6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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. There's just one problem: a murderer is on the loose and he also has taken refuge there.
Horror | 100% |
Foreign | 49% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
We haven’t had a slasher film that deals with panic inside a movie theater in some time, making “The Last Matinee” a treat for those who miss such a setting for all kinds of hellraising. A South American production, the picture aims to revive an Italian feel for screen hostility and dark comedy, with co- writer/director Maximiliano Contenti trying to summon the great gods of giallo cinema to help inspire this wonderfully nasty horror offering, which isn’t afraid to spill blood and, well, do a lot more bodily harm during the run time. Contenti doesn’t have much money to create an epic, but he does exceptionally well with a simple chiller concerning a bad night for curious moviegoers in Uruguay. Genre fans should get a kick out of the effort’s grisliness and love for the exhibition business, working with the location to deliver a compelling nightmare.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a slight level of softness to sell the period setting of "The Last Matinee." There's a hazier look at screen elements, but detail survives, exploring theater interiors and offices, and skin surfaces are appreciable. Makeup effects are clearly displayed, presenting textured gore with all sorts of bodily harm. Costuming remains fibrous, with softer sweaters and heavier coats. Colors retain their brightest appearance with lobby tours, which crank up reds and greens, giving this style of lighting a defined presence in the film. Projector lighting inside the theater delivers a milder wash of blue. Skintones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Artifacting is an issue, with mild banding present throughout the viewing experience.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix leads with compelling dialogue exchanges, exploring a variety of performance choices as characters mingle around the theater. Scoring cues offer power with heavier synth and beats, adding some depth to the low-end. Atmospherics are active, most notably with rain elements, which create circular engagement. Some separation effects are present, and stranger sound effects, like the spurting of blood, carry into the surrounds.
"The Last Matinee" evolves into a chase picture in the second half, using the layout of the Opera Theater to stage near misses with the killer, who has to deal with his own wounds in his own distinct way. Contenti keeps things tight with the feature, taking just over 80 minutes to deliver inventive kills and disgusting practical effects, showing clear enthusiasm for the subgenre. "The Last Matinee" isn't expansive, but it's big fun, offering Italian cinema devotees and slasher maniacs some good gross-outs and punishment while the characters tear around a single-screen prison.
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