Directed by Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler
Review by Chris Barry


Running time: 87 Minutes
Released by: Heretic Films
Release Date: 1998
Color Format: Color
Audio Subtitles: English, Spanish
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Region Code: 1, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Special Features: Two commentary tracks (original 1999 and new 2006); production behind-the-scenes; post production behind-the-scenes; distribution behind-the-scenes; “The True Legend of the Jersey Devil”; raw interview footage; Fact or Fiction – rare clips from the cable show; Jim Seward-Alive and Well; Gallery of Gore; original Jersey Devil comic book by Stephen Bissette

We all know THE LAST BROADCAST (1998) came out before THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999). And we know the filmmakers behind THE LAST BROADCAST (Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler) have done their fair share of grousing about BLAIR WITCH and its supposed LAST BROADCAST similarities. We also know that while BLAIR WITCH raked in tons of dough at the box office, THE LAST BROADCAST remains a relative obscurity, despite finding some life on video in 1999 shortly after THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT hit it big in theaters. And Heretic Films’ new re-release DVD of THE LAST BROADCAST will probably garner notice (after all, its getting reviewed here as opposed to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, which deserves a new DVD release and closer consideration).

BLAIR WITCH detractors – and there are many – embraced THE LAST BROADCAST touting it as the true innovator embracing its ultra-low budget ($900!) and its wholly digital production. But the LAST BROADCAST vs. BLAIR WITCH quibbling is really just pissing in the wind because, once you’ve seen both, it’s not hard to see which film is better.

In a nutshell, THE LAST BROADCAST is a spin on the reality show phenomenon (and, giving the film props – it may have been one of the first movies to address TV and “reality”) following the exploits of two cable TV program hosts and their cable access show “Fact or Fiction.” One of the hosts – Steven Avkast (Stefan Avalos) – decides that he and his partner, Locus Wheeler (Lance Weiler), should investigate the so-called Jersey Devil myth, which is that of a creature who murders and devours its victims (dogs, chickens, possibly humans) in the wooded Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

The cable hosts come up with a concept to produce a “live” documentary tracking the Jersey Devil to be shown on cable and on the Internet simultaneously. The hosts hire a “psychic” named Jim Suerd (Jim Seward) who claims he knows where in the Pine Barrens the Jersey Devil resides. Suerd also may or may not be responsible for the eventual murder of Wheeler and the disappearance of Avkast. After the murders, much of the video shot by Avkast and Wheeler is found and ends up in the hands of a documentarian named David Leigh (David Beard), who claims that Suerd was not responsible for the murders and sets out to prove it with the found footage. However, Leigh ends up a little too close to the subject matter.

THE LAST BROADCAST’s technique is that of documentary, which utilizes interviews – by Leigh – with those close to the cable TV hosts – a psychiatrist and a sheriff, who headed up the murder investigation and eventually arrested Suerd (incidentally, Suerd is found guilty of murder and ends up dying in prison of “indeterminate causes”).

THE LAST BROADCAST – dubbed the first “desktop feature film” by the Internet Movie Database – while impressive for being the “first” at something (and I doubt the validity of this designation), just isn’t that good. For one, the actors seem to have a hard time acting “real.” The overall concept lacks a necessary humanity or relational construct and, ultimately, the myth of the Jersey Devil isn’t at all scary let alone explained in any depth (unless you read the Jersey Devil “comic book” included with the DVD, which reveals precious little anyway).

Humanity was key to the success of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT because of its ability to tap into real human fears (particularly fears of being lost and losing control of the environment) without editorializing. The found “film footage” is what it is and the people are who they are. I knew people like this when I was in college. I ran around with filmmaker wannabes. I knew a girl like Heather. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT not only grasped the heart of darkness, it understood the mindset of characters willing to leap into fear while slowly discovering they shouldn’t have despite being armed with a camera. The characters in THE LAST BROADCAST are given such broad strokes that their “reality” is completely unbelievable. And, worse, in THE LAST BROADCAST, Leigh narrates almost every minute while Avkast and Wheeler explain why they’re shooting so much footage in almost every scene they’re in.

While THE LAST BROADCAST may be a forerunner to the “reality” genre (and it really wasn’t – check Ruggero Deodato’s CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST from 1979, a truly prophetic film and major BLAIR WITCH inspiration), and possibly the conclusion points to a mastermind of murder larger than what we can physically see on the screen – but it doesn’t matter because, either way, the concept falls apart due to shoddy writing, slapdash execution and lack of emotional punch.