is actually a true story -- put on film produced by the devil --, something that gets under your skin because it truly happened -- an angel losing his wings.

Carpenter stole the show during the first run of "Masters of Horror." He's still got it! Maybe skip "The Ward" though.

An interesting idea for a movie that's been tried before but like this film it never truly succeeds with what it tries for. This plays out like an extended episode of Tales from the Crypt. Not great but well done for a TV production.

Ohkay; thing is here (according to his Horror Hound and Rue Morgue interviews), this wasn't supposed to be a 'horror' film. It's a thriller. And as such, in a dark, drag-you-along sort of way; it really works well. Not to mention the age-old snuff story.

Now this is more like it. Definitely a "film" with problems, but, quite honestly, I can't resist the sheer deliciousness of the premise. Don't all us horror fans dream of one day discovering THE ULTIMATE HORROR MOVIE? I totally want to write the script for _Le Fin Absolue du Monde_ now, but I'd have difficulty pitching it as a worthwhile investment to producers

Makes a terrible mistake in the end by actually showing viewers The Film. After all the buildup, nothing they show you can be as terrifying as what you imagine. Carpenter of all people should know that.

This series has such terrible acting / writing / effects / pretty much everything. There's always something redeemable [in this case - Udo Kier's small part and the gore moments] but I'm really getting tired of MoH.

The idea is clever and more-or-less original and it's chewed on with plenty of gore, stylish editing and stylized performances. I also like how this movie is very short. Too many movies test your patience by being very long but this movie cuts that crap by being less than one hour long.

There are moments of greatness in here, and Carpenter shows his prowess in holding back just enough to adequately build to a surprisingly gory finish. Problem is, some elements of the film are SO contrived it hurts. The premise is its strongest suit, but could have been explored to better effect in a feature-length: I like the fictional film mix of Gance's 'La Fin du Monde', 'Begotten' and Pasolini's 'Salo' as the basis to explore the true effect of cinema on its audience.