Bloodtype Online

   In my opinion "The Last Broadcast" is what the "Blair Witch Project" wished it could be. Made in 1998 by amateur filmmakers Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler, on a shoestring budget, "The Last Broadcast" is a film that truly was ahead of its time. This also might be what hurt it in the end which I will get to later in this review. After doing some research I learned from IMDB that "The Last Broadcast" is known to be the first "desktop feature film". Meaning that this movie was the first to be filmed, edited, and screened entirely digitally with no film being involved in the production at all. What's more is that the whole thing was completed with a budget under $1,000. This to me is a huge feat and I am personally very impressed with what Stefan and Lance were able to accomplish. Because of this, as an aspiring film maker myself, I admittedly have a slight bias towards this film.

     "The Last Broadcast" is one of those movies that most people either love or hate with very few being in between. The reason for this is simple. It is because the acting is bad, the camera work is amateurish at best, and the overall look of the film just comes off as being cheap. That said, it is because most viewers that hate on this film, do not see it for what it is. The love child of two guys that love film and decided to make the best movie they could with the minuscule amount of resources that they had at their disposal. As stated previously, "The Last Broadcast" was made for under $1,000. For those that expect anything more than what Avalos and Weiler accomplished, their film expectations are set a little too high.

     The most positive characteristic involving "The Last Broadcast" is within its story. The story is what even gives this film a chance in the first place. Also notice as I reveal the plot that another low budget independent film had a very similar tale. The film is basically a "mockumentary". This means that the film is done as if it is a real documentary but it is actually entirely scripted. The film begins with the narrator, ametuer film maker David Leigh, who introduces the audience to his documentary film which is exploring the fictional "Fact or Fiction" murders. As David explains, the "Fact or Fiction" murders were a high profile case that had taken place a few years earlier. The case takes place in New Jersey and began with two guys that created and co hosted a public access television show called "Fact or Fiction". With their show, the twosome explored mythical stories and tall tales all the while clowning around and actually garnering a small audience. Before long, though, the show began to lose steam and the two began looking for an idea that would bring back some viewers. This leads to a viewer wondering why they don't do a show on local legend "The Jersey Devil". Eventually the "Fact or Fiction" guys decide to do a live broadcast over the Internet that would be revolutionary and groundbreaking. Their idea is to head off into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a large forest area, where the Jersey Devil supposedly resides.

     Through all this, narrator David Leigh is telling the story and filling the viewer in all of the factoids of the case and descriptions of the events leading into the big broadcast from the Pine Barrens. As he explains, the two hosts (Steven Avkast and Locus Wheeler) recruit a paranormal sound man named Rein Clabbers and a supposed psychic named Jim Suerd. The four guys head into the woods in their search for the Jersey Devil and to try and make public access history with their live broadcast. Things go horrifically wrong, however, and only Jim Suerd returns from the Pine Barrens alive. Jim is arrested for the murders of the three men and is quickly found guilty and sent to prison where he mysteriously dies. To conclude the plot summary, the remainder of the documentary has David Leigh personally find tape of lost footage from the night that Steven, Locus, and Reign were murdered and hires a professional to put the tape together to find out exactly what happened on that fateful night. Will the mystery be solved? Watch the film if your interested in finding out.

     As I've already admitted, I am biased as a hopeful future film maker towards this film. As I've also alluded to, this movie came out before the "Blair Witch Project". With these two facts in mind, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with what Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler were able to produce. Not only were they the originators of this style of film making but also, in my opinion, were able to make a better overall film in comparison to the "Blair Witch". In the end, this is definitely one of those "love it" or "hate it" kind of movies. Most viewers that appreciate the art of film making will look passed the film's numerous flaws and shortcomings as a lot of casual viewers might not appreciate this almost no-budget effort. I commend the film makers and would personally give their film a Blood Type Online recommendation.

Rating- ***

-Jared Bajoras