The Last Matinee Review

3 star murderous movie mayhem.

The Last Matinee is a 2020 Spanish language horror film, written and directed by Maximiliano Contenti. It is an international co-production of Uruguay and Argentina and is presented here on Limited Edition Blu-ray with English subtitles courtesy of Arrow Video.

“May I offer you a word of advice? Just one thing. If you’re going to work here…it might be a good idea to get along with me. In a bad mood I can be a pain.”

It’s a miserable rainy evening in Monte Video in 1993. Ana (Luciana Grasso – Harpoon, The Night Belongs to Monsters) has headed to the Opera Cinema where her father Hugo (Hugo Blandamuro – The Pope’s Toilet) works as the projectionist. He is suffering from ill health and she offers to take his shift for him, a decision which might prove unfortunate.

As the cinema empties from the previous showing and the few takers for the next film begin to straggle in, we see a strange man (Ricardo Islas – Zombie Farm, Bailiwick) pull up in his car, eat pickles from a jar with his fingers and then don a hooded coat and gloves and head for the cinema.

Interestingly, the film which is being shown is Frankenstein: Day of the Beast, directed by Islas.

In the theatre there are a mix of people, an old man who refused to leave after the previous film and a kid named Tomas (Franco Duran) who has sneaked in to see a horror film and will get much more of an education than he expected. There are some teenagers and a very awkward courting couple.

Little do all these unsuspecting people know that a crazed killer stalks the halls, wielding knives and rebar and preparing to take their eyes one by one as the film plays out on the screen.

The Last Matinee is a really good slasher flick. With it’s dramatic lighting and psychotic killer it is a great homage to Giallo and also good old fashioned blood and guts. The special effects are very believable and there is buckets and buckets of blood. The acting is good too and there are some really nice shots all centered around the main flight of stairs in and out of the cinema.

The location, a fleapit in the centre of town neatly removes any glamour from the situation and leaving us to concentrate on what matters, unexplained and brutal violence, aimed at total strangers.

There’s nothing new here, but it’s satisfyingly gory, done well and will delight fans of a decent slasher flick.

“If you need me, I’ll be napping in the cinema.”

THE LAST MATINEE will premiere on the alternative streaming service ARROW 1st December.

THE LAST MATINEE will also be released on Limited Edition Blu-ray on 6th December.  

Blu-ray Extras

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Maxi Contenti
• Behind the Scenes
• VFX featurette exploring the special effects of the film
• Interview with director Maxi Contenti
• Killer Attractions: Maxi Contenti & Ricardo Islas in Conversation, discussion between the film’s director and star Ricardo Islas, director of Frankenstein: Day of the Beast
• At the Premiere, featurette on the film’s premiere
• Music video for ‘Espada’ by Phoro, directed by Maxi Contenti
• The Matinee Massacre, a 3 part series of ‘mockumentary’ shorts exploring the events of the movie as if they really happened
• Puppet Pal V, Contenti’s first feature film
• Six short films by director Maxi Contenti: The Plastic Kingdom (2011) Popping Eyes (2009) Hobby Metal (2006) Les Escaliers Fruitiers (2005) La Galleta aka The Cookie (2003) Miedo aka Fear (2001)
• Trailers and teasers
• Image galleries including behind-the-scenes and promo stills, concept artwork, storyboards and posters
• Fan artwork image gallery
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach