Who knew watching a lonesome daydreaming New York cabbie Vinny with desires of being a famous filmmaker obsessively lament over a beautiful well-known horror scarlet to appear in his first film, while running around after her at the Cannes film festival could be so entertaining? To go along with that some unknown deranged serial killer staying in the shadows begins knocking off her entourage while filming it. Could they both be linked or is it pure coincidence?
"THE LAST HORROR FILM" wasn't what I expected it to be, mainly due to the unhinged tonal shifts. From an underlining comedic edge, it can turn depressingly downbeat to nastily macabre then back to kooky again. It's not over-the-top, but it sticks out because it puts a clever spin on the material, as it lures you into thinking it's something it is not. I kind of liked how the story evolved, being quite a delirious cocktail, as it kept you on your toes. Never too sure what direction it was heading. This led to an oddball climax to only be topped off by an enjoyably absurd ending that I don't see how anyone could predict. In all a very unorthodox experience.
What really came to the forefront is its true-to-the-facts information of the times it was shot to use as sort of a satirical social commentary of the influences of film on violence, where the script in more than one way was taking a shot at the narrow-minded assumption of those who see violent films to be blamed for the unstable descent of society instead of being a reflection of it. So with this viewpoint, making it the more interesting is having it set in Cannes, where the shot-on-location atmosphere added to the buzz. Still even with that feverish glitz of searching for stardom with a beautiful French Riviera backdrop, it's soaked in sleaze, unpleasant gore and a lingering dinginess when the killer hits the scene.
Then there's Joe Spinell. As he showed in "MANIAC", he's a live-wire that you simply work around. Just let him go, sweat and all, as his instinctive presence emits such weirdness, yet stays strangely appealing (when interacting with his real-life mom) in spite of being an emotional wreck leading to some crazy visions, and disturbing encounters in his on-going fascination towards the actress (the very capable Caroline Munro).
