8 mm movie review

• Sony Pictures Releasing

Summary Tom Welles (Cage) is a family man with a modest home-based private investigation business living a simple life in Pennsylvania -- until a reel of crudely shot eight millimeter film sends him down a gritty and frightening path into society's darkest corners. (Sony)

Directed By : Joel Schumacher

Written By : Andrew Kevin Walker

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Time Out says

Despite a script by Seven writer Andrew Kevin Walker , this shines only the faintest of lights on the darker side of the human psyche. Summoned by wealthy widow Mrs Christian and her lawyer (Heald), ambitious PI Tom Welles (Cage) is asked to establish whether the 8mm 'snuff movie' found in the dead husband's safe is real or fake. This starts like a hetero reprise of Cruising , with Welles neglecting wife and child to immerse himself in LA's porno underworld, guided by Max (Phoenix), an assistant in an adult bookshop. Once he homes in on the film-makers, however, the emphasis shifts from challenging ambivalence to the crudest knee-jerk vigilantism. And by the time we get to the climactic confrontation with masked sadist 'Machine', it's clear that, whereas Walker's collaboration with David Fincher on Seven was a successful meeting of minds, 8MM was born out of a serious clash of sensibilities. There's no faulting Cage's committed, intense performance, but his slide from professional, internalised concern into personal, self-righteous rage still leaves a nasty aftertaste.

Aspect Ratio 2.35 Wide Screen Sound Source Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Special Features Directors Commentary / Deleted Scenes / Filmography / Trailer Main Language English

Release Details

• Duration: 123 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: Joel Schumacher
• Screenwriter: Andrew Kevin Walker
• Nicolas Cage
• Joaquin Phoenix
• James Gandolfini
• Peter Stormare
• Anthony Heald
• Chris Bauer
• Catherine Keener
• Myra Carter

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Where to watch

Directed by Joel Schumacher

You can't prepare for where the truth will take you

A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.

Nicolas Cage Joaquin Phoenix James Gandolfini Peter Stormare Anthony Heald Chris Bauer Catherine Keener Myra Carter Amy Morton Norman Reedus Jenny Powell Anne Gee Byrd Jack Betts Luis Oropeza Rachel Singer Don Creech Fran Bennett Wilma Bonet Luis Saguar Walter K. Jordan Norm Compton Brian Keith Russell John Robb Devan Brown Doris Brent Robert Amico Kiva Dawson Rachel Wolfe Suzy Nakamura Show All… Torsten Voges Tahitia Dean Texas Terri Vernon Guichard II Emily Patrick Nancy Vee Lisa Vanasco Bridgett Vera Jennifer Harris Burton Richards Jovanna Vitiello David U. Hodges William Lawrence Mack Lorena M. Santos Connie Mercurio William Buck Kerry Corcoran Mario Ernesto Sánchez Claudia Aros Ava Lee Scott Deborah Smith Ford Jacklyn Lick Carla Moon

Director Director

Joel Schumacher

Producers Producers

Joel Schumacher Judy Hofflund Gavin Polone Jeff Levine

Writer Writer

Andrew Kevin Walker

Casting Casting

Mali Finn Terrence Harris Emily Schweber

Editor Editor

Mark Stevens

Cinematography Cinematography

Robert Elswit

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Alan Edmisten David Hallinan

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Eli Richbourg

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Joseph M. Caracciolo

Lighting Lighting

James Plannette Billy Craft Donald Dowd Russell Engels

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Rick Raphael

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Debbie Arrowood

Production Design Production Design

Gary Wissner

Art Direction Art Direction

Gershon Ginsburg Jason Weil

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Gary Fettis Colin De Rouin Mychael Bates Masako Masuda

Special Effects Special Effects

Al Griswold Richard Wood

Stunts Stunts

Eddie Yansick Bill Anagnos Tanner Gill Ralph Ferrara Carrick O'Quinn John Robotham Chad Stahelski

Composer Composer

Mychael Danna

Sound Sound

Kim Maitland Anthony Milch Joe Divitale Carl D. Ware Tom Nelson John Leveque Willie D. Burton Nerses Gezalyan Becky Sullivan Gary A. Hecker

Costume Design Costume Design

Makeup makeup.

Linda Grimes

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Joseph Coscia Peter Tothpal

Global Medien KG Hofflund/Polone Columbia Pictures

Germany USA

Releases by Date

19 feb 1999, 26 feb 1999, 26 jun 1999, 05 mar 1999, 06 mar 1999, 09 mar 1999, 10 mar 1999, 13 mar 1999, 19 mar 1999, 25 mar 1999, 01 apr 1999, 07 apr 1999, 09 apr 1999, 10 apr 1999, 15 apr 1999, 16 apr 1999, 23 apr 1999, 29 apr 1999, 30 apr 1999, 01 may 1999, 05 may 1999, 06 may 1999, 07 may 1999, 13 may 1999, 14 may 1999, 20 may 1999, 21 may 1999, 05 apr 2000, 10 dec 2016, 15 sep 2022, 03 dec 2002, 25 mar 2008, 15 sep 2012, 01 nov 2017, 28 nov 2018, 31 may 2002, releases by country.

• Theatrical 18
• Theatrical R 18+
• Theatrical KNT/ENA
• Physical 18A DVD
• Theatrical 18+
• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical K-18
• Theatrical 16
• Digital VOD
• Digital Netflix
• Premiere 18 Berlin International Film Festival
• Theatrical IIB
• Premiere Jakarta
• Physical Blu-Ray
• Theatrical VM18
• Theatrical R18+
• Physical C DVD

Netherlands

• TV 16 SBS 6
• Physical 16 DVD

New Zealand

Philippines.

• Theatrical R-18
• Theatrical M/18
• Premiere 18+
• Theatrical R21

South Korea

Switzerland.

• Theatrical R

United Arab Emirates

• Physical DVD

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Popular reviews

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★ 6

I'm here for Peter Stormare as a demonic porn producer with a crossbow

Review by nathaxnne [hiatus <3] ★★★★ 9

I will not hesitate to say that I don't really understand '8MM' except in the broadest terms. 'Se7en' was a hit, so let's get another script the person who wrote that also wrote and make a Hollywood Blockbuster out of it! Everyone wins! What they actually made, as far as I can tell, though, is the world's straightest but most awesome parody of Paul Schrader's 'Hardcore' with Nicholas Cage as George C Scott, as made by someone who was coming down off of the sugar rush of making the world's most delirious Batman films ever and who essentially made another Batman film without Batman but with Batman Villains and also with Joaquin Phoenix as a Boy Wonder sidekick who works…

Review by matt lynch ★★½ 4

Hunting for weird underground movies you tend to come across a lot of bizarre porn, stuff you just didn't realize would be someone's fetish at all (like girls stuck in quicksand or crushing snails in stiletto heels, or cosplayers doing CPR). I've occasionally seen some downright disturbing shit, but the worst nightmares this seems to be able to come up with (outside of snuff of course) are like latex and enemas and Peter Stormare. But despite its absurdly prudish grasping for some outré kink hell, this does manage to manufacture some moments of genuine dread and real empathy for its victims, especially in the scenes involving the dead girl's mother. You also get a taste of some early Mega Cage. There might've been a truly, exquisitely ugly version of this material, but Joel Schumacher probably wasn't the guy to handle it. A bad movie I like.

