The Last Horror Film (1982)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Vinny Durand(Joe Spinell)is a New York cab driver who lives with his loving mum and dreams of becoming a famous film director.He is obsessed with horror icon Jana Bates(Caroline Munro)and follows her to Cannes where he will try to convince her to star in his first horror movie.When members of her film crew begin to die suspicion falls on Vinny.Is he responsible for the murders or is this all a giant publicity stunt?"The Last Horror Film" is nowhere nearly as gory and gruesome as "Maniac".It has many references to Spinell's personal life for example the film was shot in Joe Spinell's apartment,where he actually lived and ultimately died in 1989.The gore effects include for example a bathroom throat slashing and following decapitation and chainsaw dismemberment.The script is quite sincere and original,so if you have a chance give "The Last Horror Film" a look.8 out of 10.

Deranged, obsessive and delusional psycho cab driver Vinny Durand (a gloriously crazed and off the wall performance by Joe Spinell) fantasizes about being a great famous director. Vinny goes to the Cannes Film Festival and stalks horror actress Jenna Bates (a perfectly cast Caroline Munro). Folks close to Jenna start getting bumped off in various gruesome ways. Is Vinny the killer? Director/co-writer David Winters soaks up the heady and raucous festive atmosphere with tremendous aplomb, relates the engrossing story at a constant snappy pace, and gives Spinell free reign to totally ham it up in a rare substantial lead role. Moreover, the murder set pieces deliver the gory goods, with a hot tub electrocution, a throat slashing, and a juicy decapitation by chainsaw rating as the definite grisly highlights. Better still, we even get a bunch of hot chicks baring their breasts with pleasing regularity and a deliriously trashy throbbing rock soundtrack. June Chadwick and Robin Leach briefly appear as reporters while such people as Karen Black and Cathy Lee Crosby can be quickly glimpsed as themselves. There's even a nice subtext about illusion vs. reality and a heavy theme on how movie violence possibly influences people to do horrible things (there are then timely and topical references to John Hinkley's bungled assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan and the shooting of John Lennon). Of course, Spinell's sweaty histrionics are the key attraction here and Big Joe certainly doesn't disappoint with his eye-rolling turn as one totally nutso dude (the scenes with his real-life mother Filomena Spagnuolo in particular are absolutely hysterical). The scene where Vinny chases Jenna through a hotel lobby gets mistaken for a publicity stunt by onlookers is genuinely clever. The fake-out ending is very cool as well; the closing scene with Vinny and his overbearing mom is hilarious. Tom Denvoe's bright cinematography gives the picture an appropriately glittery look. The shuddery and spirited score by Jeff Koz and Jesse Frederick likewise hits the spot. A fun piece of junk.

I bought this on DVD from a Poundland for, hey! - a pound. It was re-titled as 'Fanatic'. Actually it was a double bill. Another schlock flick who's title I forget was on the flip side of the disc. So in effect, I got the Spinell picture for 50p. I'd say it was money well spent.This was shot on the hoof at the 1981 Cannes film festival. Joe is a taxi driver who goes there to seek out his idol/wet dream Caroline Munro. Caroline appears with her then real life spouse Judd Hamilton. Husband and wife are both dubbed, and Caroline looks pretty much as she did when she was a hostess on '3-2-1' with Ted Rogers. The film bears little resemblance to the previous Spinell/Munro vehicle, 'Maniac'. That was grim, gory and reprehensible. This is light, silly and incomprehensible.'The last horror film' seemed to receive an inordinate amount of coverage in the British film fantasy magazine 'Starburst' at the time. I can now see why: Spinell appears reading a copy of said periodical. Reciprocal publicity. There are also numerous references to other films, especially Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' (which Joe appeared in). In fact, there is a vaguely interesting blurring of film reality and fantasy and 'real' reality and fantasy throughout. Generally, though, it's a mess. Scenes just seem to rear up out of nowhere. But if you're interested in such things, the footage of Cannes and the general nakedness of the female cast will provide fifty pence's worth of entertainment.There's a nice story on the Spinell documentary included on the Anchor Bay 'Maniac' disc which pertains to the making of this film. The cast and crew were staying at a rather expensive Cannes hotel, and due to the penurious nature of the budget found themselves unable to foot the extravagant bill. Spinell, Winters, Munro and all concerned therefore decided to do a runner in the middle of the night and catch the nearest plane home. Pity they didn't film that little episode and stick it in here along with everything else.Watch out for Joe's verbal sparring with his real life mother Filomena (aka Mary). Pretty funny.

Plot: Joe Spinell plays a guy who desperately wants to make a movie with his dream-girl a famous actress portrayed by Caroline Munro. His mom thinks the idea` is cuckoo but he travels to Cannes anyway to make his movie......Form: The acting is splendid. The story has twists and hints all the way through and the ending, the finale, it`s eminent. Lovely movie by all means.Who is it for?: Sensitive viewers should be advised, the movie is pretty harsh and contains violent images and a haunting atmosphere in the horror-filled scenes. It is not suitable for kids. Adult horror-fans with a taste for blood will probably enjoy this movie a lot.Grade: 7 out of 10