8MM

Attribute, which 8 MM deserves the most, is EFFECTIVE. A story from the porn industry appropriately brutal and repulsive with its subject, featuring a number of twisted characters from the gallery and a decadent high society environment. An energetic and attractive positive hero played by the decently acting Cage, complemented by a diligent sidekick, several skillfully filmed scenes, and an overall depressing tone of the film, all led to an extremely high commercial success and recognition among movie fans. It's not Schumacher's best film, but it ranks among the better ones in its genre. Overall impression: 70%. (15/06/2006)

A gloomy and relatively rough (within Hollywood standards) film showing the dark alleys of the metropolis, mentally disturbed perverts, murderers, deviants, and a traditionally clumsy Nicolas Cage. It's not inherently bad, but his acting simply doesn't dazzle and it even the Breitlings he wears most of the time can’t help. There were several scenes pleasantly twisted my nerves and digestive system (the final scene with the music is brilliantly tense) and the decently atmospheric depiction of that underworld with all its filth and tragedy is good. It's not groundbreaking, but on the other hand, Joel Schumacher has already directed several first-class crap, so let's be glad this film turned out like this. (07/05/2005)

8MM offers a truly raw and visceral excursion into the world of the most brutal porn industry, where the line between perverse pleasure and cold-blooded murder is completely blurred. I was intrigued by the portrayal of the main character Tom Welles, who gradually becomes more and more embroiled in the case as the investigation progresses, and once it is solved, he is not (and could not be) the same as before. Joaquin Phoenix's supporting role added some humour to the plot, otherwise it was a completely depressing story about twisted people and their twisted appetites, which was "dominated" by the character of The Machine. The last third of the film caught my attention the most, and was not lacking in suspense and action. (23/07/2023)

Joel Schumacher psychologically brutalizes us and the resulting effect is excellent. However, it would have been even better with a more elaborate screenplay with more questions and unexpected twists. Even so, this is a formalistically excellent inducement to depression with brilliant performances by everyone involved. Mentally unstable viewers should avoid 8 MM! (11/04/2002)

Unlike some reviews, I don't think Joel Schumacher wanted to make a film about snuff, but rather a film about the fascination and obsession with death and its brutality. The snuff 8-millimeter with the murder of an unknown girl, whose identity private investigator Tom Welles is about to investigate, is merely a means of descending into the darkest corners of the human soul, a hell of brutality and inhumanity that eventually devours for a moment even the man who comes into it as a law enforcement officer. Nicholas Cage is amazing. The transformation from a curious investigator to an obsessive and eventually a crazy avenger is masterfully executed. Finally, the positive hero finds himself facing the inevitable questions of "why are they doing this?", "what do they like about it", which, while aimed at murderers, are designed to shed particular light on the growing darkness in his own soul. Something we all have within us. Schumacher is an excellent director, he is able to do things without unnecessary explicitness and visible brutality, yet the atmosphere of 8MM is only slightly less dense and raw than in Fincher's Seven, and it escalates as the end approaches. As a spectator, I found myself in the shoes of Tom Welles, who is disgusted and horrified, but also unable to stop. The question of "why" is too corrosive... This film is simply not a documentary about one of the scariest film genres, but the embodiment of “why" with all the consequences that come with it. An excellent embodiment... It does not give an answer, but it is the basis for (self)analysis. (07/11/2004)