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Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald ... see more see more... , Christopher Bauer , Catherine Keener , Myra Carter , Amy Morton , Jenny Powell , Anne Gee Byrd , Jack Betts , Luis Oropeza , Rachel Singer , Don Creech , Norman Reedus

Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) is a surveillance expert on the rise. He's living the American dream with a wife, Amy (Catherine Keener), infant daughter, and a house in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylva... read more read more...nia. After the completion of an assignment for a U.S. Senator, Welles is summoned to the house of a recently deceased captain of industry. His widow, in settling his estate, has discovered an 8MM film in her late husband's private safe. The silent short depicts the apparent murder of a young woman by a large, masked figure, what is known as a "snuff" film. Greatly disturbed by the film's contents, the widow hires Welles to find the identity of the woman and determine if she is still alive. Welles finds the girl's identity and follows her trail from the time she ran away from home to Hollywood. Once there, Welles meets adult bookstore clerk Max California (Joaquin Phoenix) to act as Virgil to Welles' Dante. As the two begin their descent into the world of underground pornography, the detective grows more and more distant from his family, as if he cannot shake the taint of the world in which he now walks. Tom and Max eventually meet pornographers Dino Velvet (Peter Stormare) and Eddie Poole (James Gandolfini). By this time the detective finds he can no longer walk out of the inferno. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

Flixster Users

56% liked it

125,976 ratings

Critics

22% liked it

78 critics

R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Release Date: February 26, 1999

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

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Stats: 3,761 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,761)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    August 23, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    You are never prepared for the truth.

    Good movie. This film is very strong,gritty,edgy and dark. Nicolas Cage did a very good job acting on this one. The thing is this film is very real and there's actually people so sick like this in the world we live in, it's disturbing to kno... read morew this and those who do those kinds of things shall receive no forgiveness.

    Tom Welles, private eye, is hired by a wealthy widow, whose well-known husband passed away recently. She has found a reel of S8-film in a safe. On the film is a cruel slaughtering of a young girl, who obviously does not pretend or act: A snuff-movie. Welles takes up investigation, which leads him to the girl's mother and from there to Hollywood, into the office of a porn flick producer. Welles' rising obsession to solve the case also carries him away from his wife and new-born daughter. But when finally names are at hand, Welles suddenly finds himself on ice much thinner than he planned.
  • moonrivers
    July 23, 2011
    moonrivers
    Private investigator Nic Cage is hired by some old rich dame to check out a curious video found in the dead husband's safe. With some moments of interest this attempt to update the gumshoe cliche gets lost in its own over-reaching for social relevance. And Cat Keener is totally... read more wasted.
  • cosmo313
    August 21, 2010
    cosmo313
    This is a dark and eerie thriller that looks like it's trying to copy the formula that made Se7en work. It doesn't fully succeed, but it's a decent creepy little thriller regardless.

    Cage isn't bad, but this isn't really one of his most memorable performances. Joaquin Phoenix... read more though, is awesome. He chews the scenery and really has a blast. Gandolfini and Stormare aren't too bad either, but they've done better work.

    I think this is in the middle to upper range of Schumacher's work, so take that as some kind of recommendation if you want.
  • ythelastman89
    May 2, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Just plain weird, but highly entertaining and it sort've reminds me of an Italian Giallo film in terms of content and style. The porn industry is rarely tapped into in hollywood movies, this one manages to take a step further and investigate the porn underworld. It also happens t... read moreo have one creepy villain that is both disgusting and powerful. Some really decent performances from Nicolas Cage, James Gangolfini and Joaquin Phoenix. It's definitely worth seeing, if only for Machine.
  • Deano78
    April 23, 2010
    Deano78
    a dark and slow paced thriller. Quite gritty and harsh at times....but just moves at such a slow pace without a great deal of action or tension. Could've been a lot better!
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    A complete waste of an amazing cast!
  • briandeguelle
    April 27, 2009
    briandeguelle
    Very disturbing for a big budget movie.Left me shocked and sick when i watched this for the 1st time when it was release..
  • middleeasternfilms
    April 20, 2008
    middleeasternfilms
    I am not a Nicolas Cage fan by any means. That being said, this was an excellent film that takes Cage from being a sort-of pushover at the start of the film to an almost sadistic madman at the end trying to get to the bottom of a snuff film that has been proven to be real. Typica... read morel excellent performances by Phoenix, Stormare and Gandolfini highlight this lengthy (it seems longer than two hours) film about taboo pornography. Schumacher adds one of the best DVD commentaries I've heard as well.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    January 7, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Oh noooes! scary fat guys with masks and funny dudes with european names make snuff flicks, the horror! Quick, someone call Nic Cage to stop them!
  • Crashinkov
    November 19, 2007
    Crashinkov
    i didnt know what the movie was about the first time i watched it. it was aliitle hard to watch in some parts but overall it was a good movie

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
September 17, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

I can't say I warmed to the results, but I was solidly held for the film's two hours. Full Review

Derek Elley
July 22, 2008
Derek Elley, Variety

A movie that keeps jumping the gate and finally unravels all over the floor. Full Review

Peter Travers
November 24, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Director Joel Schumacher aims for a psychological depth that the script can't sustain.

Jeff Millar
July 21, 2005
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

Want to know what happens when an A-list director and A-list movie star attach themselves to a direct-to-cable screenplay? This. Full Review

Peter Rainer
August 7, 2004
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

An exploitation movie about an exploitation movie. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Given that Schumacher and his cohorts have reasons of their own for wanting to make this film, they may be the only people who end up liking it. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is a real film. Not a slick exploitation exercise with all the trappings of depravity but none of the consequences. Not a film where moral issues are forgotten in the excitement of an action climax. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
January 1, 2000
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

When it goes serious, it gets silly.

Philip Wuntch
January 1, 2000
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

Eight Millimeter demonstrates the extent that non-challenging roles have stymied Mr. Cage's talent. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
January 1, 2000
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

A pointless, violent, torture-or-be-tortured flick! Full Review

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  • Nicholas Cage investigating snuff films.  Answer »
  • Which actor was in Parenthood, 8mm, The Village & To Die For?  Answer »
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