Many people ask the question: "Snuff - what is it?" Defining this genre of video films, we can say briefly that this is a reflection of the real murder of a person or group of people, captured without the help of special effects. Such surveys are made for the purpose of distributing records for entertainment purposes and for profit from sales.
The very first mention of this concept refers to the events of 1971, when the gang of Charles Manson killed a whole family, capturing everything on tape. Experts say that the brutal crime was committed specifically for the purpose of obtaining a record.
Thus, a more accurate answer to the question: "Snuff - what is it?" - there will be a video with deadly scenes. Some killers deliberately recorded their actions on video. However, during documentary filming, shots of executions or accidental deaths also often fall into the frame. Such videos do not fall into this category because they were not created for commercial purposes. Therefore, reports from the scene and terrorist attacks are just documentary chronicles, but not snuff (a photo of such a frame can be seen below).
Similarly, some films containing cruel and deadly scenes, executions or suicides, filmed for political (non-commercial) purposes, do not belong to this genre either. Some records were originally made by accident, but later became widespread in order to obtain benefits, so they can be attributed to the specified genre. So, in 2001, during a car race, Dale Earnhardt died in the last round of the competition. Disaster footage was not shown live, as the camera was captured on another rider (the leader in the competition), but subsequently this video began to spread with incredible speed. In a similar way today, video from surveillance cameras and DVRs is being distributed on the Internet, capturing deaths as a result of traffic accidents, falls from a height and other accidents.
Speaking about snuff - what it is - one can not but mention such a style of video recording as a staging of the murder being committed. This kind of shooting first appeared in the film “The Flower of Flesh and Blood”, released in the late 1980s. The video was “shaky” and fuzzy and captured the “killing” of a little girl. After the film became available to viewers, some made statements to law enforcement agencies, without doubting the reality of the crime. Subsequently, the producers and directors of the project had to prove that the recording is a dramatization.
Another film, which received similar fame, came out even earlier - in 1980. It is called the “Holocaust of Cannibals” and is notable for the fact that its creators did not even intend to stage the snuff. That these are genuine records of murders, torture and cannibalism, media reports subsequently appeared. Ruggiero Deodato (director) was able to refute these speculations, but the film is currently banned for showing in 60 countries.
To summarize what has been said. In the full sense, a snuff is a live video of murder scenes or other deaths used for commercial distribution.