S&man (Sandman) [Blu-ray]

*Possible Spoilers* I love this movie! The director also did "The Burrowers," but this is a totally different kind of movie. I knew this guy was an original when I saw his first (very experimental) film, "Soft For Digging." But this was an unexpected delight. It's a horror movie inside a documentary. Most of the documentary bits are real. JT, the director, interviews actual authors, psychologists, and filmmakers. He talks to the Toe Tag Pictures folks (You know, August Underground and so on) and Bill Zebbub. Let's back up a sec. If you don't know August Underground or Bill Zebbub, if you can't identify Debby D on sight, you probably won't get this movie, so stop right here. Anyway, JT starts out at a horror convention, interviewing all these real people. These are straight-up interviews with underground horror film people. But in the middle of all of this, he interviews a filmmaker named "Eric," who makes a series of films called S&Man. (That's "Sandman," by the way, not "S and M Man." Eric is quite pissy about this distinction.) Eric is a cute, chubby, sweetfaced fanboy. And he appears to be stalking and killing women for real. The more JT focuses on him, the more unsettling things get. Some reviewers have griped that they saw the twist coming. There IS no twist, Oh Dipstick Reviewers. You're supposed to believe that Eric is a killer from the first time you see him. He confesses to murder about two dozen times during the film, but no one wants to believe him. The ultimate question this film raises is voiced by the author of "Men, Women, and Chain Saws." She comments (and I'm paraphrasing) "if you watch hyper-violent movies all the time, can you even recognize the real thing when you see it?" Damn good question. I loved this sly, evil bit of filmmaking, and I can't wait to see more from this director!

S&Man is a horror movie within a documentary. The commentary from the underground filmmakers is actually very interesting; they explain why they make these films and also talk about the specific genres they explore. Throughout the film, you'll also see clips from movies like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and the August Underground series. The S&Man series is introduced within the film as they interview Eric, the creator of the series. He records himself as he stalks women then murders them on camera. His overall characteristics and actions are extremely creepy and add some tension to the movie. The movie is extremely graphic and realistic; without spoiling much, the film includes vomiting, stabbings, neck slices and nudity throughout.

Overall, the film's documentary is very interesting and I think anyone interested in horror or film in general will enjoy it. The film is violent so be prepared and remember that it's all fake; I was even a bit put off by the extreme violence but got through to the (kind of) twist ending. As of 6/11/12, the film is available on Netflix Instant streaming.

This documentary film hit all aspects on the head and was captivating to watch...a breath of fresh air and definitely would recommend to any horror junkie :-)