Originally released in 1982, THE LAST HORROR FILM is a movie that reunited Caroline Munro and Joe Spinell who were the leads in another cult horror flick called MANIAC which was produced in 1980. THE LAST HORROR FILM’s original title was FANATIC and was actually shot by director David Winters on location at the Cannes Film Festival which is the setting of the film.
The film revolves around a man named Vinny Durand (Joe Spinell), a cab driver who has an obsession for B-movie actress Jana Bates (Caroline Munro), who is known as the “queen of horror films”. Vinny returns home to his apartment where he lives with his mother (played by Joe Spinell’s real life mother), where he tells her that he’s packing to go to the Cannes Film Festival and will hunt down Jana Bates and ask her to star in his movie as his career start of being a film director. But his mother calls it just another one of his “crazy ideas.” Vinny goes and stalks Jana and tries to convince all the “suits” that they should help him with his movie idea and help him get her to star in it. Problem is that there is someone killing all the people that Vinny has been talking to and all the signs point to Vinny as suspect number one, as the killer films all the people he kills.
Being that this film came to me via Troma, I really did not know what to expect. I had heard of this film but never actually saw it until it hit my desk. For it’s time the film had that very gritty grindhouse look to it. One can say it’s almost shot giallo style because of it’s look and feel. The script starts out slow but gradually picks up once the characters are developed and the story is established. For the time in which this film was made I can understand why it had it’s cult following and why people liked it. It a story with a twist at the end, and it has that ” I didn’t see that coming” hit to the audience, that I’m sure surprised viewers of this film back in the eighties. Unfortunately, this idea has been killed to death by the many of copy cat like films that dawn our rental shelves and movie theaters. It’s almost expected that today’s movies have a big twist at the end that is supposed to just reach out and fool the audience until the big reveal. This film has that, but for it’s time it’s unique, which in itself make THE LAST HORROR FILM a unique film all it’s own.
To compare the acting in this film to acting in the many independent films that dawn our eyes today would be an insult. One thing I always notice about low budget films from the past is that most of the time the acting is just as good as it is in a Hollywood picture. The actors in this film acted, they knew their lines and supported the story. They put their blood, sweet and tears into this picture and for that I praise them. The films production value is also pretty good. Some nice European locations, especially the castle. The make-up effects are actually very well done, and there is some pretty intense gore scenes as well.
Overall, THE LAST HORROR FILM is a really good piece of independent film from it’s era. It’s one of those cult films that fall under the radar with most of today’s fans, but is one that is well worth checking out for it’s style and it’s story.
– Horror Bob
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- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
