A Beginner’s Guide to Snuff is a 2016 American black comedy horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers, a pseudonym for Mitchell Altieri (April Fool’s Day; The Hamiltons; The Thompsons; The Night Watchmen) from a screenplay co-written with Cory Knauf and Adam Weis.
The movie stars Joey Kern (Cabin Fever; Beneath; Bloodsucking Bastards), Luke Edwards (Jeepers Creepers 2), Bree Williamson, Brad Greenquist (Pet Sematary; Copperhead; The Cursed), Perry Laylon Ojeda, Kimberley Crossman, Tasmin Einhorn and Alfonso Faustino.
The synth score was composed by Kevin Kerrigan (The Night Watchmen; The Thompsons).
Plot:
Los Angeles: Two downbeat brothers, Dominic and Dresden, (Joey Kern and Luke Edwards), are desperate to break into the world of television and film, so decide to enter a horror movie contest that their gay landlord told them about. And what could be more horrifying than the elusive snuff film?
Of course, they won’t actually kill someone on camera — all they’re going to do is kidnap an actress, torture her, and make her think she’s going to die…
Reviews:
“Altieri and his screenwriters ape the pop culture-saturated movie psychopaths of Natural Born Killers and Scream with the incompetent double act, and offer an unsubtle running commentary on the genre’s employment of female characters. Most importantly, however, it’s genuinely funny throughout and features a ballsy, bravura turn from Williamson as the aggressively mocking, chainsaw-wielding (anti) heroine.” Horror Screams Video Vault
” …thanks to the cast playing the material as farce — plus a few sick twists — the film’s more fun than appalling. The filmmakers try too hard to comment on Hollywood’s sexist, dehumanizing nature, and a preponderance of old movie quotes crosses a line from clever to cutesy. But at no point is this brainless, sleazy exploitation.” Los Angeles Times
“Dominic asks Dresden, “What’s with all the hatred towards women?” which is followed by Jennifer’s proclamation that “It’s all about you and what you think you deserve.” Such ideas are provocative, but there’s too much telling and not enough showing.” Modern Horrors
“Kern and Edwards make an amiable pair of goofballs, and there’s an occasional bright line (amid too many in-joke movie references) in the team-written script. Still, Beginner’s Guide is rather tepid in laughs and outrageousness so long as the focus is on the boys, with their familiar Dumb and Dumber dynamic and ineptly faked bwa-ha-ha villainy. It gets livelier when the tables are turned…” Dennis Harvey, Variety
Choice dialogue:
Dresden: “Yeah, but there’s a journey of suffering in both horror and rom-com movies. One just has more and violence than the other.”
Dominic: “Why you talking like Batman?”
Release:
The film opened theatrically in Los Angeles on 23 June 2017 before Indican Pictures delivered it via VOD and on DVD on July 11.
Cast and characters:
Joey Kern … Dresden Winters
Luke Edwards … Dominic Winters
Bree Williamson … Jennifer
Brad Greenquist … Kenneth Kennedy
Perry Laylon Ojeda … Jorge
Carter MacIntyre … Infomercial Man
Caroline Adnams … Caroline
Kimberley Crossman … Kimberley
Tasmin Einhorn … Tasmin
Alfonso Faustino … Casting Associate
Sara Fletcher … Sara
Tao Jensen … Security Guard
Ana Lorenzana … Ana
Kara Luiz … Kara
Alexa Niemi … Alexa
Candace Pittman … Candace
Keith Roenke … Seedy Producer
Milynn Sarley … Milynn
Chelle Sherrill … Chelle
Vera Teixeira … Alice
Katie Wilbert … Katie
Jadine Wong … Jadine
Filming locations:
Los Angeles, California
Trailer:
