The set-up is slick and well played, as Cage uncovers the identity of the girl and travels to Hollywood to locate her. This is where everything goes awry. Although director Joel Schumacher succeeds in frightening us with his grotesque portrait of the real world , he forgot to inject any interest or excitement to the formula. Everything about the movie becomes dull and lifeless, repelling the viewer like the effect of bug spray to insects. Although it had enormous potential, the third act of 8MM is a total bust, leaving intrigued audiences in a baffling state of extreme disappointment as the proceedings spiral out of control.
Cage is the film s sole flame of energy.
His performance is actually believable, but soon the director s demands start to weigh heavily on his shoulder and he begins stumbling along in desperation. Still, you ve got to give him credit for holding this project together as long as he did, for that is no easy feat when you consider the problems at hand. This is where Cage goes over the edge into a serial killer-like phase, in which he must take revenge on all those who murdered the innocent girl in the film. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, 8MM dissipates into a poor man s Seven , with all the violence but little of the effectiveness that made the latter such a chilling masterpiece. This putrid thriller is certainly not going to revive his career, so perhaps Schumacher should start exploring his lighter side.