Good afternoon, House of Madness jackals:
If you've read my 'about me' page, you'll know I'm a massive fan of the found footage genre, and if you haven't read my 'about me' page, I'm a massive fan of the found footage genre. Now that we've cleared up that mystery, let's talk about one of the films that helped pave the way for future low budget, first person projects that try to involve the audience with a feeling of truth and resonation that you just can't capture on a $63 trillion budget, ya know? Other than the 'shaky cam', one of the other main complaints of found footage is that nothing happens for most of the movie, and the entire venture was for three minutes of scares, or ostentatious reveals. I disagree wholeheartedly with both perspectives, as I fully buy into the realism the handheld camera brings, and the other main complaint is easily dissipated if you've ever had sex, and enjoy the anticipation almost as much as the fornication. Relax, I said almost. Regardless of your opinion on the latter, "The Last Broadcast" does more than enough to hold your attention for the majority of its 86 minute runtime.
Things start off with filmmaker David Leigh (David Beard) introducing us to a murder case in which four people went into the New Jersey pine barrens. Locus (Lance Weiler) and Rein (Rein Clabbers) were found dead, Steven (Stefan Avalos) is still missing, and Jim (Jim Suerd) died under mysterious circumstances in prison, while serving a double life sentence for the murders of Locus and Rein. Upon the retrieval of some newly discovered footage from the murders, David, once a believer in Jim's guilt after buying into all the damning evidence the prosecution presented to ensure his conviction, now has his doubts, and sets out to investigate and provide us with his unbiased truths.
Starting with how the foursome of murderous misfits came to be, it begins with Steven and Locus, two friends that have their own paranormal broadcast called "Fact or Fiction", and after enjoying a few years of success, find themselves on the brink of having to pack it all in, and move on to other life projects. This notion isn't appealing to either of them, so they decide to heed the advice of one of their internet followers, and announce they will be doing the first ever broadcast out in the wilderness, and the subject is the longstanding legend of the Jersey Devil. Rein is instantly hired as their 'sound guy', and Jim is being brought along because of the psychic abilities he's suggested to possess. Their familiarity with Rein is obvious from previous projects, but little is known of newcomer Jim, and to simply call him 'eccentric' would be the equivalent of calling Oscar the Grouch 'a little cranky'. Plans are made, schedules are set, and the foursome head out for some adventure and discovery, both with the purpose of bringing their show back into the realm of interest and profitability.
When they arrive in the barrens, instead of a map, they rely on the inner compass and navigational skills of Jim. After about three miles, Jim has had enough of Rein's cynicalness of his self proclaimed abilities, pushes him, and runs off into the woods, never to be seen by the group again, according to him. All of this is captured and recorded, but later that night when the time comes to see how the dead met their fate, the footage seems to end, and all that's left are assumptions and circumstantial evidence. Unfortunately for Jim, both the lack of evidence, and the traces of the victims's blood on his clothing leaves him as the only suspect, and he is easily prosecuted and sentenced to two life terms, one for each of the deceased. Steven was never found dead or alive, so Jim was not prosecuted for his potential demise, as his double life sentence was deemed accepted justice.
Now we get to why David is doing all of this, as fresh new footage has been delivered to him, although much of it is too damaged to comprehend. The footage is then turned over to data retrieval expert Michelle Monarch (Michele Pulaski), for her to reconstruct and decipher. This is where "The Last Broadcast" goes off the proverbial rails, and leaves more questions than a toddler on caffeine with its completely unnecessary, nonsensical conclusion. It really is a shame they chose the ending they did for this film, as it really was on a path of remembrance, but unfortunately leaves you wandering a trail of regretful absentmindedness.
Horrible ending aside, "The Last Broadcast" still plays an important role in helping to build the found footage genre, so instead or turning it off in its final 20 or so minutes, maybe just pretend you're on a beach in the tropics; it sure helps us Canadians cope with winter.
Madness Meter: 6.4/10
NB
