Best of Netflix: Nicolas Cage's 8mm is an underrated mystery thriller

8 mm (1999) starring Nicolas Cage is one of the most harrowing films streaming on Netflix (The movie is written by 'Seven' writer Andrew Kevin Walker!). Harrowing, mainly because of the milieu it portrays--the world of pornography and snuff films.

At the start of the film we are introduced to the protagonist Tom Welles ( played by Cage), a private eye who is renowned among his clients for his ability to keep their secrets to himself. This quality of discretion fetches him an assignment offered by the widow of a rich industrialist.

She is intrigued by one of her husband's secretly kept possessions- a tape, a snuff film. The film in the tape depicts the brutal murder of a young girl by a man in mask. Some other men are enjoying the bloody act and their faces are also unclear.

The widow wants Welles to investigate the mystery behind the tape and ensure the girl is still alive. Some viewers are likely to be repulsed at this point as some scenes from the snuff film are shown in the movie. But others may still decide to continue watching due to their desire for seeing the mystery solved.

Welles, though a detective, is no Sherlock Holmes. He is an every man like all of us. He loves his wife and a little daughter. When he think of the hapless girl he thinks of his own daughter. He accepts the case and later finds that the girl's name is Mary Ann Mathews.

Welles' journey to find out what happened to Mary Ann Mathews lands him in the dark underbelly of porn industry and hardcore snuff films. In the end, even after solving the mystery he feels the urge to seek justice for Mary Anne.

Nicolas Cage and Peter Stormare in 8mm

The traumatic experience changes Welles. When the movie ends, the viewers are also in the same mood as Welles is.

Nicolas Cage is the soul of this movie. His character lead us to the dark universe. Joaquin Phoenix  as California supports him well.

Nicolas Cage watching snuff film GIF

The movie is now streaming on Netflix. Please ignore the bad ratings you see in Rotten Tomatoes. 8mm directed by Joel Schumacher deserves better evaluation.

8mm is undoubtedly one of the best mystery thrillers from the 90s. The film also deserves to be called one of the best movies of Nicolas Cage and Schumacher.