Discussed on Episode 40 of The Suspense is Killing Us .

Review by kmeaston ★★½

I did not have "watch enema porn" on my to-do list for today, but here we are. (It's more a weekend thing for me, honestly).

Review by Nakul ★★★½

"What did you expect, a monster ?"

Joel Schumacher's 8MM got mixed reviews when it was released, but i think it's aged quite well!! Little sentimental & sometimes silly but it's a really solid, sleazy and dark neo-noir thriller, written by Andrew Walker (SE7EN) and shot by the great Robert Elswit. Also the cast is super stacked: Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare & Anthony Heald. Some fine early era Cage Rage, too. The last scene of Gandolfini sucking a gun is so goddamn chilling. The man was a treasure.

Review by Vishwas Verma 🟠🟢🔵 ★★★★ 6

Kinda CLASSIC.

A very Nicholas Cage thing. Disturbing, effective, subjective thriller (of course, it's by the writer of Se7en). A dark, graphic view into the underworld of pornography. Joaquin Phoenix's performance was outstanding and James Gandolfini was good too.

I was surprised after checking the low ratings/reviews, It was very dark and gritty and possibly Schumacher's best work.

Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★½ 12

So rumor has it that Schumacher was sooo drained in disappointment and drowned in frustration after finishing the turd that is Batman and Robin that he was seeking for anything bleak or entirely opposite to the neon vomit that was the 1997 stuff that served as the final nail in the coffin in the awful superhero movies from the 90s (Blade notwithstanding). And so he was given the script for this film and he went full in.

Now, this movie is not as fascinating as that story but its not as awful as many people seems to painted as in here. Sure, it often feels like a discounted version of Seven written by the screenwriter of that movie and instead…

Review by Blake Bergman "Various Spaghetti" ★★★½ 8

"8MM" is a late 90's neo noir venue from director Joel Schumacher staring Nicholas Cage within the leading role. Cage stars as a private investigator who goes down a long and dark tunnel surrounding the underbelly of the pornography world and its possibly deepest subtyped endeavor that could be possibly established, the disturbing mythos of the "snuff" film. As pornography obviously has its nuanced builds of different drivers of what people are attracted to, the idea of "snuff" extracts the darkest thoughts of human mentality as it centers on themes of death for purposes of arousal. As arousal itself has buildings of animalistic automations within in that can exceed clear rationality in moments of action, one can only guess the…

Review by hugefilmguy ★★★½ 3

I'd let Joaquin Phoenix whip me

Review by pd187 ★★★★ 6

i love this dumb movie to death but watching it with joel schumacher commentary was a mistake cuz his boring npr-interview monotone droning on & on about the bounty of philosophical meanings revealed by his unintentionally campy se7en ripoff was beyond intolerable.. at 1 point he refers to himself in the company of "john ford, john huston, alfred hitchcock, walt disney, and elia kazan" - not as influences, as peers!! some good nic cage anecdotes - apparently he hates gossip, which schumacher calls "shit du jour"

Review by Tony the Terror ★★★★½ 2

I somehow missed this when it first came out probably because I was too busy partying to watch a movie and I’m kinda glad that happened because I just don’t think I would have appreciated this then like I do now. What a beautiful fucking mess it is!

I love that this was trashed by critics at the time for being too violent and sleazy because it’s really not bad at all by today’s standards and actually not as violent as many movies would be just a few years later when the torture porn train pulled out of the station. The looks on Nic’s face as he watches the honestly pretty tame snuff film are an absolute treasure of Cageness.…

Review by Mario 🟠🟢🔵 ★★★½ 6

Humanity is one fucked up race. One Movie Every Day 2021

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"8MM" is a movie that keeps jumping the gate and finally unravels all over the floor. A murky melange of borrowings from far superior pix like "Seven," "Hardcore" and "The Silence of the Lambs," this overly dark and often gratuitously nasty film about a PI investigating the source of a supposed "snuff movie" raises issues it later junks in favor of mainstream thrills.

By Derek Elley

Derek Elley

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“8MM” is a movie that keeps jumping the gate and finally unravels all over the floor. A murky melange of borrowings from far superior pix like “Seven,” “Hardcore” and “The Silence of the Lambs,” this overly dark and often gratuitously nasty film about a PI investigating the source of a supposed “snuff movie” raises issues it later junks in favor of mainstream thrills and is toplined by a perf from Nicolas Cage that isn’t up to the job. With direction from Joel Schumacher that swings abruptly from faux modern noir to regulation Hollywood thriller, this looks like a tough sled in the domestic marketplace for Sony, which chose to preem the movie at the Berlin fest — perhaps wisely, as foreign looks to contribute a sizable portion of whatever money it makes.

Buffs expecting another stygian psychothriller from scripter Andrew Kevin Walker (“Seven”) are going to be massively disappointed. Walker’s latest effort is frequently simplistic in its emotions and far more routine in structure: Though his theme is again Evil with a capital E, “8MM” has none of his previous work’s clammy tension or gut-curdling moments. After initial curiosity, general auds are likely to be turned off by the coldly manipulated content, which certainly pushes the envelope for a major studio production.

Popular on Variety

Cage plays Tom Welles, a surveillance specialist who lives a comfortable existence in Harrisburg, Pa., and is well regarded in his profession but is still waiting for his break into the big time. A family man whose work keeps him away from home too often for the likes of his wife, Amy (Catherine Keener), he’s hired by Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter), widow of the state’s richest businessman, to discover the identity of a teenage girl seemingly murdered by a masked man in an 8mm movie she found in her late husband’s private safe.

Opening reels are promising, with the pic settling into tightly-constructed, procedural mode as the methodical, businesslike Welles, who believes “snuff movies” are a modern myth, treats the big-bucks assignment as a missing-persons case that will pay for his baby daughter’s future education.

Establishing by way of the film’s stock that it was made some six or seven years earlier, Welles finally identifies the girl as Mary Anne Mathews, who has been missing since ’93. The trail leads to her mother, Janet (Amy Morton), and thence to L.A., where Mary Anne went in search of fame and fortune in the movies.

Checking out Hollywood’s adult bookstores, Welles makes the acquaintance of porn shop owner Max California (Joaquin Phoenix), who he hires to guide him through L.A.’s hard-core S&M movie scene. Phoenix’s louche, quipping performance brings a welcome touch of humor to the picture as it enters “hard-core” territory, with brief but surprisingly graphic glimpses of the product Welles views to find clues to Mary Anne’s history.

Welles finally gets a major break that leads him to porno moviemaker Eddie Poole (James Gandolfini), who clearly recognizes the girl’s picture, and then to New York S&M specialist Dino Velvet (Peter Stormare). More and more convinced that Mary Anne actually died in the movie, Welles hires Velvet to make a movie of his prescription, on condition that he can attend the shooting and meet Dino’s star performer, the leather-masked Machine (Chris Bauer).

