Welcome back everyone, I hope everyone's been having a good week so far. Who loves the movie theater? I know I personally love them. I have very fond memories of when I was younger getting to go see various movies over the years with my family - Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween H20, and the Lords of the Rings Trilogy to name a few. I don't know what it is about it, but it's a very comforting place for me. And nowadays, it feels even more of a comfort cause it's a place to just go and get away from the world for a movie.
Something I will admit is that I have seen a few films take place in a theater. But the theaters never felt terrifying or filled with dread. That however has changed now with my recent viewing of The Last Matinee. Now a theater in a movie fills my mind with something looming round the next corner - a nice fear of the unknown. And before you ask, yes The Last Matinee is now available to view on Shudder.
The Last Matinee is a Spanish-language Uruguayan horror film directed by Maximiliano Contenti, who also wrote the screenplay with Manuel Facal. It received a release back in 2021. It, like Malignant, is also a love letter to the Giallos. Honestly, it's interesting comparing the two films because they feel like opposite ends of the modern day Giallo.
It's a soaking wet day with rain pouring down and one of the best things to do is to go seek refuge in a great old cinema. Unbeknownst to some of our characters, this will be a trip to the movies that they will never forget. For a murderer is on the loose in Montevideo and the theater is his next stop.
In a nut shell, that's the basic set up for The Last Matinee. It's a relatively simple story. If I gave you the sypnosis of just 'killer is loose in a movie theater murdering the audience after locking them within', it would be safe to say that's the rough plot of Midnight Movie.
Ana (Luciana Grasso) arrives to the theater to bring home her father, who works the projection booth. Sadly, she learns that he has to work the projection booth for the next film showing as someone didn't show up. She takes it upon herself to work his shift as he taught her to operate the projection booth. Ana's father is someone that appears to love his job, even if it may be killing him to work 10 hour shifts. After that, we are introduced to our usual suspects - couple on an extremely awkward date, old man, a young child that snuck in after being turned away at first, and the group of teenagers. There's also the really creepy guy, Mauricio that's working alongside Ana. While all these characters could be very shallow and one note, this film goes out of its way a little bit to add some depth to them.
After that, we are introduced to our killer - man in coat. The film does an extremely good job of making sure that the killer is an enigma. We aren't given a name. We aren't given a tragic backstory of some kind. He is there for one reason and one reason alone - to kill. Well, there is a bit late reveal that was extremely disturbing, in my opinion. It made me cringe and squirm. So our killer kills in this film. This is a film that is not afraid of showing it. It showcases quite a few different murders in full close up shot. Truly a love letter to Giallo. Plus, there's one of the kills that was just cool looking. For those that are wondering if the film is bloody, yeah it shows quite a bit. That's honestly part of the film that makes up for the film's small pacing issues.
By the end of this viewing, I was surprised with how it played out. No, not by what happens and who makes it to the end. That was a lot of things that I was pretty sure was going to happen. There's a moment where I could have seen gone in an entirely different direction. Honestly if it was announced that there would be a sequel, I wouldn't be surprised. In a way, it does set up one. But for the most part, The Last Matinee makes for a beautiful stand alone.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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