The Last Horror Movie - Lisa's Review

So to a goody this week!  YAY!!  I have watched this movie before, but as its a relatively short one (an hour  and 15 mins) it was easy to watch again.

So firstly I have to say, I don't know how swayed I was with my opinion on this movie, by how jaw droppingly delicious the actor is.  I'm hoping not so, but I just thought I would state that upfront in case I've missed something and loved a movie that is monumentally terrible purely through the delight of a rare perv.

Anyways... back to the movie.  This is the story of Max, a handsome, personable wedding videographer who has an interesting little sideline.  The thing is... he's a serial killer.  This serial killer sets out to make an 'intelligent horror movie' which challenges the viewer to think about their preconceptions and actual real-time reactions to what they are watching.  It raises quite a few interesting questions about people who enjoy this kind of movie (people like me you could say).  Of course, its all make believe and we all know that (I would have no desire to watch something I KNEW was real), but it does beggar the question, why on earth do we enjoy watching more and more realistic footage of people meeting brutal ends?

Although finding Max so visually appealing, I still feel there would be a common thread with the male viewer.  I would be surprised if men did not find him personable, interesting and intelligent.  That's the wierd juxtaposition (if thats the right word to use in this instance)... One minute you're watching him, nodding along to something he's saying, actually starting to like this guy... next minute you're feeling all judgemental (as he himself points out) and you're recoiling from the acts he is committing on screen... distancing yourself from it and him.  Yet again, he reels you in.... again, he shocks you by his barbarity and lack of any kind of empathy.  Its like a game of cat and mouse all the way through.

The movie is shot with a camcorder/documentary style by Max's young assistant (who I don't think is ever named), a homeless young man with no friends who hasn't seen any member of his family in several years.  Someone who won't be missed.  He moves in with Max and is offered somewhere to live in exchange for filming Max's murders.  The assistant thinks that taking someones life is something he wants to do, but we find out in a horrid scene where he is about to make his first kill, that he just doesn't have the stomach for it.  Just like in 'Texas Chainsaw' where Grandpa is trying to bash the young womans head in and failing miserably... we have much a similar situation where just not enough power is being administered.  Max has to take over and finish the job for him.... rather swiftly.

Now he knows his young assistant no longer wants to take a life and also no longer wants to be a part of his project, he realises he is dangerous to him, so has to do away with him.  Here we see the polar opposites in his character where he easilly cuts up his body and serves it up in a meal to his gran, sister and her husband, passing it off as a kind of veal.  They all eat a hearty meal and there are many compliments about how tasty the meat is.

Asides from being a cold and ruthless serial killer, Max is also a much loved brother, uncle and friend.  We see his relationships with his 2 young nephews, his sister and some of his friends (mainly Petra who he had 'a thing' with in the past).  He comes across as a normal, likable young man, with nothing whatsoever pointing to his dark side.

The movie ends by showing us what Max did with his movie when he had finished.  He put it over a normal horror movie, entitled 'The Last Horror Movie' and loitered around a video store waiting for someone to rent it.  He would follow them home and wait while they watched the movie in its entirety... he would then somehow gain entry into these peoples homes in an attempt to get some form of 'interesting' reaction from them... that reaction was never forthcoming.  All the viewers met their end while sat in front of their 'Last Horror Movie'.  He leaves us with the thought that we are next.... makes me VERY glad I didn't rent this one from a store, lol.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish.  The acting is superb, the lead is one of the most engaging actors I have ever watched, the script is intelligent and questions posed thought provoking.  Big fat 'Recommended' from me.