It’s here, 75 minutes in, that the movie suddenly jumps the rails after its lengthy setup. For no convincing reason, the script perfunctorily dumps Phoenix’s character and leaves Cage, whose performance to this point could most kindly be described as one-dimensional, to carry the movie forward. From this point on, it largely settles into a tenebrous action-thriller, with a villain suddenly unmasked in the woodpile, Cage and his family imperiled, and a final couple of reels in which both Walker’s script and Schumacher’s direction careen all over the commercial highway.

Whereas Paul Schrader’s “Hardcore” was fueled by a parent’s moral indignation at the discovery of his daughter’s descent into iniquity, “8MM” has a central figure whose growing anger at the trade he’s investigating is due more to his indecision over whether he should step away from the job and forfeit a large check. Sidestepping any real examination of Welles’ conflicts, the script simply settles for a remark from Max: “You dance with the devil, the devil doesn’t change. The devil changes you.” Right.

As Welles, Cage simply doesn’t have the range to beef up an underwritten part, which changes from buttoned-down professional to screaming moral avenger in the space of a reel. Phoenix’s Max, the only shaded character in the film, and the only thesp with whom Cage establishes any kind of chemistry, is a severe loss at the two-thirds point from which the picture never recovers.

Gandolfini and Stormare are routine as the pornographers, with the latter over-acting badly, and Keener, whose presence throughout the movie is mostly at the other end of a phone to Cage, is undercut by a role that veers from kissy-kissy wife to irritating grouch. Far better is Morton, in a quietly affecting perf as the missing girl’s mother. Sole touch of real class is provided by vet Carter, as Christian’s restrained, dignified widow.

As would be expected from a Schumacher production, the crew mostly delivers on the technical side, with Robert Elswit’s widescreen lensing always well composed and Gary Wissner’s production design packed with detail. Sole lapse is Mychael Danna’s score, which is as eccentric in tone as the movie it accompanies.

• Production: A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures presentation of a Hofflund/Polone production. Produced by Gavin Polone, Judy Hofflund, Joel Schumacher. Executive producer, Joseph M. Caracciolo. Co-producer, Jeff Levine. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Screenplay, Andrew Kevin Walker.
• With: Tom Welles - Nicolas Cage Max California - Joaquin Phoenix Eddie Poole - James Gandolfini Dino Velvet - Peter Stormare Longdale - Anthony Heald Machine - Chris Bauer Amy Welles - Catherine Keener Mrs. Christian - Myra Carter Janet Mathews - Amy Morton With: Jenny Powell, Anne Gee Byrd, Jack Betts, Luis Oropeza, Rachel Singer, Don Creech, Norman Reedus. Camera (Deluxe Color, Technicolor prints; Panavision widescreen), Robert Elswit; editor, Mark Stevens; music, Mychael Danna; production designer, Gary Wissner; art director, Gershon F. Ginsburg; costume designer, Mona May; sound (Dolby/SDDS), Thomas Nelson; stunt co-ordinator, Eddie Yansick; assistant director, Alan Edmisten; casting, Mali Finn. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (competing), Feb. 18, 1999. MPAA rating: R. Running time: 119 MIN.

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Looking Back on ‘8MM’ – The Horror Masterpiece That Almost Was

As the world becomes increasingly desensitized to extreme media, it’s easy to imagine unsimulated death as the disturbing final frontier of both horror and pornography. While there has never been a confirmed case of murder-on-tape being intentionally distributed for commercial purposes, the idea of snuff films has captured the imagination of writers and filmmakers for decades now. Several scary movies have attempted to explore this terrifying concept, with varying degrees of success, but the most notable of these might just be Joel Schumacher ‘s controversial 8MM , a flawed but memorable thriller that comes frustratingly close to being a horror masterpiece.

Revealing the dark intersection where art, sex and death meet, 8MM was originally conceived by critically acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker as a bleak neo-noir/horror hybrid. Walker was already in demand after having written David Fincher’s Seven , so it’s no surprise that the studio paid a whopping $1.75 million for the script to 8MM . While the producers were convinced that they had a certified hit on their hands, they also suspected that the story’s graphic content might alienate their target demographic, and that’s where the trouble began.

The studio inevitably asked Walker to tone down the script’s heavy subject matter, but when Schumacher came onboard the project the writer believed that the two of them could fight the higher-ups like he had previously done with Fincher on Seven . Unfortunately, Schumacher agreed that Walker’s dreary vision was way too dark for general audiences and chose to rewrite some of the movie alongside Nicholas Kazan .

This led to a public falling out between the writer and director, with Walker abandoning the set and disowning the completed film, claiming that they had butchered his screenplay. The original script is actually available online, and while the plot changes aren’t quite as drastic as the writer suggests, there is a pretty big difference in tone. According to Walker, “the problem was that it wasn’t sustaining the misery or suspense as much,” which led to a more conventional end product.

While it’s easy to judge Schumacher for siding with the studio (especially once it became popular to criticize him after Batman & Robin and The Phantom of the Opera ), you have to remember that he had previously given us classics like The Lost Boys and Falling Down , and wasn’t necessarily trying to sabotage Walker’s story. At the end of the day, the director was justifiably concerned about the film not finding an audience due its intended portrayal of gore, sexual assault and even pedophilia.

The worst kind of video nasty.

Naturally, production went on regardless of the behind-the-scenes drama, with Nicolas Cage personally expressing interest in the project, resulting in a much larger budget. Joaquin Phoenix was also brought in to co-star, as well as Peter Stormare and even James Gandolfini . While the completed film only hints at the depravity behind Walker’s original story, the excellent cast and stylish direction make 8MM a delightfully eerie detective story that’ll likely leave you feeling dirty once the credits roll.

If you haven’t seen the movie, Nicolas Cage stars as Tom Welles, a private eye hired by a wealthy widow to discover if the alleged snuff film in her late husband’s collection is the real deal. The ensuing investigation leads Welles all the way to Hollywood, where he reluctantly partners with porn-store clerk Max California (Joaquin Phoenix) in order track down the origins of the mysterious film. Falling down a perverted rabbit hole, the duo eventually uncovers a seedy underworld of extreme pornography, misguided artists and violent sadists.

Even in its toned-down form, 8MM boasts quite a few legitimately chilling moments. From the near-casual presentation of deeply unsettling categories of illegal porno (everything from “cats” to “kids”) to the final reveal about who produced the mysterious snuff film and why, the movie is at its best when exploring the negative impact of extreme media on the human psyche, ultimately suggesting that evil is much closer to home than you might think.

The experience is made even more compelling by Cage’s performance as a decent man slowly descending into madness, with his character becoming obsessed with this horrific case. As the investigation intensifies, Welles goes from extreme disgust at the mere idea of entering a porn shop to thoroughly combing through hours of depraved footage in an attempt to find evidence, with Cage doing his best to convey the character’s subtle transformation into a desensitized husk of a human being.

The rest of the cast is also great, with Phoenix’s charming portrayal of Max California being one of the highlights of the film. His budding friendship with Welles contrasts with the constant degeneracy surrounding them, especially when you meet characters like Stormare’s Dino Velvet, a scene-chewing pornographer with delusions of grandeur. James Gandolfini and Amy Morton are also excellent additions to the ensemble, and there’s even a surprising appearance by a young Norman Reedus .

