The Last Broadcast — The Last Broadcast( Blu Ray)
From the late 1990s, The Last Broadcast is an early example of mockumentary/ found footage form. It follows the murder and investigation of a group of paranormal cable-access show hosts who go into the New Jersey’s Pine Barren, to look into the myth of the Jersey Devil. The film is both cleverly and largely believable constructed, with a great line of creepy intrigue and mystery running through the film, as well as effective moments of eerier-ness and low-key shock. Here from 101 Films is a recent Blu Ray release of this genre-defining picture, taking in new interviews from the directors/ writers, newly commissioned slipcase artwork from respected comic artist Stephen R. Bissette, and a booklet with new writing- plus a host of archive extras on the disc.
The Last Broadcast appeared in the year 1998, appearing a good year before The Blair Witch Project- which blew the whole found footage genre up. The film was co-written/ co-directed by Stefan Avalos and Lance Welier, who also play lead roles in the film too. But unlike The Blair Witch Project, the film is an even blend of mockumentary and formal found footage.
The film presents itself as a TV-like mystery/ true crime documentary- which is made by rather stern and serious filmmaker David Leigh(David Beard). The focus of the doc is Steven Avkast( Avalos) and Locus Wheeler( Welier)- who for the last few years have been hosting Fact Or Fiction, a cable show focusing in on Paranormal/ weird subjects in a quirky/ playful manner. The pairs show has been somewhat floundering- so they decide to a live broadcast from the Pine Barrens, looking into the legend of flying and vicious cryptid the Jersey Devil….and during this the pair, along with their audio tech Rein Clackin ( Rein Clabbers) get brutally murdered in the woods, with the only remaining member of their team been Jim Suerd( Jim Seward) a troubled young man, who may or may not be a psychic.
The film kicks off with Suerd ringing up the police from the Pine Barrens to report losing contact with the Fact Or Fiction guys, and being concerned for their safety. As it unfolds, we get presented with interviews with those who knew/ worked with Suerd, Avkast, Wheeler- as well as the police officers who investigated the murders. Initially, it seems like it’s an open and shut case- as Suerd has the blood of all three on his clothes, and he was seemingly the last to see the three. But as we get to see snippets of the group's footage, it becomes less clear who did carry out the killings- was it Suerd?, Avkast( as only his bloody hat was found)?, someone following the crew?, or the brutal flying cryptid the Jersey Devil?.
The talking heads & presentation of the mockumentary part of the film feel largely authentic/ viable- and when we get to the found in the woods footage this is equally believable. One really gets pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery as the film unfolds- and as with a real TV mystery/ murder investigation doc, there is nothing too brutal or shocking here, which again keeps the whole thing feasible/ compelling.
As you can imagine the look, tech, and early internet elements of the film certainly date it- but there is a clever and well-constructed story here, with a selection of unknown but largely believable actors filling out the film’s roles. With the whole thing coming off as one of the effective and certainly, influential examples of the found footage/ mockumentary form. I've always had a soft spot for The Last Broadcast, shortly after I’d seen it back the day after it was compared to The Blair Witch Project- and it still stands up today as a great and compelling mystery film, which clearly influenced the Blair Witch guys, but did its own distinctive take on the whole lost in the wood’s thing.
Moving on to this region B blu ray disc- and we get a great selection of extras, both new and old. The first big new thing is A New Broadcast- this runs thirty-one minutes and finds directors/ writers/ actors Stefan Avalos and Lance Welier discussing the film today, and this is most worthy/ interesting. They start off by discussing their influences on making the film- David Holzman's Diary (1967), the OJ Simson trial, Leonard Nimoy’s paranormal tv show In Search Of…, and public access TV. They move on to chat about the technology they used to create it, and how time-consuming it was using it. They discuss the very low budget of the film $900, the editing process. They talk about travelling around the world with the film, and their thoughts on it now.
Moving on to the archive side of things- two Commentary tracks from Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler- one from 1999 and 2006, Behind-the-scenes documentary: Production( 7.29), Behind-the-scenes documentary: Post-production(4.28), Behind-the-scenes documentary: Distribution(6.00), Fact or Fiction: rare clips from the infamous public access show(15.00), Jim Seward: Alive and Well performing two folk songs(6.00),Lucas: What really happened?(5.00), Gallery of Gore: Pine Barrens murder crime scene and autopsy images, Last Broadcast poster and box art from around the globe, and Trailer.
The set comes presented in a new card slip featuring new art by renowned comic artist Stephen R. Bissette. And a perfectly bound thirty-page inlay Booklet featuring great tech glitched layout/ art, and the following new articles- 'Welcome to the Digital Age: The Last Broadcast and the horrors of the Internet' by Phillip Escott and 'Fact or Fiction?' by Sarah Appleton.
In finishing it’s great to see this influential and important early found footage film getting a classy reissue from 101 Films, with a great selection of new and old extras, and very neat packaging. Certainly, one of the late highlight releases of 2021, and a must for anyone who has an interest in cleverly made and thought-provoking found footage. To purchase it direct from 101 Films head here