The Cohasset Snuff Film

"The Cohasset Snuff Film" purports to be found footage of a high school student's killing spree in the town of Cohasset, Massachusetts in the form of vlogs left by 17-year-old Colin Mason, and his filmed murders. The filmmakers claim that we're seeing actual murder footage in this "documentary" and, to further add to the illusion of realism, people featured in the film are credited as themselves. It's clear, while watching the interviews (with supposed psychologists, a priest, family members, fellow students of the victims, and so on) that these are actors, or people TRYING to act. It's certainly possible, and even plausible so it wouldn't spoil the illusion of a "real" documentary, that unknown amateurs were brought on for the roles. But it's evident that these were individuals reciting lines, attempting to emote, etc. I think the worst offender was "Colin Mason" himself, in his many monologues. I get where the movie was coming from, or at least what it was trying to say -- about how troubled kids are often ignored until it's too late -- but unfortunately for us, the audience, we basically learn nothing about Colin that would turn him into a killer. Which I suppose is why it was decided to just make him a serial killer instead?

And if you were drawn in by the box art, which is fairly gory, the film itself is pretty tame in comparison. There's a lot more nudity than bloodshed, which again would make you wonder why a free streaming service like Plex would have a movie that contains real murders, and the nudity of 17-year-old murder victims? I don't think that would be a thing.

One suspension of disbelief that didn't work for me is the claim that the entire town, after finding out that Colin had uploaded his murder footage to various torrent sites, decided to take action to scrub the footage off the Internet (good luck with that) and then basically erase the murders from existence. The police are going to cooperate, and risk jail themselves down the road? The town government? One woman FROM the town government is interviewed for this documentary, admitting to her crime! Surely the state's attorney general might have some questions upon being notified that in the aftermath of a serial killer operating in a small town, the police and local government just decided to destroy evidence and not notify anyone that it had happened?

For a $50,000 budget, it was an ambitious undertaking that unfortunately didn't do anything new that strained credulity.