Not your average standoff.

Personally, I think Chris Bauer really stands out in one of the film’s most haunting moments, as we discover that despite our monstrous expectations, the sadistic actor/murderer “Machine” is just an ordinary man underneath the spooky leather outfit. Surprisingly enough, this scene wasn’t featured in the original screenplay, making it one of Schumacher and Kazan’s greatest contributions to the story.

These believable elements make 8MM stand out as an exploration of the banality of evil instead of a run-of-the-mill thriller. The final reveal that the snuff film wasn’t actually part of some grand conspiracy is especially poignant, with the case turning out to be another example of bored rich people doing evil things just because they could. Not only is this the most realistic answer to Welles’ investigation, but it also has the most disturbing implications, as we’re aware that something like this could very well happen in the real world, if it hasn’t already.

Of course, the film has its fair share of flaws, especially during the weirdly-paced second act that relies on disappointingly conventional car chases and shoot-outs to keep things moving. A lot of this seems out of place considering the horrific setup that came before, and I feel like the movie would have benefited from a consistently darker tone. Visually, the film does a good job of establishing this grimy underworld, but it’s clear that Schumacher was approaching the material from a less-horrific point of view.

Regardless, 8MM was ultimately a box-office success, winning over most audiences even if professional critics weren’t all that impressed. Several reviews actually suggested that the production was just a David Fincher away from being a good movie, claiming that Schumacher didn’t really get the material and that the rewrites destroyed the final product. I don’t necessarily agree, as a lot of the film’s issues were already present in the original script, and Schumacher added a lot of flare to the story, as well as my favorite scene. That being said, I do think that a darker tone and a quicker pace would have led 8MM to being remembered as a horror masterpiece alongside hits like Walker’s own Seven or even The Silence of the Lambs .

Walker has said that he’s still waiting for a remake to faithfully adapt his original take on the story, and while I’d absolutely love to see it produced as either a 90s period piece or an updated digital thriller, I think Schumacher’s 8MM is an underappreciated movie that comes frustratingly close to greatness. It may drag in a few scenes and it doesn’t quite live up to its horrific ideas, but there’s an undeniable sense of dread accompanying Welles’ investigation that makes this a hellish ride still worth taking today.

Born Brazilian, raised Canadian, Luiz is a writer and Film student that spends most of his time watching movies and subsequently complaining about them.

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Tending to land further down his list of achievements and influences a bit is his work as a director, which is admittedly a more complicated legacy. Yes, Corman made some bad movies, no one is disputing that, but he also made some great ones. If he was only responsible for making the Poe films from 1960’s The Fall of the House of Usher to 1964’s The Tomb of Ligeia , he would be worthy of praise as a terrific filmmaker. But several more should be added to the list including A Bucket of Blood (1959) and Little Shop of Horrors (1960), which despite very limited resources redefined the horror comedy for a generation. The Intruder (1962) is one of the earliest and most daring films about race relations in America and a legitimate masterwork. The Wild Angels (1966) and The Trip (1967) combine experimental and narrative filmmaking in innovative and highly influential ways and also led directly to the making of Easy Rider (1969).

Finally, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963) is one of the most intelligent, well crafted, and entertaining science fiction films of its own or any era.

Officially titled X , with “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” only appearing in the promotional materials, the film arose from a need for variety while making the now-iconic Poe Cyle. Corman put it this way in his indispensable autobiography How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime :

“If I had spent the entire first half of the 1960s doing nothing but those Poe films on dimly let gothic interior sets, I might well have ended up as nutty as Roderick Usher. Whether it was a conscious motive or not, I avoided any such possibilities by varying the look and themes of the other films I made during the Poe cycle—The Intruder, for example—and traveling to some out-of-the-way places to shoot them.”

Some of these films, in addition to Corman’s masterpiece The Intruder (1962), included Atlas and Creature from the Haunted Sea in 1961, The Young Racers (1963), The Secret Invasion (1964), and of course X , which was originally brought to him (as was often the case) only as a title from one of his bosses, James H. Nicholson. Corman and writer Ray Russell batted the idea presented in the title around for a couple days before coming to this idea also described in Corman’s book:

“He’s a scientist deliberately trying to develop X-Ray or expanded vision. The X-Ray vision should progress deeper and deeper until at the end there is a mystical, religious experience of seeing to the center of the universe, or the equivalent of God.”

While Corman worked on other projects, Russell and Robert Dillon wrote the script, which has a surprising profundity rarely found in low-budget science fiction films of the era. Like The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) before it and 2001: A Space Odyssey ( 1968) after, X grapples with nothing less than humanity’s miniscule place in an endless cosmos. These films also posit that, despite our infinitesimal nature, we still matter.

In some senses, X plays out like an extended episode o f The Twilight Zone . Considering Corman’s work with regular contributors to that show Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont during this era, this makes a lot of sense. It begins with establishing the conceit of the film—X-ray vision discovered by a well-meaning research scientist Dr. James Xavier, played by Academy Award Winner Ray Milland . The concept is then developed in ways that are innocuous, fun, or helpful to humanity or himself. As the effect of the eyedrops that expand his vision cumulate, Xavier is able to see into his patients’ bodies and see where surgeries should be performed, for example. He is also able to see through people’s clothes at a late-evening party and eventually cheat at blackjack in Las Vegas. Finally, the film takes its conceit to its extreme, but logical, conclusion—he keeps seeing further and further until he sees an ever-watching eye at the center of the universe—and builds to a shock ending. And like many of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone , X is spiritual, existential, and expansive while remaining grounded in way that speaks to our humanity.

Two sections of the film in particular underscore these qualities. The first begins after Xavier escapes from his medical research facility after being threatened with a malpractice suit. He hides out as a carnival sideshow attraction under the eye of a huckster named Crane, brilliantly played by classic insult comedian Don Rickles in one of his earliest dramatic roles. At first, a blindfolded Xavier reads audience comments off cards, which he can see because of his enhanced vision. Corman regulars Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze appear as hecklers in this scene. He soon leaves the carnival and places himself into further exile, but Crane brings people to him who are infirmed or in pain and seeking diagnosis. Crane then collects their two bucks after Xavier shares his insights. This all acts as a kind of comment on the tent revivalists who hustled the desperate out of their meager earnings with the promise of healing. Now in the modern era, it is still effective as these kinds of charlatans have only changed venues from canvas tents to megachurches and nationwide television.

The other sequence comes right at the end. After speeding his way out of Las Vegas under suspicion of cheating at cards, Xavier gets in a car accident and wanders out into the Nevada desert. He finds his way to a tent revival and is asked by the preacher, “do you wish to be saved?” He responds, “No, I’ve come to tell you what I see.” He speaks of seeing great darknesses and lights and an eye at the center of the universe that sees us all. The preacher tells him that he sees “sin and the devil,” and calls for him to literally follow the scripture that says, “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” Xavier’s hands fly to his face, and the last moment of the film is a freeze frame of his empty, bloody eye sockets.

