The Horror Show
Snuffet
by Dustin Mills
I love puppets. There, I said it. I love the idea of a puppet world and puppet people, as well as the idea of human beings and puppets co-existing all equality-like. My love for puppets was cemented with my first viewing of Peter Jackson's Meet the Feebles, when I realized you could make adult-skewing puppet films, and continued on throughout my quest to find more puppet-based viewing material. Dustin Mills did me the favor of making Puppet Monster Massacre and was kind enough to reach into my brain and produce Snuffet.
Snuffet tackles no less than two sub-genres at once: Found Footage and Faux-Snuff; two of the genres that, when done well, impress me the most. The film takes place in a world in which puppets have been freed from segregation and are part of our society. Just like with any discriminated race, there are people in the world who still hate them and want desperately to wipe them off the face of the earth. One of the most passionate of these people is a frog-masked man by the name of Helmut (Brandon Salkil). He is a frequent poster on “Flame” boards dedicated to puppet-hatred. He preaches a doctrine of complete puppet eradication. He isn't just a casual bigot, he is a dangerous hate-fueled man who has set his sights on puppets; creatures he calls “beasts.”
Unfortunately for the puppet community, Helmut isn't all talk. He practices what he preaches and has begun recording his horrible missions for the world to see. It is here that the film structure becomes clear. The film is comprised of footage of Helmut spewing his hateful philosophy whilst torturing and killing hapless, innocent puppets. Along the way, he gains a groupie named Melissa (Janet Jay) who shares his disgust for the puppet race and is elated by the image of puppet murder to the point of sexual arousal. She becomes his partner in crime and the two of them set out to carry out the actions in line with their horrifying doctrine.
In short, Snuffet is awesome. It's a whole lot of fun and each scene is a blast in and of itself. I'm biased as all hell because it's a film that feels tailored to me, but seeing as how it came from the mind of someone else, I am hardly the only one who feels this way. The film never forgets that it is, in the end, ridiculous and allows itself to get wacky, but also goes out of its way to simulate authentic found footage. I'm an addict of the depraved and disturbing. I've seen a whole lot of found footage films, faux snuff films, and authentic murder footage. Am I saying that a film in which puppets are the primary victims appears realistic? Of course not. It does, however, portray a lot of classic concepts: Sexual torture, home invasion, daytime murder, postmortem exploration, etc.
I think the words “Here we go,” complete with excitement, came out of my mouth several times, as each scene lets you know right off the bat the kind of thing you are about to witness. The movie is segmented with text explaining how the story has progressed, similar to a true crime television special. The characters pontificating in front of the camera adds a nice little touch, just enough to not get old. The beliefs of the characters are clearly modeled after real-life bigotry fueled killers. Helmut detests puppets, puppet-lovers, humans having any romantic or sexual contact with puppet kind, etc. His beliefs are radical and evil, but they are his. At first I felt the performance of Helmut was a little weak, but as the film progressed I grew to really dig the character (entertainment-wise, I do not condone violence against the puppet community, whom I only have the utmost respect for.) He is just the right amount of conviction and fun.
One of the great things about puppet movies is that they are able to go places that most (not all) horror films are unwilling to go. Men, women, children, babies, they’re all victims splayed out on screen and it's a total hoot. The flick has a great way of being hilarious based solely on the material, but staying authentic to the concept of found footage murder. There was never a moment where I found myself bored or any other emotion aside from enthralled.
Janet Jay does a fantastic job as the psychotic follower of our anti-hero. Ever since August Underground's Mordum I've had a thing for serial killer girlfriend characters who revel in the depravity alongside the man they spend their time with. It's sweet in a horrible, horrible way. The puppet voice-acting is exactly what it should be: equal parts genuine terror and goofiness. The story plays out in a number of creative ways and the ending is very unique.
If you have a puppet friend or family member, it may be difficult to watch some of the scenes, but other than that I absolutely recommend Snuffet to the horror/exploitation/camp crowd. It's on the short side, but for the project itself, the running time is perfect and I am hoping to someday see another installment. Is it for everyone? No, and that's how you know it's great.
P.J. Griffin, HMS
The Horror Show Menu.