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Stars: Caitlin Cavannaugh, Jordon Talor, Alex Alexandrou, LeJon Woods, Jalen Wilson-Nelem, Linnea Quigley | Written and Directed by Ian Courtney

Horror films set in movie theatres have a long and diverse history, starting with old-school films like The Blob and The Tingler to supernatural films like Demons and Porno and slashers such as The Last Matinee and All About Evil. And even as the cinema becomes an endangered species, films like Ian Courtney’s (The Other Side of the Shadows) Movie Theater Massacre continue to get made.

Taking place during the final week of independent theatre Redford’s, before it’s scheduled to close, it opens with a discussion between Val and one of her fellow employees, Nick about streaming vs physical media framed in terms of buying Criterion Blu-rays as opposed to subscribing to The Criterion Channel. He never makes it home to see Dial M for Murder, as a...

Every culture puts its own unique spin on horror tropes, with people from different times and places being frightened by different things. One of the most fascinating examples of this occurred during the 60s-70s in Italy, with a group of genre filmmakers collectively deciding that, to them, horror meant gory whodunnits with surreal visuals and blood that looked more like paint than corn syrup.

And while that initial Giallo movement has long since faded into obscurity (with modern audiences being less receptive to obvious dubbing and cheesy practical effects), there are still some intrepid filmmakers out there who are attempting to keep the spirit of the genre alive with neo-Giallo productions meant to remind us that horror movies don’t always have to be realistic. And in honor of these stylishly retro features, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six modern-day Giallo flicks for your viewing pleasure.

Stars: Miles Mitchell, Dean Bone, Sally Collett, Samantha Neale, Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts, Daniel-John Williams, Steven Blades, Jennifer K Preston, Theo Preston, Jordaine Lincoln, Rufus Hound, Katie Sheridan, Finbar Healy | Written by James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, Greig Johnson | Directed by James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Greig Johnson

Tales told around the fire, especially a campfire, have been one of the primary ways humans have passed on myths, lore and scary stories in general as long as humans and fire have co-existed. And the movies have picked up on that, using it as a framing device in Grim Prairie Tales, Screams of a Winter Night and plenty of others.

In the aptly named anthology film Lore, a quartet of campers, Dan, Mark, Donna, and Sally share their stories with their guide, the exceptional creepy Darwin.

After informing them of the evil history of the ground their tents are pitched on,...

Stars: Cerina Vincent, Tom Savini, Robert Donavan, Monique Parent, Frédéric von Anhalt, Sarah French, Gigi Gustin, Adam Bucci, Ben Kaplan, Steve J. Owens, Brandon Patricio, Sarah Polednak, Dave Sheridan, Jed Rowen | Written by Joe Knetter, Robert L. Lucas | Directed by Marcel Walz

That’s a Wrap begins with a double cameo as Alexis the victim in That’s a Wrap’s pre-title segment takes a call from her manager before making a bloody exit at the hands, and blade, of a killer dressed as The Mistress, the masked killer from the giallo That’s a Wrap.

Confused? Don’t be, That’s a Wrap is an exercise in meta filmmaking set at the wrap party for director Mason Maestro’s latest film, That’s a Wrap. Mason, his wife Lily, and the film’s producer played by Frédéric von Anhalt, best known for being married to Zsa Zsa Gabor will all be there.

Presented in partnership with Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting, last year’s gory The Last Matinee is now available on VHS from our friends over at Lunchmeat! Additionally, Lunchmeat has also worked with Dark Star to bring Attack of the Demons to fully functional VHS, with four different colored VHS tapes available for […]

The post ‘The Last Matinee’ and ‘Attack of the Demons’ Now Available on VHS from Lunchmeat! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Happy Saturday, everyone! Yesterday, we discussed all the amazing independent horror movies that came out during the 2010s and beyond (you can read that piece Here), so I thought it made sense for this installment of our Saturday Streams series to stay as current as possible. With that in mind, I decided to comb through Shudder’s digital offerings and put together this list of 20 different indie horrors from the 2020s that are very much worth your time. Shudder gets a lot of love (and rightfully so) for all of the classic genre films that their subscribers can access at any given time, but I also deeply appreciate their deep commitment to being the best platform out there that showcases the work of independent filmmakers from all over the world.

