Giallo films are a staple in European horror cinema. When it comes to Nu-Giallo films, Latin America is all over it. Within the past decade, there has been an influx of this subgenre. Maximiliano Contenti’s The Last Matinee is the newest entry from 2021, which is co-produced in Uruguay and Argentina. Argentina has been sustaining the spaghetti slashers filled with Latin American flair through recent films such as Luciano and Nicolas Onetti’s Abrakadabra and Francesca. While those films are set in Italy, The Last Matinee is filmed in the director’s native land of Uruguay. With the help of Argentina’s National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual of Arts (INCAA), Dark Star Films, and Bloody Disgusting, The Last Matinee brings brutal murders to a unique setting special to cinephiles: the movie theaters.
The Last Matinee is a film made by a cinema lover whose origins date back to the theatres in the 1990s. This one-location contained film does a great job rehashing Giallo tropes as well as adding a fresh spin in the final act. Instead of resurging the nostalgia of the bright 1980s like other modern properties, The Last Matinee takes place in Montevideo during a rainy day in the 1990s. The film follows Ana (Luciana Grasso), the daughter of a projectionist in Opera Cinema. The dark and the gloomy atmosphere is contradicted with the neon Giallo flare fans grew to love. As a local serial killer named Asesino Comeojos (Ricardo Islas) stalks and murders the attendees, Ana must survive and escape the locked movie theatre.
Creating a slasher icon is tough in modern times. Something has to make the killer stick out in the sea of mask murders. Asesino Comeojos wears a simple attire with a generic weapon but he is met with a repulsive and unique trait. Asesino Comeojos translates to Assassin Eye Eater. When we first meet him, Asesino Comeojos is in his car, and he dips his fingers in a jar filled with a chunky yellow-green liquid and fishes out an olive. From the beginning, Contenti shows us Asesino Comeojos isn’t afraid to get dirty and disgusting. This scene also adds a layer of foreshadowing to his signature kill method. Asesino Comeojos disappears for the rest of act one, and we are left meeting his future victims.
The beauty within The Last Matinee is how the film can both be a meta-horror film and a typical horror film. Although the film’s first act is entirely bloodless, the meta-horror becomes apparent. The characters within the film are people we may have come across during our movie theatre experience and play as your typical moviegoer groups. There’s the grumpy older gentleman, the first date couple, the three annoying friends, the kid who loves horror films, and the employee who just doesn’t care about his job. The matinee film on screen is Ricardo Islas’ Frankenstein: Day of the Beast. As the film progresses, the kills begin to mimic the kills on the audience’s movie screen. These characters meet their fate in a great Giallo flare filled with neon lighting, gruesome close-ups, and an enormous amount of blood.
While some character’s purpose is solely for a fairly high body count, others like Tomás (Franco Duran) are used to execute a theme. The loss of innocence is a relative theme. At one point in our lives, we all have to grow up. Tomás sneaking throughout the seats to watch a horror movie reminded me of the many times I’ve done the same. In my case, I saw films like Cloverfield and District 9 that I have burned into my mind. Tomás spends his night opening his world to horror films. They become true when the horror comes from the screens and onto the seats. The transformation of lost innocence can be seen between the first and last sequence of the film. In the beginning, a pile of gumballs spread across the antique floor of Opera Cinema. Children, except Tomás who stays for the matinee show, excitedly leave the screening for Uruguay’s version of The Land Before Time. By the end of the film, Tomás witnesses how brutal the world is.
Horror has always been about the times that we live in. The critiques and commentaries are just second nature. In film, the way we approach our experiences is all different. The choice to view certain films is entirely up to the viewer. Movie theatres and the experiences they bring aren’t going anywhere. With the effects of the pandemic, the way we watch future releases is changing. Making the theatres a deadly setting can resonate in modern times. While this may have not been Contenti’s intent, it’s tough to not see the correlations.
Uruguay is no stranger when it comes to horror, with filmmakers like Fede Alvarez making their way into Hollywood horror blockbusters. Another prolific director, Ricardo Islas, is credited with keeping the genre alive and filming the first horror film in Uruguay. It only makes sense to have it circle back with Ricardo Islas portraying the new serial killer Asesino Comeojos. There’s nothing but excitement coming from Uruguay’s backlogged horror films and what they have planned next. The Last Matinee is a love letter to slashers, cinema, and the theater experience. Behind the themes of loss of innocence and pandemic reminders, the film at hand is a celebration.
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