In the course of the last couple years, director Shane Ryan has become something of a underground legend due to his Amateur Porn Star Killer series. This series, which is filmed from a first-person perspective and often resembles an actual snuff movie. is marked by lengthy stretches of banal dialogue which is occasionally broken up by extremely graphic sexual content. While the actual film making used for these works is usually of questionable quality and I don’t think that anyone could come up with any reason as to why this series was made (other than for purely exploitative purposes), the APSK series has enjoyed success on its video release and become something of a phenomenon in underground cinema circles. It’s true that these films do a pretty decent job of representing what a film would look like if it were filmed by a murderous photographer who just happens to sexually assault the subjects of his film, but is that really a film that needs to be made?
The supposedly final episode in the saga is APSK 3: The Final Chapter, a 78 minute black and white film which again utilizes first person perspective to put the audience right into the middle of the story. This volume begins with Brandon, the cameraman/”director”/murderer attacking one female victim in the middle of the California desert. Following a series of degrading and humiliating acts. Brandon kills the woman, then returns to urban California to look for more victims. We see brief vignettes of his sexual escapades with other women, before the true body of APSK3 begins. In this episode, Brandon picks up a woman waiting for the bus and drives out into the middle of nowhere where his games of sexual domination begin once again.


That’s about as deep as the story here goes. There’s very little dialogue that develops this film more than that; it literally is just Brandon and the woman sitting in his car for an hour or so. What happens in the car is slightly more interesting/exciting/disturbing as Brandon starts to sexually abuse his victim. Like many of these truly depraved new horror films, Ryan seems to like to imply that these films have a message, but like so many of its contemporaries, Amateur Porn Star Killer is almost too exploitative to take any discussion of the film’s message seriously. For a film that details various female characters being abused, often graphically on camera, by the film’s director/star, it seems as though this director may just be making these films to get his own rocks off and make some cash besides.
I’ve said before and I’ll reiterate that the entire Amateur Porn Star Killer trilogy seems to be an excercise in narcissism, albeit one that is probably rather lucrative considering the inherent profitability that would come from making these kinds of films. Shane Ryan’s films have consistently appeared to be a demonstration of his sexual prowess; the third volume here has Ryan basically going on a full-access tour of co-star Regan Reese (who actually is a porn star), complete with Reese ending up offering her oral services to Ryan. What really separates this series from being all-out pornography is somewhat unclear; I suppose one could consider that the APSK films are slightly more artistically minded than straight pornography, but when all things are considered, Shane Ryan’s films are little more than violent pornography and/or torture/humiliation porn.
Regan Reese seems to be at least attempting to emote at times in this film, for the most part unsuccessfully. Yes, the girl seems to be able to hold her own against the advances of the predatory Brandon, but is there really much acting chops on display in a film like this? Essentially, the persons appearing in the film are just themselves, and occasionally have to perform the obligatory actions that would be suggested by the situations in the film, i.e. Reese swearing at Brandon, becoming visually upset, etc. She’s nice to look at (although some might be turned off by her tattoos; this girl has ink everywhere), but Reese doesn’t really impress with her performance.
You’ve got to hand it to director Shane Ryan; where else could someone essentially throw his perverted dreams up for everyone to see? The opening montage of Ryan filming the behinds of various women, obviously filmed in plain view in open streets, is rather disturbing. Ryan would probably argue that “it’s for effect,” but come on…there’s only so far that a film maker could push the fact that he’s attempting to create an “artistic vision.” Amateur Porn Star Killer 3 is little more than an excuse for Ryan to fulfill some innate sexual fantasies about dominating and exploiting women, nothing else.
Shane Ryan’s film seems to be strictly geared for hardened and seasoned horror fans who have seen everything else the genre has to offer. In an era where PG-13 rated, supposed “horror” films prevail at the box office, it is refreshing to see a genre effort that is aggressively not for the teenage audience. This film, and the series in general, do provide a dark glimpse into a side of human existence that is usually ignored by the motion picture industry, and for its target audience, Amateur Porn Star Killer 3 is a fairly unique experiment. The film does closely resemble what an actual snuff film would look like, although there is definite manipulation present in this film that would not be possible in an actual snuff film. The inclusion of montage editing and music cues to some extent ruin the illusion of reality in the work.
I still have to say that this movie is a lousy conclusion to a highly suspect series; if this is what the horror genre and, in a larger scope, film making has come down to, then I really might start to believe that the envelope has been pushed too far. While I appreciate horror films and call some of the most gruesome ever produced to be my favorites, I can’t help but think that making cinema that seems to glorify abusive behavior and sexual exploitation is a little much.
The DVD of Amateur Porn Star Killer 3 from Cinema Epoch contains absolutely no bonus features, which is somewhat disappointing. As with the other volumes of this series, volume 3 is really only geared for viewers who have seen it all. This film is highly morally suspect, filled with abusive behavior, explicit sexual content, and language.
Shane Ryan’s Amateur Porn Star Killer series will likely become cult favorites down the road. These films are just so transgressive that they defy categorization. I don’t think any of them are particularly well made; each volume of the series is almost identical to the previous one and, aside from the sexual content, don’t really provide much enjoyment. That said, even the sexual content here is pretty disturbing, mainly abusive and degrading and not titillating in the least. Volume three of the series doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and is actually a step down from the previous volume. The “action” here is pretty limited, dialogue and story development are lame, and the film is actually quite boring. I’d have to recommend this only for those who appreciate twisted cinema, and even then I think most viewers will probably be disappointed.
Download Amateur Porn Star Killer 3: The Final Chapter