So, if you’ve had difficulty keeping up with all the great horror that has been released over the last...

Welp, 2021 was certainly a year. There was a lot of good (Movies! TV! Books! Random Horror Awesomeness!) and a lot of bad (pretty much everything else), but we made it to 2022, and I am excited for all that’s to come in the next 12 months (at least when it comes to stuff going on in horror). Over the course of last year, I think formally reviewed over 60 films, did interviews for at least 20 other projects beyond those reviewed films, relaunched Indie Horror Month in April, and even did a ton of other features and articles on Daily Dead as well.

Suffice to say, 2021 was pretty darned busy for me on the writing front and because there was so much content that I absolutely adored, I decided that for my favorites list this time around, I wanted to do things a bit differently because if I dive into every single thing...

Happy (almost) December, everyone! While the holidays may be underway, that doesn’t mean horror is taking a break, as we have a lot of great genre movies headed to VOD, Digital, and On Demand over the next few weeks. Things kick off tomorrow with The Last Matinee on Arrow (this writer enjoyed it immensely) and throughout December, films like Dune (2021), Antlers, and Halloween Kills (with extra footage) will be headed to the small screen along with a ton of indie horror, including Silent Night, The Advent Calendar, Agnes, Benedetta from Paul Verhoeven, and Red Snow. Also, Joe Bob and Darcy return to Shudder on December 17th for an all-new holiday special.

Happy Streaming and Happy Holidays!

The Last Matinee (Arrow) - Exclusively on Arrow December 1st

A cold, wet day. A declining cinema. All you want is to get out of the rain and watch a good film. But who else is in there,...

Hello, everyone! As we get ready to head into December, we have one last round of home media releases for this month on tap first. If you haven’t had a chance to check out James Wan’s Malignant yet, Warner Bros. is releasing it on both Blu-ray and DVD, and A24 is finally bringing Saint Maud home this Tuesday, too. Both Summer of 84 and Ticks are getting the 4K treatment, and Severin Films is showing some love to Ruggero Deodato’s Raiders of Atlantis as well.

Other titles being released on November 30th include Wild Indian and The Last Matinee.

Malignant

“Malignant” marks director James Wan’s return to his roots with this new original horror thriller. In the film, a woman is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

Raiders of Atlantis...

Maximiliano Contenti's giallo love letter The Last Matinee leads Arrow's December SVOD lineup and we have an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers! Debuting on Arrow on December 1st to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, The Last Matinee will kick off Arrow's December releases, which is packed with an eclectic mix of titles that will please any genre fan:

December 1 will see the arrival of The Last Matinee (UK/US/CA/Ire), Santa Sangre (US/CA), All the Colors of the Giallo (UK/US/CA/Ire), King Boxer (UK/US/CA/Ire), The Boxer from Shantung (UK/US/CA/Ire), Five Shaolin Masters (UK/US/CA/Ire), Shaolin Temple (UK/US/CA/Ire), Mighty Peking Man (UK/US/CA/Ire), Challenge of the Masters (UK/US/CA/Ire), Executioners of Shaolin (UK/US/CA/Ire), Dirty Ho (UK/US/CA/Ire), Heroes of...

Maximiliano Contenti’s horror flick attempts to unpick voyeurism but lacks the sophistication of others in the genre

Nostalgia for idiosyncratic analogue film style is the simplest explanation for the recent giallo revival – but maybe there’s more to it than that. This most stylised of horror modes is perfect for our over-aestheticised age, so the newcomers – such as Berberian Sound Studio, Censor and Sound of Violence – make artists and viewers accessories to violence, often unleashed through that giallo mainstay, the power of the gaze. Set almost entirely in a tatty Montevideo rep cinema, Uruguayan slasher The Last Matinee joins this voyeuristic club, even if it ends up more in the raw than the refined camp.

On a rainswept night in 1993, engineering student Ana (Luciana Grasso) insists on taking over projectionist duties for a screening of Frankenstein: Day of the Beast. She shuts herself in the booth, trying to ignore...

