SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Let's be realistic.

Absolutely the worst movie.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Its a shame there aren't more horrors giving supernatural power to camera. The camera is an interesting thing after all, an eye of metal and glass that blinks and flashes and traps forever. Then there's the tension between impartiality of device and whim of user, the intermediaries between image capture and development, all kinds of potential. Fatal Images may not be especially advanced or ambitious by most standards, but as far as late 80's SOV slashers go its pretty much a minor gem. It also marks the beginning of the Dennis Devine/Steve Jarvis partnership that has been cheerfully pumping out budget horror for over a couple of decades now. Like their second film, the undervalued and gnarly Dead Girls (1990), Fatal Images distinguishes itself through a storyline with a bit of thought put into it and a script that takes on notions like character and motivation, one that actually seeks to flesh out its players and story rather than simply ploughing from one kill scene to the next with no care other than pleasing slack jawed teens. As an result its more compelling than expected with likable characters and even a few chuckles. The story sees ambitious photographer Amy buy a rare camera for a song at a pawn shop, only to discover that those she photographs wind up offed by the spirit of a serial killer who dwells within. The bodies pile as the situation becomes clear and its up to her to stop the menace while she still has the opportunity. Although the story and its ins and outs aren't all that surprising its a pretty well mounted affair, a decent pace allows for a steady feed of death as the pieces come together and the key players grow in our sympathies before a decent, even mildly exciting finale. The cast are about as good as one might expect, none are serious thesps and most either did no more films or just one or two (with a couple of personnel reappearing in Dead Girls. The vaguely leonine visaged Lane Coyle brings nice shades of frustration and dry humour as Amy, Kay Schaber is suitably bright as her colleague and housemate, and everyone else pretty much does their bit. Happily the killer (played by David Williams) has a decent imposing physical presence and a knack for mad eyes so he comes off pretty well. There isn't a whole lot of gore so the killer being good is a real boon in making the kills work, though stark compositions and sharp editing convey a certain impact even if there isn't often gore (though don't worry, this isn't a bloodless affair and does pack a few grisly moments including a fun arm ripping). There's good use of the extreme close up as well, including menacing extreme beard close ups. It all goes down nicely if not all that strikingly, it does a lot better than most of its contemporaries but is still one for enthusiasts only. But if you're the kind of person who has to see films like this, it'll surely repay your time.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS!* Is definitely amateurish, but ambitious at the same time. It tells the story of a satanic photographer who murders his models and the commits suicide by taking his picture and putting his soul into the camera. Several years later, a female photographer who works for the local newspaper stumbles onto a pawn shop where the camera that houses his soul is being sold at. The shop owner convinces her to purchase the camera. This leads to a series of murders every time she takes someone's picture. Shot on a 10,000 budget, on Beta SP. It's pretty low budget and not the best movie. But it showcases Mr. Devine's talent as a budding low budget filmmaker. Most of the actors performed capably and there were a few chilling moments in the film. However, due to it's budget constraints it ultimately falls flat. FATAL IMAGES is quite rare. But if you are a completionist as I am, then you must seek this out. It's worth it. But it could've benefited a great deal if it had a slightly bigger budget.

