Snuff-Movie is a 2005 gothic horror film by British director Bernard Rose. It stars Jeroen Krabbé as a horror film maker named Boris Arkadin, whose pregnant wife, Mary, was supposedly brutally murdered by a Manson-like gang of hippy psychopaths during the 1970s. An eccentric recluse, Boris makes a comeback when he invites some actors to a large mansion in the English countryside to 'audition' for his new film. But unknown to most of them they are being filmed by hidden cameras linked to a snuff website.
Tropes in Snuff-Movie include:
- Abandoned Hospital: Arkadin's mansion was used as a hospital during WWII, and the west wing has remained untouched since then, and is still equipped with operating theatres. Arkardin and his three murder groupies hold the four actors hostage there and torment them.
- All Part of the Show: When the police arrive, Boris is able to convince them that all of the gore is props and special effects for the horror movie he is shooting.
- Carved Mark: Teenaged killer X has an 'X' carved into her forehead. Later, Angie has the word 'WHORE' tattooed on her forehead by Jack as punishment for her infidelity.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: The original murderers wrote messages in Mary's blood on the walls after they killed her. Boris Arkadin recreates this detail in his Snuff Film.
- Couldn't Find a Lighter: One of the guests at the ill-fated party in the 1970s lights a joint from a candle.
- Creepy Crosses: In his final act in recreating the occult murders of his wife and friends, Boris has Wendy literally crucified. Unless he didn't.
- The Dog Bites Back: Boris's abused son Marco is untied from the bed by a mysterious figure who might be the Devil, and stabs his father to death.
- Embarrassing Tattoo: She does not survive long enough for it to become embarrassing, but Angie has the word 'WHORE' tattooed on her forehead by Jack as punishment for her infidelity.
- Face Doodling: After seeing the film of her having sex with Matt, Jack writes the word 'WHORE' on Angie's forehead with a felt tip marker. He then starts tattooing it on.
- Facial Markings: The teenage murderer X has carved an 'x' into her flesh between her eyes at the top of her eyes.
- Faking the Dead: Jack's murder by X, Teeth and Youth is faked, so that when the police turn up to investigate, he can reappear alive and make Andy look like a lunatic.
- Film Felons: Boris goes to the trouble of filing a permission to shoot form with the local police as a cover for his snuff operation. When the police raid the mansion, he claims all of the gore is props and special effects for the horror movie he is shooting.
- Film Within a Film: Premature Burial, Boris Arkadin's classic horror film that was supposedly the inspiration for the murder of Mary Arkadin.
- Floorboard Failure: Leon tells the actors not to wander into the west wing of the house, as the floors are rotten and unstable. Matt disregards this and starts down the stairs, only to immediately put his foot through one. Leon then says that from now on he intends his words to be taken seriously.
- Gainax Ending: The ending makes it impossible to tell if anything we've just seen was real. Boris is alive, and still married to Mary, who was never murdered. Wendy doesn't exist, but is the role Mary is going to be playing in a movie. Andy doesn't exist, but is an actor named Peter who is going to play the role of Andy, but Peter bears the injuries Andy sustained. The rabbit hole goes on and on
- Impaled Palm: In an act of defiance, Marco jabs a fork through his hand at the dinner table. Later, Wendy is crucified by having nails driven through her palms.
- The Internet Is for Porn: After Wendy calls Andy to tell him she got the job, he congratulates her and then sits down at his computer and starts browsing porn.
- Man Bites Man: After Jack is dragged into the van by X, Teeth and Youth, Teeth uses her sharpened teeth to bite his throat out.
- Mind Screw: The ending makes it impossible to know if any of the events the viewer just watched actually happened, or if any of the characters are who they seem to be (or even exist in some cases).
- Mind Your Step: Leon tells the actors not to wander into the west wing of the house, as the floors are rotten and unstable. Matt disregards this and starts down the stairs, only to immediately put his foot through one. Leon then says that from now on he intends his words to be taken seriously.
- murder.com: Boris Arkadin has had his mansion fitted with hidden cameras and is streaming the murder of his actors directly on to a snuff website.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Boris is assisted in creating his Snuff Film by a trio of teenage murder groupies known as X, Teeth and Youth.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The trio of teenage murder groupies are only know as X, Teeth and Youth.
- Passion Play: At the end of the film, Wendy is crucified in a manner reminiscent of a passion play: nailed to a cross that then hoisted up, surrounded by a crowd of watching worshipers.
- Police Brutality: The police take Andy into an empty room and kick the shit out of him for wasting their time and making them look like fools.
- Scary Teeth: Teeth—one of the trio of teenage killers—has filed her teeth into points. She uses them to tear out Jack's throat.
- Severed Head Sports: The three murder groupies play catch with Jack's severed head.
- Shoot Out the Lock: When the Armed Response Team arrives, Constable Fred takes a pistol from one of them and uses it to shoot the lock on the French doors. Exactly why he does this this is unclear, as his next action is to smash a pane of glass and reach in and unlock the door.
- Shower Scene: Immediately after being shown her room in the mansion, Wendy takes a shower; accompanied by many lingering closeups.
- Snuff Film: The original murders of Mary Arkadin and her guests was filmed. Later, Boris uses hidden cameras to record and broadcast the deaths of his actors on to a snuff website.
- Spiteful Spit: When Angie is died to a chair and Jack is lambasting her for having sex with Matt, she shuts him up by spitting in his face.
- Tar and Feathers: After having her hair shaved off, and her face tattooed, Angie is tarred and feathered as the final stage of her humiliation.
- A Taste of the Lash: Wendy is flagellated with cat-o-nine tails before being crucified.
- Traumatic C-Section: In Premature Burial, the Film Within a Film, Dr. Culpepper does this: cutting the unborn baby from Mrs Maezel when he believes he can only save one of them. Later, the psychotic home invaders cut Mary's child from her in imitation of Premature Burial. The child, Marco, survives but suffers permanent disabilities.
- Traumatic Haircut: When Jack is presented with a captive Angie, and shown proof of her infidelity, his first act of revenge is to shave her head.
