# Snuff films

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 15, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010 "2001-04-15T00:25:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010/1 "2001-04-15T00:25:53Z")

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Is the 1986 Challenger explosion footage considered a snuff film, since we know that real people are going to die at the end of it?

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**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010/2 "2001-04-15T00:41:43Z")

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I figure that the answer is no because the people who die in the film did not expect to die; that is to say that their purpose of taking part in the flight was not to be blown to smithereens while being filmed.

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010/3 "2001-04-15T00:42:34Z")

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Snuff films are films made where people are purposefully murdered for the sake of the film. There are plenty of accidental deaths caught on tape; these are not snuff films because the videographer did not set out to murder someone for his movie.

Of course, snuff films [don’t exist](http://www.snopes2.com/movies/other/snuff.htm).

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**Author:** ![City\_Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a87d85/32.png) [@City\_Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/City_Gent)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snuff-films/62010/4 "2001-04-15T04:18:38Z")

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I always thought a snuff film featured a rape prior to the murder. Unless something weird was going on in the crew compartment just before the accident, that would pretty much rule out the Challenger accident. But hey, I wouldn’t put it past NASA to stage it as part of some sick conspiracy. Look what they did with the “moon landings” 😛