The Last Horror Film (fanatic)

Let me preface by saying that I adore the late Mr. Spinell (Rocky I&II, Taxi Driver, The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, and MANIAC!). And judging by various documentaries on Joe Spinell, he was well loved by many people. His friends speak kindly and fondly of him as an entertainer, person and friend. I have a feeling that he was larger than life in real life; his early passing is a shame. With all of that being said, I have to judge a product fairly. My Spinell bias aside, this is not a fantastic horror film by any means. On the other hand, it's not terrible either. In some ways it actually falls into the "so bad, it's good" category, as many beloved cult films do. If you enjoyed Spinell's performance in Maniac, then I highly recommend this (previously obscure) little film. But if you are unfamiliar with his work, I'd say watch William Lustwig's "Maniac" first. Is it fair to compare Maniac and The Last Horror Film? I think it is, as Spinell's "Vinny" of TLHF is very much in the same vein of Maniac's "Frank." Though as much as the characters are similar, there are differences too. It seems that Spinell relishes playing the deranged guy so much that he actually treads the fine line of parody in this film. Maybe it is intentional, as there are comedic elements to TLHF? The meat of what I am trying to convey is that this is basically camp. I do not see it being appreciated by all. Maniac, though uneven in its thematic elements and story-line (The Anna and Frank romance is jarring to the vibe of the film), is a fairly unsettling and frightening film, despite the fact that it was made in 1980. Though The Last Horror Film was made a few years later, it feels far more dated and nonchalant than Maniac. In some ways, The Last Horror Film plays slight homage to the giallo film genre (Argento, Fulci, etc.). There are twists and all in all, I'd call this a "fun" horror film; it's nothing to be taken too seriously. I understand that the poor transfer is due to piecing the film together as best as they could in order to deliver the full film to us, but the overall film experience is dulled. Certain scenes are extremely dark (literally) and blurry/GRAINY. And other scenes either feature lines throughout the film or shaking. It's almost as if watching a VHS tape on DVD. If you've ever seen the uncut "Silent Night, Deadly Night," you'll get an idea of what I am speaking of.There are extras included and they are great. "My favorite Maniac" is a (very) free form documentary featuring Joe anecdotes via a longtime friend; it's touching and humorous.

Insane guerilla filmmaking at its finest!I'm still not over the last Troma release I reviewed, "Getting Lucky", but that's an ENTIRELY different review which I encourage you to check out for your self. In terms of "The Last Horror Film" I must give it 4 stars only because the print and transfer are relatively poor (the rarity of this film should be considered, however). That said, if you want to enjoy this film--which IS highly enjoyable--I suggest you purchase this DVD as it is unlikely that an improved version will be available for quite some time.In terms of the film proper, it may even outshine "Maniac" as a vehicle for Joe Spinnel's acting prowess and its representation of maniacle obsessiveness. The suspence is coupled with a film-within-a-film playfulness that may have provided inspiration for films such as Wes Craven's "Scream." Stylistically, this film shines as it plays on the conventions of the traditional slasher films while adding its own iconography (you must see Spinnel dressed in drag or touching himself with the starlet's image projected on his bare chest to understand) ...Those who enjoy finding that hidden gem should flock to this title. It's very difficult not to have fun watching this film. It's also nice to have the option of skipping Llyod Kaufman's introduction, which provides nothing more than boring fluff. The extras are sufficient with an introducing "conversation" with one of Spinnel's closest friends, trailers, and a director's commentary.Fans of 70s/80s cult films should add this film to their collections, just remember that the DVD transfer/print is below average.

Joe Spinell is always great when he plays lunatics. He was the perfect on-screen crazy man. Joe's performance in The Last Horror Film was certainly top notch, but I found the script itself quite inadequate overall. There's just not much of interest going on here, and the twist ending is flat out ridiculous. I suppose that's why this movie is labeled a "horror comedy"... because the ending's so dumb, it makes the whole production seem like a total joke in retrospect. Caroline Munro does a competent job, but the story tends to make her more of a plot-point than an actual character. Caroline's not really given much to do... and while she's a very beautiful woman, her weirdo skunk hairdo unfortunately ruins most of her sex appeal. I'd only recommend this film for hardcore Spinell or Munro fans... and ONLY if you've already seen most of their other work.

Also titled Fanatic; this film is about a perverted, insatiable, wanna-be, horror movie freak who travels to attend the 81st Cannes Film Festival in hopes of meeting and convincing The Queen of Horror to star in his film. Nothing goes as planned and a series of murders take place leading up the twist at the end. Wikipedia has it labeled as a horror/comedy film yet not a single, scene or well-timed line made me laugh. It did have plenty of T-n-A though.Fun Fact- It was shot on location during the Cannes Film Festival in 1982 by David Winters.

Low budget yes. Script is not a David milch master piece. But it was a great idea. Caroline Munrois gorgeous and plays her part well and Joe Spinell is great. Often times low budget movies don'tshow actors at their best. If this movie had better production it would be more highly received.If you like Cult horror its a gem. If you don't keep scrolling!

Makes for both a superb wink and nod to the great Spinell's onscreen persona as solidified in Maniac as well as a superb companion piece/double feature with that aforementioned horror classic

a great 80s cult classic now uncut on blu ray i can only review movier i have bought on amazon i have all of the great horror films at least 4000 movies so when i say its a great cult classic i should know because i am the master of horror timmy lee veenstra

Fans of the slasher genre will love what’s on display here. In addition to Durand doing his dirty deeds, we get to see a little behind the scenes action in Cannes which includes mock films on display for audiences and festival judges. Normally there’s a kill scene on the screen whenever the camera takes the time to focus on that aspect of the scene before moving on. There’s plenty of kill scenes throughout which include electrocution, decapitations, axe attacks and even a chainsaw. Each scene tries to outdo the last.http://shaunvsbmovies.com/2014/10/13/shaun-vs-the-last-horror-film-1982/

True indie filmmaking at its finest. U can see parts where the Cannes crowd has no freaking idea what they’re watching ... blu Ray quality was decent to above average ... but way better than any version I’ve ever seen of the film. Worth owning just to appreciate the guerilla filmaking ... and the fact we’ll defs never see another one like this

Another brilliant 88 films release on Blu-ray, This is a classic 80's movie with a great story that's original and well directed, the story is set around the Cannes film festival during the 80's of course, we follow an obsessed fan Joe Spinell as he stalks Caroline Munro a hot actress whom he wants for his movie, at the same time a killer is picking off directors and actors, the movie has some weird twists and turns as things are not what they seem, the film is great against he Cannes background and set amongst the glamour etc, the cast is brilliant of course reuniting Spinell and Munro again for 3 movies running as they were in Star Crash and Maniac, Munro still looks beautiful, one of the hottest scream queens back in the 80's, the soundtrack is cool too and there is some nice blood and gore and nudity, the Blu-ray picture is good for a restored 80's movie, some of the footage is lower quality were they have inserted some gore scenes that was missing originally, this is a top release a must have for 80's horror fans.The Blu-ray has plentiful features too including commentary, interviews, and much more.Blu-ray is region free ABC

I am really pleased I have this in my collection. I am a big fan of actor Joe Spinell who was in my opinion a very talented character actor who left us way too soon. A great guy... I enjoyed watching this film and with the extras makes it a worthwhile purchase. RIP Joe ...

I had not seen this film before and I had read mixed reviews. It was worth seeing but it is not the best Caroline Munro horror lick in my opinion.