Snuff-Movie is a 2005 gothic horror film by British director Bernard Rose

Bernard Rose (director)

Bernard Rose is an English actor and film director most famous for his direction of the 1992 urban horror film Candyman and the 1994 historical romance film Immortal Beloved....

. It stars Jeroen Krabbé

Jeroen Krabbé

Jeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...

 as a horror film maker named Boris Arkadin, whose pregnant wife was brutally murdered by a Manson

Charles Manson

Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...

-like gang of hippy psychopaths during the 1960s. Because of this he has become a recluse, until, several years later, he makes a come-back and invites some actors to a large mansion in the English countryside to 'audition' for his new film. But unknown to them they are being filmed by hidden cameras linked to a 'snuff

Snuff film

A snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...

' website.

Analysis

Snuff-Movie features two film-within-films, the first being a Hammer Horror like production by Boris Arkadin, the second being amateur home-movie type footage of the killings of the hippy psychopaths, filmed by one of their number. The apparent butchery and murder of horror film director Arkadin's pregnant wife appears to be an allusion to the similar killing of horror film director Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...

's wife Sharon Tate

Sharon Tate

Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...

 by the Manson gang.
Amongst the cinematic in-jokes on display in Snuff-Movie is the very name of the manic film director: 'Boris' being a reference to Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff

William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...

 and 'Arkadin' being a reference to Orson Welles

Orson Welles

George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...

's Mr Arkadin.As the film progresses questions of voyeurism, sex, violence, exploitation, what is real and what is 'just a movie' are explored: one scene shows a naked actress being 'crucified

Crucifixion

Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...

' in front of a crowd of film extras, others show an actress being tarred and feathered

Tarred and Feathered

"Tarred and Feathered" is a song by English punk rock band Dogs and is featured on their debut album, Turn Against This Land. Released on November 28, 2005, it was the fifth and final single taken from the album....

and in another an actress has the word 'whore' tattooed on her forehead against her will.