At this point, Xavier is seeing the unfathomable secrets of the universe. Taken in a spiritual sense, he is the first living human to see the face of God since Adam before being exiled from the Garden of Eden. But neither the scientific community nor the spiritual one can accept him. The scientific community sees him as a pariah, one who has meddled in a kind of witchcraft because he has advanced further and faster than they have been able to. The spiritual leader believes he has seen evil because he cannot fathom a person seeing God when he, a man of God, is unable to do so himself. The one man who can supply answers to the eternal questions about humanity’s place in the universe, questions asked by science and religion alike, is rendered impotent by both simply because they are unable to see. The myopia of both camps is the greater tragedy of X . Xavier himself perhaps finally has relief, but the rest of humanity will continue to live in darkness, a blindness that is not physical but the result of a lack of knowledge that Xavier alone could provide. In other words, he could help them see, or to use religious terminology, give sight to the blind. Rumor has it that a line was cut from the final film in which Xavier, after plucking out his eyes, cries out “I can still see!” A horrifying line to be sure, but it also would have kept the tragedy personal. In the final version, the tragedy is cosmic.

I usually try to keep myself out of the articles in this column, but allow me to break convention if I may. Roger Corman’s death affected me in ways that I did not expect. With his advanced age I knew the news would come down sooner rather than later, but maybe a part of me expected him to outlive us all. Corman’s legacy loomed large, but he never seemed to believe too much of his own press. I’ve heard many stories over the years of his gentle, even retiring demeanor, his ability to have tea and conversation with volunteers at conventions, his reaching out to people he liked and respected when they felt alone in the world. I never had the pleasure of meeting or speaking with him myself, but I did get to speak with his daughter Catherine and sneak in a few questions about her father. It was fascinating to hear about the kind of man he was, the things that interested him, and the community he created in his home and studio.

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes was the first Corman movie I ever heard of, though I saw it for the first time many years later. When my family first got a VCR back in the mid-80s, my parents quickly learned about my obsession with horror movies, though at the time I was too afraid to actually see most of them. One day while browsing the horror section at the gigantic, pre-Blockbuster video store we had a membership with, my dad said, “Oo! The Man with the X-Ray Eyes ! That’s a great one.” For whatever reason, we didn’t pick the video up that day, but I never forgot that title. Then I read about it in Stephen King’s Danse Macabre and, though he spoils the entire movie in that book (which is fine, it’s not really that kind of movie) I was enthralled and became a bit obsessed with seeing it. Of course, by then it was a lot harder to track down the film, so I only had King’s plot description, a few scattered details from my dad’s memory, and my imagination to go by. When I finally did see it, the film did not disappoint. Sure, the special effects, clothes, music, and styles are pretty dated, but the themes and messages of the film are endlessly fascinating and relevant.

It may seem obvious, but X is a film about seeing and all the different meanings of that word. There are those things seen by the physical eye but there is so much more to it than that limited meaning. It asks questions of what we see with imagination, the spiritual, and intellectual eye. It explores what society does to people who can truly see. Some are deified while others are condemned and ostracized. And then there are those questions of if there is something out there that sees us. Is it a force of good or evil or indifference? Is there anything at all out there that looks for us as much as we look for it? It may just be a silly little low-budget science fiction film, but somehow X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes has the power to provoke thought and imagination in a way few films can. It may even have the power to help us see in ways we could only imagine.

In  Bride of Frankenstein , Dr. Pretorius, played by the inimitable Ernest Thesiger, raises his glass and proposes a toast to Colin Clive’s Henry Frankenstein—“to a new world of  Gods and Monsters .” I invite you to join me in exploring this world, focusing on horror films from the dawn of the Universal Monster movies in 1931 to the collapse of the studio system and the rise of the new Hollywood rebels in the late 1960’s. With this period as our focus, and occasional ventures beyond, we will explore this magnificent world of classic horror. So, I raise my glass to you and invite you to join me in the toast.

Five Horror Anthologies to Stream This Week

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ – New Poster Promises New Trailer This Week

Stephen King’s ‘You Like It Darker’ Finds Beauty and Hope in Nihilistic Horror [Review]

“1313” – James Wan Producing Horror Reboot of ‘The Munsters’

“Dexter: Original Sin” – Christian Slater Starring in Prequel Series

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Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s 8MM

We continue our look back at the work of Joel Schumacher, with his Batman & Robin follow-up, 8MM...

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“ He’s a producer-slash-director-slash weirdo. He’s like the Jim Jarmusch of S&M.” – M ax

After the horror that was Batman & Robin , you couldn’t blame Joel Schumacher from stepping away from that genre of filmmaking completely and going down a road of drama/thriller. After all, he had success with it in the past. Nothing could go too wrong, right?

Following the death of her husband, wealthy widow Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter) comes across an 8mm film in his safe, depicting the murder of a teenage girl by a man in amask. Unsure as to the origin of the tape or if it is, in fact, real, she instructs her lawyer, Daniel Longdale (Anthony Heald), to hire the services of private investigator, Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage), to find out the truth.

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After searching through missing persons files, he matches the girl on the tape to that of teenager Mary-Anne Mathews (Jenny Powell). With a connection made, he makes a visit to her mother Janet’s (Amy Morton) house and discovers Mary Ann’s diary, which explains that she ran away to Hollywood to make it in the movies.

Before he leaves the house, Tom asks Janet if she wants to believe the fairytale that her daughter is in Hollywood following her dream or wants to know what really happened to her. She tells him she wants to know the truth, so he begins his journey to find it.

Knowing he will have to pretend to be interested in the genre of film that was kept in Mr. Christian’s safe, Tom flies to Hollywood and makes contact with a employee of an adult video store, Max California (Joaquin Phoenix), who puts him in touch with a talent scout called Eddie Poole (James Gandolfini), who introduces him to director Dino Velvet (Peter Stormare), who specialises in the type of snuff movie found in the safe, with his star being the masked man.

Hoping to prove what really happened, Tom poses as a client wanting to have a hardcore bondage movie made and he arranges to meet with Velvet in New York. When he arrives, the masked man, known as Machine, overpowers him and Mrs. Christian’s lawyer appears, explaining that he was the one who arranged for the movie to be made and has warned Velvet in advance that he would be contacting him.

Realising the film in the safe was, in fact, real, Velvet produces a beaten Max and demands that Tom bring the movie to them. When he does, the three burn the film and kill Max anyway.

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Before the three can turn on him, Tom lets Velvet and Machine know that Mr. Christian paid a million dollars for the movie to be made, much less than they received. Now knowing that Longdale kept the biggest part of the pie from himself, the three begin to fight with Longdale and Velvet, eventually being killed and Tom escaping.

After his brush with death, Tom contacts Mrs. Christian and tells her the truth behind the movie and urges her to go to the police. When he arrives to take her to the station, her butler informs him that the news of what kind of man her husband really was had driven her to kill herself, leaving only two envelopes, one with the remainder of Tom’s fee and one for Mary Ann’s family.

Still angry and upset, Tom decides to get vengeance on the remaining people involved with the movie, tracking down Poole and killing him, and the tracking down Machine. Before he kills him he takes off his mask, revealing a very unremarkable man underneath.