Steve Jarvis is a perfect example of genre dedication. A fan of horror films since a young age, the ambitious author managed to do what many of us can only dream of – make his own movie. Along with his friend and director Dennis Devine, the pair launched Cinematrix films, a company that has steadily developed a decent catalogue of budget flicks. In 1990 they released Dead Girls; a credible slasher movie that underlined their talent and went on to become a favourite for collectors. I have spoken with Jarvis on various occasions and he's an open and intelligent guy with a thorough understanding of the market. Despite his industry connections and hands-on experience behind the scenes, he remains first and foremost a fan of the category and he enjoys watching splatter flicks almost as much as he enjoys making them.Early in 1989 Jarvis, Devine, Mike Bowler and Alan Goldstein put together the funds for a debut feature. Shot on video in various locations, (including Jarvis' home) the film sold significantly well and remains Cinematrix's highest grossing effort.It tells the tale of a psychopathic photographer that owns a studio in Los Angeles. In the opening, we see him slaughter an unfortunate undercover police officer, before bizarrely committing suicide in front of his camera. He had been wanted for sometime by Police, in connection with a spate of vicious mutilations across the city. After he takes his own life, detectives find piles of evidence littering his grimy apartment that relates to his path of murder.Next up we meet Amy Stuart, a bubbly fashion photographer that uncovers the bargain of her life whilst in a small back alley pawn store. She finds a V-Deluxe camera lying on the dust-covered shelves and after some extensive haggling with the cocky store proprietor, she manages to pick it up for a budget price. Things are not all as they seem however, as her bargain-buy used to belong to the maniac from the prologue and somewhat mystically his spirit has possessed the appliance. Before long, the malevolent killer has returned from beyond the grave and he begins methodically slaughtering the models that Amy captures on film in numerous gruesome ways. The Police are baffled and at first believe that it's a copycat killer, but with an almost identical modus operandi, they soon realise that they are up against something far more sinister. With the body count rising, how can Amy stop someone that's already dead? Cinematrix films always bring to the fore an inviting level of creativity. Whilst Dead Girls boasted a compelling mystery with more twists than a chubby checker convention, Bloodstream took a standard slasher synopsis and injected some complex social issues to create an authentic juxtaposition. Fatal Images in no different in that respect and for the most part, the plot adds invention to the standard slasher template. The idea of a mystic psycho has been attempted many times post-Halloween, but rarely has the plot been handled successfully. Ulli Lommel's The Bogeyman was a decent entry, but efforts like Girl's School Screamers and The Outing have failed to build on the obvious possibilities. Fatal Images captures the imagination with an inventive synopsis and a supernatural sheen.Movies filmed on such a low budget rarely manage to escape the clutches of mediocrity, but Fatal Images does at least provide a few quirky thrills. There's some decent gore on offer courtesy of Gabe Bartalos and Devine shows visionary flair with a few ambitious set pieces. Jarvis' script successfully mixes everything from slasher platitudes to satanic ritualistic influences and the haunted camera idea was something of a novelty and a pre-cursor to the Project Zero survival horror franchise on the PS2. Perhaps more importantly, the film keeps you interested and it's worth staying tuned for the final pay-off.I am not going to mention the quality of the performances, simply because you will never find a hidden gem or a Robert De Niro on such miniscule funding. I feel compelled however to mention the actor playing the chief detective, because his bizarre characterisation produced some inadvertent humour. At one point, he tells his junior accomplice not to arrest the only possible link to the spate of murders and he says, "Never approach a suspect. Wait until the suspect approaches you!" (Since when has a serial killer made contact with the person that's trying to lock him up for the rest of his life? And how many people are supposed to be killed whilst the Cops wait for such an approach?). He then blows his head off with a hand gun for *no* significant reason that I can recollect, signalling the unfortunate loss of a brilliant unintentional comic relief character. With that said though, there's very little here to criticise and for the most part Devine's slasher hits the right switches and sustains the exuberant momentum.Fatal Images deserves recognition for its adventurous approach and fans of budget slashers will lap up the faithful use of genre clichés and the heavy eighties feel. The movie never takes itself too seriously and it delivers a new slant on the traditional formula. It reminded me in many ways of David Prior's Sledgehammer, which is no mean feat. Although cinematically the films are completely different, I noticed a subtle similarity, especially with the supernatural ingrediants. All in all it's an enjoyable debut and a decent introduction to the work of the cinematrix group.

What can be said about a movie as great as this...oh, words are not good enough to explain. I found this movie deeply moving and it touched my soul in an almost religious way. How this movie was overlooked by the academy I shudder to think. Mr. Speilburg could learn a thing or two about how movies are made from this film. In a word...brilliant! When performances like these happen in modern society. We as a nation should stand up and say how powerful this work of modern art is to our societies fabrication of life. This is a must own for any die hard film student. Most notable was the excellent use of single position camera angles when the DP ingeniously used a single tripod location and turned the camera on axis to cover the action. Also the use of the camera Mic was breath taking to really feel you were in the scene...almost to the point where you can feel the camera man breathing. I love this movie.