Mike (Simon J. Green) is at a pub with his best bud Julian (Josh Crawford). He’s upset that they no longer hang out like they used to now that Julian has a girlfriend. Just as Mike has almost convinced Julian to join him at some debauched dance club, girlfriend Bridey (Kim Armstrong) arrives to put the kibosh on their plans. Mike leaves the table in a huff and goes into the bathroom where he finds the name and address of a club called The Snuff Machine written on the wall. That evening Mike ventures into the club alone where a bizarre musical act is on display. The sparsely inhabited place appears more like a nightmarish heroine den than a legitimate club, but Mike decides to stay. While at the bar he meets a mysterious girl (Tara Catmull) who seems to share his cynical outlook. The girl brings Mike home where she ends up knocking him unconscious and tying him to a chair. Bound and gagged, Mike is then subjected to a series of tortures; salt is poured into a head wound, boiling water is poured onto a leg, fingers are violently cut off. In between all the cutting and boiling, the girl questions the captive man about his past and upbringing. Though her motives are sketchy, it becomes apparent that this woman has some heavy issues with men. The violence escalates and, not giving anything away, it ends badly.

“The Snuff Machine” is a 20-minute short that plays like a low rent version of an EC horror comic. One of those broad, moralistic fables where the unlikable protagonist must ultimately pay for their misdeeds. The main problem here is that the Mike character, though certainly a jerk, doesn’t come across as the misogynist that the film seems to imply. Mike isn’t very friendly to Julian’s girlfriend in the opening scene, but it comes across more as alpha male jealousy than a guy who has no respect for women. In order for a short piece like this to work effectively, the main character should be painted in broad strokes. If it had opened with the character treating a woman in an especially nasty way his predicament might have had more resonance. Mike’s comeuppance really isn’t earned; he’s simply a jerk who is jealous his best friend has been taken away by someone else. “The Snuff Machine” is competently shot and acted and, at only 20 minutes, it’s mildly engrossing. It also contains some superior special effects for an indie horror short. The torture sequences are truly gruesome and pack just the right punch.

Cinematographer Tom Kinsman does a nice job capturing the action; his composition gives the film a very polished look. Writer/Director David Jackson shows a sure hand with his actors, all of whom give nice, naturalistic performances. It’s his script that should have been worked on a bit more. Green is effective as Mike who comes across as a typical loudmouth jerk. Catmull as “The Girl” is also quite good, especially when she first meets Mike. When the script calls for her to go full-on psycho, however, it rings a bit false. Comparisons to the other male-tied-to-chair-torture-film “Hostel” are inevitable. In both films it’s difficult to care much about the people being tortured, though “Snuff” gets the edge simply for being a bit more grounded. Hopefully this renaissance of the torture subgenre will be short-lived. In horror, torture is easy… it’s the “scary” that’s the hard part.

“The Snuff Machine” DVD screener came with no extras save for the trailer. The film itself was presented in a crisp, letterboxed print.