A few months later, Tom receives a letter from Janet thanking him for his help and, although at first she hated him for telling her the truth, they were the only two who really cared about what happened to her daughter.

I’m going to say straight off the bat, 8MM is probably one of my least favourite Schumacher pictures. Although the story itself is a solid enough thriller, it just leaves a nasty taste in the mouth after. Now, this is partly due to the subject matter in hand, but also because I just don’t feel it was handled in the right way.

Firstly, there is the story. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, who is probably best known for his script for Seven , 8MM was a much darker, thought provoking film when the rights to it were first bought.

Being as it was, the studio wanted Walker to tone it down, but he refused and when Schumacher was brought on he was thrilled, as he thought he was finally working with somebody on his wavelength. Sadly, this was not the case and Schumacher made his own changes to the script which lead to the much publicised feud between the two and ended up with Walker walking off the set and disowning the film.

Had Walker’s original script been kept, I believe the movie would have been much more interesting and tense and, as with his previous work, would have left you with a sense of unease rather than a sense of dirtiness.

Secondly, is the casting. I’m going to jump straight in here and say that I think in the leading role of Tom Welles, Nicolas Cage was miscast. This is nothing against him personally. When he wants to be, Cage is a brilliant actor. Although his recent choices have been far from ideal, he could still turn it around and get back to his Leaving Las Vegas Days . However, saying that, in this movie he does just seem to be going through the motions and in some cases overacting to the point where you end up rolling your eyes thinking is he for real?

What I think this lead role needed was somebody not unknown, but not the star Cage is. But then again, I also realise that a movie is sold on its leading star, not on its integrity. 

The supporting case does, in fact, prop Cage up on many occasions and I cannot fault the casting there. I do think, though, some were underused and, just as you get to understand where they fit in the story, they come to a rather sticky end, which again I can see why they did that ,but at the same time I don’t see why everybody had to die.

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The eventual point of this movie was for justice to be done for the girl who died, yet not one person was tried and convicted and, although key players were taken out of the picture, the actual industry was still going, Personally, I wanted a bit more justice than just an eye for an eye.

The one thing I cannot fault about this movie is the way it looks on screen. Schumacher really does have an eye for making things look gritty and dirty and this was perfected in many ways when he directed Falling Down .

In 8mm he takes it a step further and you feel the saturation of the movie cover you and, although in this case it isn’t very pleasant, it does exactly what it needs to do.

It seems, however, I am not the only person in the world not to be impressed by the movie. When it was released the critics really gave it a pounding, as did the audience, with the movie not making its budget back upon US release, but finding a bit of a larger audience worldwide, which made it a modest success. It was followed up by a direct-to-DVD sequel with which none of the original team or cast were involved.

Although down but not out, Schumacher’s next project was a step away from his work here and focused more on the relationship between two very different men.

Next time, I will be looking Flawless.

8MM Key Info:

Released: 26th February 1999 (US) / 23RD April 1999 (UK) Distributed By: Columbia Pictures Budget: $40,000,000 Box Office Gross: $96,398,826 Best DVD Edition: 8MM DVD

• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s DC Cab
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s St. Elmo’s Fire
• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys
• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s Cousins
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher‘s Flatliners
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s Dying Young
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down
• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s The Client
• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever
• Looking back at Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill
• Revisiting Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin

Carley Tauchert

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Mpaa rating, directed by joel schumacher.

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8mm (eight millimeter) blu-ray review.

8MM (Eight Millimeter) (1999)

Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Drama, Mystery Shout Factory | R – 123 min. – $29.99 | January 8, 2019

Date Published: 12/29/2018 | Author: The Movieman

Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers .

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8MM (1999) – Nicolas Cage SNUFF FILM THRILLER/SUSPENSE MOVIE REVIEW

• Suspense/Thriller

By Geno McGahee

“What the fuck would he want with a snuff film?!” — Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage)

Nicolas Cage is one of the best actors of our generation. There aren’t too many guys that can deliver lines like he can, and if there is ever a movie where his great skills are on display, it’s the 1999 8MM. When you get somebody exploring sexual deviancy and the underground world of illegal porn, you are most likely going to have a winner, and when you add Cage to the equation, you have all the ingredients for a classic, and that’s exactly what you get with this film.

We begin with Tom Welles (Cage), a private investigator looking for the big score and when it arises, he jumps at it. Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter) phones him when she finds an 8MM roll of film where a young girl is apparently murdered. Welles agrees to investigate and now has his big case, and Cage kicks in with his great overacting as he watches the snuff film, cringing at just the right points. Christian wants to keep this investigation on the down low and he agrees, not contacting the authorities and instead, searching out the leads himself and tracking down what may be a killer, or killers.

In the tape, a man with a leather mask kills a girl violently. Thankfully for Welles, the killer has a tattoo of a pentagram on his hand, narrowing the field down a bit. Had it just been a man in a leather mask and sexually perverted, I’m sure that half of my family would have been questioned by Cage. The leads bring him to California, where he befriends Max California (Joaquin Phoenix), a cashier at a porn store. Now, Cage’s acting in this movie is superb, but so too is the acting of Phoenix. It’s so bad it’s good, as he speaks in a strange way, stretching his words out a little bit too much. It’s amusing.

Together Max and Welles tackle this problem together, using California’s contacts and knowledge of the sexual underworld to help the cause. It leads to Eddie Poole (James Gandolfini), the owner of a porn movie business. Now, when it comes to playing a sleaze, there aren’t many better than Gandolfini. When questioned about the snuff film, Poole panics, and calls his partner, Dino Velvet (Peter Stormare), in Manhattan, New York, but the phone is bugged and Welles now knows that there are at least two people involved in the murder. With Max in tow, they head over to the big apple to seek out Velvet, another great sleaze. Wow, this sexual underworld is full of scumbags. Why can’t there just be one guy in this film shown in a nice light. A guy that says: “Hey, I’m a nice guy, I just like hardcore porn.” That’s all I’m asking.

While looking through the porn by Velvet, he sees the leather masked man, who goes by the name “Machine.” Machine (Chris Bauer), takes pleasure in hurting his subjects in the Velvet films, and now Welles has another piece of the puzzle. It’s all coming together, but the closer that the duo gets to the people behind this murder, the more dangerous it gets.

There are some twists and turns in this one, and when Welles has all of the pieces of the puzzle together, he is in very hot water, and so too is his wife and daughter. With Velvet and his cronies on his tail, he has no other choice but to defend himself and his family. It’s kill or be killed, and Cage goes on a violence spree, leading to one scumbag after the other.

8MM is a great film, featuring Cage, Phoenix, Gandolfini, and Stormare at their bests. They brought their A games, and when you add that to the great story and screenplay, you have a winner. I highly recommend this one people.

Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10. Nicolas Cage delivers…AGAIN. This guy is great.

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5 Best 8mm & Super 8 Film Scanners (2023 Reviews & Guide)

If you want to revitalize the old films you have laying around into digital videos or photos, then you need to get your hands on an appropriate tool.

The appropriate tool for such task is a dedicated 8mm film scanner.

You can not only preserve your precious films  forever in digital form , but they can be  better shared and enjoyed too .

