Verdict
Summary
A dreamy, soft-focus slasher film written and directed by Richard Martin, who clearly loves movies and horror movies in particular, Matinee is very stylish, if a little slow going, but it’s a gem, waiting to be discovered.
Plot:
A horror movie festival in a small town turns into a bloodbath when a killer stalks and murders the folks putting on the festival.
Review:
A small town with a single-screen movie theater is best known for an unsolved murder that took place at the theater two years ago during a horror movie festival. Two years later, after being closed since the murder, the theater reopens under new management, with the hope to let bygones be bygones, but because the grand reopening begins with another horror movie festival, the small town paper runs a story that reopens old wounds, spooking the owner (played by Don Davis, future TV Stargate star), who has invited the director of one of the movies he’s going to play to introduce the film, called Bad Blood II, a slasher flick. A detective named Al (Ron White) shows up at the theater upon the grand reopening to make sure nothing hinky happens, but sure enough there’s a killer behind the curtain, lurking in the bowels of the theater (which seems to have an endless labyrinth of hallways, cavities, a basement, and lower level), picking people off in ways that mirror the scenes happening on screen. With plenty of suspects and an illusory sense of reality echoing the scary movies that make what we’re seeing seem only half-real, this “matinee” is going to be one to remember.
A dreamy, soft-focus slasher film written and directed by Richard Martin, who clearly loves movies and horror movies in particular, Matinee is very stylish, if a little slow going, but it’s a gem, waiting to be discovered. It exists in sort of a Twin Peaks-type of small town where everybody knows everybody, and there’s an undercurrent of weirdness that lurks behind every door and character. Horror and cult movie fans will enjoy it most of all, and what I loved about it is its Canadian chilliness and its late night vibe. You just can’t duplicate this with today’s level of talent and technology. It’s a singular experience, although it’s a little similar to the film Popcorn, which had more going for it.
Kino Lorber brings Matinee to Blu-ray as part of their “Kino Cult” line (#51 on the spine), and it comes with a new audio commentary, a trailer, a reversible sleeve, and a slipcover.