Arrow Offers Classic and Cutting Edge Cult Cinema December Lineup Includes The Last Matinee Gory Throwback Giallo Starts Streaming December 1 Ring in the Holidays with Curated Horror Arrow Now Available on Samsung TVs in the United States December Seasons: The Sublime Gothic, The Dark of the Matinee, Shawscope Volume 1, Kaiju Collection, Brian Lonano …

The post Arrow Brings Horror to the Holidays with December SVOD Lineup, Headlined by Cinema-Set Giallo Slasher The Last Matinee appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

“Genuinely tense and suspenseful with more than a few moments of jaw-dropping gore.” —Rue Morgue

Arrow Video is excited to announce the Arrow release of Maximiliano “Maxi” Contenti’s stylish neo-giallo love letter The Last Matinee, available exclusively to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland. The Last Matinee made its US premiere at Panic Fest and screened at Sitges and the Cleveland International Film Festival. The film will debut on Arrow December 1.

With lavish retro visuals, inventive and unexpected kills, buckets of grisly gore, a throbbing synth-drenched score, and a superb setting in a fleapit cinema, this is a fright-film lover’s dream: a blend of 80s slasher with Argento giallo, replete with a black-hooded, eyeball-plucking killer and a final girl, Luciana Grasso, you’ll be cheering for. The Last Matinee ticks all the right boxes for devoted horror hounds: it’s Demons, Halloween, StageFright, Popcorn, Opera...

Arrow Offers Classic and Cutting Edge Cult Cinema Gory Throwback Giallo The Last Matinee Streaming December 1 Will Headline Arrow December Lineup London, UK – Arrow Video is excited to announce the Arrow release of Maximiliano “Maxi” Contenti’s stylish neo-giallo love letter The Last Matinee, available exclusively to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK, …

The post Arrow Spotlights A Cinema-Set Giallo Slasher with The Last Matinee, Streaming December 1 in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

No talking. No texting. No breathing. Now available through your favorite VOD outlets, Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting‘s latest collaboration is the Giallo-inspired slasher The Last Matinee, which is getting a Blu-ray release here in the United States through Ocn Distribution via Vinegar Syndrome. Over in the UK, we’ve learned today, Arrow Video will be releasing the film […]...

From Uruguayan filmmaker Maximiliano Contenti comes The Last Matinee, a blood-soaked love letter to the cinematic experience. Starring Luciana Grasso, Ricardo Islas, Julieta Spinelli, Franco Duran and Pedro Duarte, The Last Matinee follows a mysterious eye-nibbling killer who stalks a group of unsuspecting moviegoers and theater workers one rainy afternoon. The Last Matinee debuted in theaters earlier this month and is headed to VOD tomorrow, courtesy of Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting.

Daily Dead recently had the opportunity to speak with Contenti about his approach to The Last Matinee and during the interview, he discussed wanting to transport viewers back to a simpler time at the movies, the inspirations behind the film’s story and showcasing the directors and the movies that turned him into a film fan throughout his childhood as well.

Congratulations on the film, Maxi. It was so much fun. I would love to hear a...

Photo: 'The Last Matinee' Director Max Contenti sets the horror genre back a couple of decades with his Uruguayan slasher movie, 'The Last Matinee', and the genre is all the better for it. Although it takes place in the year 1993, 'Matinee' has remnants of the 70s and 80s horror tropes woven into its fabric, making it easier for Contenti's work to appeal to a wide variety of generations. The killer is a terrifying shout-out to the kind of inhuman slashers that used to represent and symbolize these particular brands of scares. The villain, appropriately named the Eyeball Killer, is much more human than other predators with his Mo, but somehow that just adds to the Eyeball Killer's petrifying aura. He carries with him the haunting reminder that everyone is capable of great, unrelenting evil, and some, like the Eyeball Killer, even feel like they...

The next Bloody Disgusting x Dark Star Pictures collaboration unleashes a gory neo-Giallo set at cinephiles’ most coveted space; the movie theater. In a delightfully macabre meta-twist, The Last Matinee (Al Morir La Matinee) slices its way to Digital HD and VOD platforms on August 24th (linktr.ee). In The Last Matinee, the audience attending the last showing of a horror film in […]...

Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting released Maxi Contenti's Uruguayan horror film The Last Matinee in U.S. theaters back on the 6th. They are following up with VOD, Digital and DVD on August 24th. The audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a small downtown cinema are terrorized by a murderer who begins to pick them off, one by one. The only person to notice that something strange is going on is the projectionist’s daughter. To help influence your choice to seek it out next Tuesday, we have been given an exclusive clip to share with you this morning. It is one that comes with the promise of stabbing and blood, oh my. Check it out below. ...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Overseen by Festival Director Monte Yazzie (who can be heard on the Corpse Club podcast and whose film reviews are featured on Daily Dead), the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival kicks off this Thursday, August 12th, at the Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, and the lineup is once again an eclectic array of enlightening, insightful, and altogether enthralling films from around the world, including The Last Matinee, The Strings, Blood Conscious, and The Night House!

Go here to check out the full schedule for this year's International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival (as well as the Phoenix Film Festival), and to learn more, visit HorrorSciFi.com and PhoenixFilmFestival.com!

"Now in its 17th year, the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival happens in conjunction with the yearly Phoenix Film Festival with a dedicated theatre all opening weekend and screenings all week long.

The 2021 International Horror and Sci-fi Film Festival...

Theaters have opened with a bang and horror fans are in for a brutal treat with the ultra-violent and extremely gory neo-Giallo slasher The Last Matinee, now in limited theaters ahead of its Digital HD and VOD release on Aug. 24th. With Honeydew and Dementia Part II now on VOD platforms, we’re focusing our attention on the next Bloody Disgusting x […]...

Theaters have opened with a bang and horror fans are in for a brutal treat with the ultra-violent and extremely gory neo-Giallo slasher The Last Matinee, now in limited theaters ahead of its Digital HD and VOD release on Aug. 24th. With Honeydew and Dementia Part II now on VOD platforms, we’re focusing our attention on the next Bloody Disgusting […]...

People wondering whether it’s safe to go to the movie house again may be given pause by “The Last Matinee,” in which that activity proves gravely injurious to patrons’ health. Uruguayan director Maxi Contenti’s feature is a retro slasher whose aesthetics pay tribute to some illustrious forebears, especially of the Italian variety about 40 years ago. Horror fans will enjoy that referential air, even if despite all visual appeal and some gore, the movie proves disappointingly lax in terms of stoking atmosphere, suspense or jolts. Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting are opening the Argentinian co-production on six U.S. screens this Friday. Release to VOD, digital and DVD formats follows on Aug. 24.

In 1993 Montevideo, a hirsute man in trenchcoat and hood purchases a ticket at a cavernous old movie palace, entering just as the audience of parents and tots exits a prior kiddie feature. Despite the rainy weather, only...

Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting will release the Uruguay-Argentinian horror film The Last Matinee in theaters on August 6, 2021, and on VOD, Digital and DVD on August 24, 2021. Check out this scary trailer:

Directed by Maxi Contenti (Muñeco viviente V, Neptunia) from a script by Manuel Facal (High Five, Fiesta Nibiru) and Contenti, the film stars Luciana Grasso (El Secreto de Julia), Ricardo Islas (El Que No Corre Vuela, Bailiwick), Julieta Spinelli, Franco Duran and Pedro Duarte.

Synopsis: The audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a small downtown cinema are terrorized by a murderer who begins to pick them off, one by one. The only person to notice that something strange is going on is the projectionist’s daughter.

The post Check Out the Terrifying Trailer for The Last Matinee – In Theaters on August 6th appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

With Covid-19 vaccinations now widely available, the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is returning for its seventh year of on-screen scares from August 12th–19th. One of the many great things about this year's festival is that it will be a combination of in-theater screenings and virtual streamings, and following the lineup announcement for the in-theater festival experience, Festival Directors Igor Shteyrenberg & Marc Ferman have now unveiled the killer programming for the festival's virtual experience that attendees throughout the United States can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes!

Comprised of 8 feature film world premieres (including The History of Metal and Horror), 37 short film premieres, and an immersive virtual reality experience, the virtual programming for Popcorn Frights is an eclectic slate of insightful scares!

You can purchase In-Theater All-Access Badges here and Virtual Passes here. As previously announced, a portion of the proceeds from this year's Popcorn Frights will go...

Dark Star Pictures and Blood Disgusting recently acquired distribution rights to The Last Matinee, from writer / director Maxi Contenti, and we have a look at the official trailer!

"The audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a small downtown cinema are terrorized by a murderer who begins to pick them off, one by one. The only person to notice that something strange is going on is the projectionist’s daughter."