You can store them to any cloud service and can share them with your friends on  social media.

In this article, we will help you uncover some of the best 8mm film scanners that suit your budget as well as your needs.

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Comparison of Top 8mm Film Scanners

What is an 8mm film scanner.

Long before the digital cameras . 8mm or super 8mm films were used to record some special moments.

These films were used to record home videos to save the precious memories that would give a hint of how life used to be years back in the 1930s.

The standard for 8mm and super 8 films was launched in 1965. There used to be dedicated super 8 cameras for recording videos on to  spools of films .

It is hard to imagine in this time and age where you have gigabytes of storage in a mere mini card. But using bulky, small capacity reels for recording videos was the cutting edge technology of the time for an average consumer.

An 8mm Film Scanner is basically a device that can take the ANALOGUE negative films and then turn them into DIGITAL photos or videos.

They do this using a powerful camera that scan each and every frame and then save it to an inserted SD card in sequence.

Related: How To Scan Negatives Using A Flatbed Scanner

List of Best 8mm Film Scanners in 2021

Not all scanners are capable of scanning the 8mm films. Therefore, we have selected some of the best scanners for scanning 8mm films.

• 1 Wolverine MovieMaker-PRO – 9″ Reel – FHD Videos – Robust and Convenient
• 2 Eyesen 8mm Digitizer – 5″ Reel – HD Videos
• 3 Wolverine MovieMaker – 5″ Reel – FHD Videos
• 4 KODAK SCANZA – Slide Scanner for Film to Photos
• 5 KODAK Mini – Affordable Slide Scanner for Film to Photos

5 Best 8mm Film Scanners Reviewed

1. wolverine moviemaker-pro – 9″ reel – fhd videos – robust and convenient.

• A fully automated apparatus to digitize 8 and...
• Stand-alone machine, no computer, no software...
• Converts 8 and Super 8 movies into 1080P...
• Compatible with all windows, Mac and Linux...

This is one of the most expensive as well as the most robust 8mm film to video scanner out there.

This is basically a standalone machine so you don’t need to have it connected to a computer. It basically has a camera that repeatedly captures the negative films and then translates that into a video.

You can directly save your videos in to an inserted SD card. The max supported SD card is  32 GB  therefore, you can store plenty of scanned videos at a time.

The scanner converts the  videos at 1080P resolution ,  20 frames per second  to  mjpeg-4 or (MP4) format  which is supported by almost all devices. Plus it can easily be converted into other digital formats like avi pretty easily.

The scanner harbors a  3.53 megapixels camera  with CMOS sensor for capturing the scans into high quality. Another feature that separates this from the rest of the 8mm films scanners is that it  can support large reels  up to  9″ in diameter .

Basically, this scanner has been marketed as one of the best 8mm film scanners out there. So far, the majority of the users do think so. It looks sleek, it is easy to use, comes with a  2.4 Inch LCD for previewing your videos and has all the convenient features to make your job easier.

• Robust, highly reviewed and professional 8mm films to video converter
• Offers support for large up to 9″ reel
• Can scan at a high quality FHD resolution
• Very expensive for a just a dedicated 8mm and super 8 film scanner
• Only supports an SD card of up to 32 GB

2. Wolverine MovieMaker – 5″ Reel – HD Videos

• 8mm or super 8 media must be mounted in with...
• FramebyFrame digitizing for highquality...
• Scans and directly saves digital movies into...

This is the cheaper version of the  Wolverine MovieMaker-PRO  we saw above.

There are few notable differences between this and the Pro version. For starters, it does NOT support 9″ reels. Instead it can support a  maximum of 5″  8mm and super 8 film reels.

Besides that, unlike the Pro version which can digitize the films at 1080 or FHD quality, this can only convert to  HD or 720p video quality . Therefore, if you want higher quality video, the Pro version above is the better choice.

Other than that, it offers the same functionality including  standalone  scanning that does not require connecting it to a desktop. You can directly transfer your scanned videos to an  SD card  (32 GB Max).

It also offers a  2.4″ LCD for previewing  your films as they are scanned.

All in all, while this has a lower video quality output, the fact that it is cheaper than the Wolverine MovieMaker-PRO makes it one of the best 8mm film scanners for those on a tight budget.

• Affordable high quality film to video scanner
• Convenient and easy to use
• Only supports HD video quality output
• Only supports 5″ reels

3. Cotsok 8mm Digitizer – 5″ Reel – FHD Videos

No products found.

This is a film scanner that lies somewhere in between the  Wolverine MovieMaker  and  Wolverine MovieMaker Pro.

While it only supports  5″ reels  like the vanilla Wolverine MovieMaker, it can convert the films into  1080P FHD  videos like the Pro version.

Besides that it is more or less the same as the two above. It is a standalone device with a  maximum support for 32 GB SD Card . Furthermore, It has a  2.4″ LCD screen  for previewing the films as they are scanned.

As far as the price is concerned, it costs almost as the much as the Wolverine MovieMaker (the vanilla version).

While on paper it certainly performs better than the original Wolverine MovieMaker, there is one small caveat with this.

Cotsok is a not a very famous brand. Unlike Wolverine, which is an established brand in negative film scanners, Cotsok is barely existent.

On top of that, the Wolverine scanners have been in the market for a long time and have garnered plenty of reviews. The same cannot be said about this product.

However, so far, the few customer reviews that it has received and the specs that it features, certainly does make this as one of the best 8mm films scanners in the market.

• Supports 1080 video conversion at such an affordable price tag
• Easy and convenient to use.
• Impressive reviews in a short time
• Not a highly famous brand as Wolverine

4. KODAK SCANZA – Slide Scanner for Film to Photos

• FILM TO JPEG IN SECONDS – Powerful 14/22MP...
• LARGE, BRIGHT 3.5” TFT LCD – High...
• AN ADAPTER FOR EVERYTHING – Unit Arrives...
• INTUITIVE USER INTERFACE – Includes Helpful...

Note that this is a photo slide scanner . Meaning it can scan a variety of negative slides and transfer them into JPEG Still Photos .

Therefore, if you came here looking for a product to turn your 8mm negative films into photos, then this is something that will interest you.

Not only does it support  8mm  and  super 8  negative films, it also supports  35mm ,  110  and  126 films  as well.

It is cheaper than the video scanners we saw above and as far as the reviews go, it is one of the top products of its kind.

The scanner offers a comfortably large  3.5″ LCD  screen for previewing your negative films and supports  SD card upto 128 GB in size.  You can directly transfer to SD card so there is no need for connecting this device to a computer.

It also comes with goodies such as  film adapter  for accommodating various film sizes as well as a  cleaning brush  for removing the dust and speckles from the films.

All in all, if you want a robust choice for converting to photos, then this is one of the best 8mm film scanners.

• One of the top products for scanning negatives to Photos
• Can support various types of negative besides 8mm
• Supports a huge 128 GB SD card storage
• Comes in inserts and adapters for easy and safe handling
• Expensive for a mere photo scanner
• Cannot convert films to videos
• Flimsy plastic construction

5. KODAK Mini – Affordable Slide Scanner for Film to Photos

• AMAZING MINIATURE FILM SCANNER – All-in-One...
• MULTIPLE ADAPTERS FOR FAST LOADING – Enjoy...
• UPDATED USER INTERFACE WITH 2.4” LCD –...
• MEMORIES FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM – Use Any...

