Movie Watch: The Last Broadcast

Some people brought The Last Broadcast to my attention after the Paranormal Activity review, and for good reason. The Last Broadcast is essentially a Blair Witch Project prototype, though it is unclear how much influence or inspiration BWP actually got from Broadcast, which was released one year earlier.

It follows a very similar vein as the other movies - low budget, documentary and self-documentary style story telling, more hints at horror than the actual thing. It's not quite as successful - the overall composition feels less tight and there is a lot of relatively boring detail dragged into the background of the murders central to the plot. Occasionally the low budget aspect shows itself in unwanted ways - but these are really just details to be forewarned about before pressing play. The movie is worth watching if not for the place it holds alongside similar films. After watching it, it feels odd if Blair Witch didn't lift from the Broadcast as some many elements are the same - a trip into the woods, a supernatural presence, characters videotaping each other, etc., etc. Oddly the real difference is that Broadcast insists on a more traditional framework in some of the plot in some places ... but I'll leave that intentionally vague as to avoid spoilers.

Basically - if this kind of horror film has interested you in the past, you owe it to yourself to check The Last Broadcast out, even if only as a historical curiosity ... but also because for what it is, it manages to be pretty entertaining.

If, however, you thought BWP was overhyped boring nonsense ... I would probably avoid it.