The Last Matinee stars Luciana Grasso, Ricardo Islas, Julieta Spinelli, Franco Duran, and Pedro Duarte, and will be released in theaters on August 6th, with an on-demand, digital, and DVD release on August 24th.

The post Watch the Trailer for The Last Matinee appeared first on Daily Dead.

In April we heard that Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting acquired the North Amerian rights for Maxi Contenti's giallo inspired horror flick, The Last Matinee. The slick looking horror flick from Uruguay played at such genre festivals as Hardline, Imagine, Grimmfest, Sitges and Calgary Underground. At the time the partnership had not picked a date for release, but we can happily announce that The Last Matinee will be in theaters on August 6th and on VOD/Digital/DVD on August 24th. The audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a small downtown cinema are terrorized by a murderer who begins to pick them off, one by one. The only person to notice that something strange is going on is the projectionist’s...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"Today, you may feel the Universe owes you. Nonetheless, someone else's sacrifice won't save you." Dark Star Pictures + Bloody Disgusting have revealed a new official US trailer for an Uruguayan horror film titled The Last Matinee. Not only is it a tribute to the spooky magic of watching horror movies in dingy, dark cinemas. But it's also a horror movie set inside an old cinema. This premiered at the Sitges Film Festival and at many other genre festivals last year, now opening in the US this August. The audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a small downtown cinema are terrorized by a murderer who begins to pick them off, one by one. The only person to notice that something strange is going on is the projectionist's daughter. The Last Matinee stars Luciana Grasso, Ricardo Islas, Julieta Spinelli, Franco Duran, and Pedro Duarte. This looks damn good,...

Theaters have opened with a bang and horror fans are in for a brutal treat when we unleash the ultra-violent and extremely gory neo-Giallo slasher The Last Matinee in cinemas on August 6th before slicing its way to Digital HD and VOD platforms on Aug. 24th. With Honeydew and Dementia Part II now on VOD platforms, we’re focusing our attention […]...

Even if it’s been a while since you’ve physically sat in a movie theatre, there are some things that you just don’t forget. Like that sticky sound when you walk on the soda soaked floor, the constant crunching of popcorn, or that annoyance you feel when the couple in front of you won’t stop making out. I can’t say that I have missed any of those little aggravations, but when you watch someone else deal with them in a movie, you can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia. That said, if you’ve ever worked in a movie theatre, that nostalgia might actually feel like dread.

Ana (Luciana Grasso), begrudgingly working the closing shift at a Montevideo theater, comes in from the pouring rain. After convincing her father that she knows how to run the equipment without him, and shooing off her infuriating coworker,...

Reel Suspects has acquired world rights to Renata Pinheiro’s sci-fi thriller “King Car,” which recently world premiered at Rotterdam in the big screen competition.

The elevated genre movie revolves around Ninho, the son of a taxi company owner who has an extraordinary connection with cars and can talk to them. Ninho became friends with the car that saved him from a traffic accident as a child, and now he can also hear the old wrecks complain about the law banning them from the roads. Together with his uncle, Ninho converts the write-offs into futuristic vehicles with consciousness.

Reel Suspects will be handling international on the film outside of Brazil. The movie stars Luciano Pedro Jr, Jules Elting, Clara Pinheiro and Adelio Lima, among others. “King Car” was produced by Sérgio Oliveira.

“With its retro-futuristic cars and ecological tale, [‘King Car’] shows that Brazilian genre cinema is something to keep a close...

Uruguay’s government has announced new and ambitious film-tv legislation aimed at converting the small Latin American nation into a far larger film-tv hub via a new series of cash rebates for international shoots and co-productions with Uruguay.

Coming as Uruguay neighbors Brazil and Argentina battle huge challenges to state film funding – an incentive free in Brazil, a decimation of state funding in Argentina tanks to Covid-19 – the new regulation in Uruguay looks set to accelerate a disappear of productions from Latin America and runaway international shoots to its shores.

Measures take in a qualitative leap in the ceiling put on cash rebate plus a plunge in the minimum expenditure in Uruguay required to access them.

Announced Nov. 25, the regs, framed in an Uruguay Audiovisual Program (Pua), establish four action lines. International shoots and international co-productions filming in Uruguay with a local expenditure from $300,000 to $4 million receive a 25% of spend...