This is another 8mm films and super 8 films  to JPEG  scanner like the  Kodak Scanza  above. It is smaller in size, has a smaller  2.4″ preview LCD  screen but costs much cheaper than the Scanza.

Furthermore unlike the Kodak Scanza, it can only support a maximum of  32 GB SD card  not 128 GB. It also lacks slide inserts and adapter trays for safely loading the films.

However, its cheaper price makes this a justifiable purchase.

Besides that, it comes with the same  14 Megapixel CMOS sensor  as the Kodak Scanza and can scan different types of films such as  8mm, super 8, 135, 126, 110 and 35mm.

It is also a standalone device that does not require connectivity to a computer for operation.

If you are looking for an affordable solution to convert your films to photo stills, then this is one of the best 8mm films scanners.

Related: Flatbed Vs Slide Scanners

• Affordable 8mm negative to photo scanner
• Easy and convenient to use – requires no setup or prior experience.
• Small and compact
• Only supports a maximum of 32 GB SD card
• Does not convert films to videos

People Also Ask (FAQs)

What are the types of 8mm films.

8mm films can be found in different types.

Related: Best Scanners For Polaroid Photos

Standard 8mm film:

Released before World War 1, the measure refers to the width of the film strip.

These are effectively called the 16 mm films.

Super 8 Films

Launched in 1965, super 8 film is an upgraded and superior version of 8mm films.

Single 8 films

These are a different version of super 8 films. Introduced by the Fuji; it is contained within a different cassette.

Do 8mm films have sound?

If you have old 8mm films, then chances of them having sound are very slim. Still, you can check the magnetic strip and see if it has gold or copper along the same side as sprocket holes. It has the chances of having sound with these gold and copper strip holes.

What file formats are good for digitizing with 8mm film scanner?

You can choose any file formats like motion JPEG, MP4, Avi, MOV. MP4 is good for web sharing, especially if you want to share your film with your friends and family.

How to Clean your 8mm film before converting it?

Cleaning your 8mm film before scanning is important. It may have gathered dust with time. It can be dry, curled up, with dust particles.

These scratches and dust particles can impair the quality of your video.

For cleaning, take a silicon cloth and fold it like a pad. Clean both sides of the film with the padded cloth. Be careful or you You may break any part if it is folded or brittle.

In this article we had a look at the some of the best 8mm film scanners in the market.

The 8mm film scanners come in two different types: video scanners and photo scanners. The video scanners like the  Wolverine MovieMaker Pro  convert reels of 8mm films into digital videos.

Whereas the photo scanners like the  Kodak Scanza  convert the 8mm films into still photos.

In the end, the one suitable for you depends on your needs and preference.

Andrew White is the founder of TechGearoid, a leading technology review & information website that is designed to help consumers make better decisions when it comes to their IT purchases. As a specialist tech writer (nerd) with over 10 years of experience, he enjoys writing about everything there is to do with modern technology & the newest market innovations. When he isn’t providing value for his readers, he’s usually drinking coffee or at the beach. Andrew lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and family.

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Film review: 8mm 2 (2005).

Sean Leonard 07/20/2016 Extreme Cinema

An American diplomat and his fiancée venture into the sordid underworld of sex and p*rnography in Budapest, Hungary to find out who is blackmailing them with a p*rno video taken of them with a prostitute.

Way back in 1999, a movie called 8mm came out – directed by Joel Schumacher ( The Lost Boys ), written by Andrew Kevin Walker ( Se7en ), and starring Nicholas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix, this movie sounded like it could be good. A detective is hired to go into the dark underworld to figure out if a so-called “snuff” film is legit. That premise has so much promise, thought all of us horror fans, but we were also skeptical of this mainstream film – and for good reason.

For the most part, 8mm was a clunker; it had moments that could have been good, but always opted to tread lightly rather than go darker. Its decent into the seedy underbelly of crime and perversion was about as disturbing as the Method Man scene in Garden State –aka not very disturbing. There is a world of dark and unsettling material that could have been touched on, but Schumacher and company copped out hardcore. So it is a strange but accurate compliment when I say that one of the best things about 8mm 2 is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the first movie.

Written by Robert Sullivan and Dylan Tarason and directed by J.S. Cardone (most recently known as the writer of The Stepfather and Prom Night remakes), 8mm 2 is a movie about sex and blackmail and betrayal. We meet David (Johnathon Schaech) and Tish (Lori Heuring), a couple engaged to soon be married. David works in law and has dreams of a career in politics, and it just so happens that Tish and her family are not only involved in politics (her father is Ambassador Harrington, played by The Lords of Salem’s Bruce Davidson), but they are also very well off financially.

When David and Tish go out of town for a romantic weekend, they meet Risa (model Zita Gorog, Amelia from the Underworld series)…well, not so much meet her as watch her swimming nude in the hotel pool. Although they do run into her again, at a dance club, where she gives Tish and David what I assume is ecstasy, and then they meet again in the couple’s bed, all three of them. Tish calls it the best bachelor party ever, and David seems to agree, up until he receives a package at his office with photos of their steamy, sexy night.

There is a definite set up involved here, as well as blackmail when the young couple starts getting messages demanding they pay high amounts in exchange for the original photos, photos that very well could destroy David’s career. And this is where 8mm 2 does so much better than the original – there is a building tension and feeling of suspense, not to mention the path that our protagonists take leads directly into the underground circle of adult material and prostitution. Cardone isn’t afraid to go where Schumacher only hinted at; while trying to track Risa in order to find out who set them up, David and Tish find themselves at amateur  adult movie shoots, strip clubs, sex clubs, peep shows, and everything in between, and Cardone shows a lot of each, if you catch my drift.

Interspersed with all the nudity and sex is the mystery, the whodunit of the story. Is it Ambassador Harrington, who seems to think David isn’t good enough for his daughter? Is it David’s soon to be brother-in-law, Richard, who seems to have a chip on his shoulder? Or is it someone else very close to the situation? The guessing game stays strong all the way to the unexpected ending.

8mm 2 caught me by surprise, to say the least. I went in to it assuming that it would be the typical unrelated sequel to a big budget film looking for a cash grab with its unoriginal storyline and bad acting. Instead, the story held me throughout. The acting is fine, not spectacular but not bad enough to take the audience out of the film by any means.

There are no doubt viewers who call bullsh*t when it comes to the conclusion, refusing to suspend their disbelief and pointing out how impossible it would have been to accomplish (much like David Fincher’s The Game ), and they may very well be right. But as far as entertainment goes, 8mm 2 is unrelenting, all the way to the very end, and the fact that it isn’t afraid to cross some lines makes this one an easy film to recommend to anyone who appreciates a good thriller.

Tags 2005 8 MM 8MM 2 Bruce Davison J.S. Cardone Johnathon Schaech Julie Benz Lori Heuring Robert Cavanah Valentine Pelka Zita Görög

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