Customer Reviews

Last Horror Movie [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

How Ironic in that the title of this picture almost speaks the truth about not only this movie, but the genre from which it is placed in as well as movies in general.

The last Horror movie is about a psychopath named Max who videotapes himself killing people (even to go so far as hire an assistant). However he is also documenting to a certain degree on life itself. We see the ins and outs of his life, from spending time with friends and family, to his job as a wedding video recorder. However the real meat and potatoes of the movie is the fact that this guy is a coldblooded killer. But because he is so witty and charming he does not fit the profile of the deranged killer most know about.

What really makes this movie is how it was made. The killer is recording this on his life like it's a documentary and at many moments is talking directly to the audience. That's right at many moments the killer actually talks to you. It's because of this and many other reasons that this is highly recomended. In truth the title is right, this is the Last Horror Movie, or at least the Last Origional Horror Movie.

But this was a huge letdown. First of all, the premise may actually be okay with a killer documenting his kills. But I thought this movie was actually going somewhere, which it wasn't. I really never saw the point. After the first 10 minutes, the 3 other people who were watching the movie with me were so bored that they asked to put another movie in. They even asked me whether The Last "Horror" Movie was supposed to be a comedy. What a complete joke. I decided to try to finish watching it, because I figured it had to get better-- but it never did.

I disagree with an earlier reviewer who said the acting was good. The acting in this movie was horrible. It seemed as though they simply pulled people who had never acted before from the street to do this. Compared to this, actors in Friday the 13th would win an Oscar.

Next, you really didn't see any of the kills. The ones you did see were not well done-- the only ones you were able to see is when someone may have been stabbed with a knife or strangled. They were rather lackluster.

If you would like to watch a good foreign horror movie, I'd say pick up a copy of the Woman in Black (England) or Ginger Snaps (Canada). But please save yourself 80 minutes and don't watch this.

Those looking to be titilated by gore, exploitation and sensationalism best avoid this intelligent character study masquerading as a horror movie, because it's likely to tick you off .

Either that, or serial killer Max Parry is using our morbid fascination in violence and death to establish a common ground and prove that he is not the complete monster we immediately judge him to be.

In fact, he could be the guy next door.

He could even be me or YOU.

This is the smartest movie I have seen in a long, long while.
Probably too smart for a mainstream audience, hence some of the negative reviews on this site.

But if you count yourself amongst the more discerning viewers and are looking for brain food, then you will not dissappointed.

So you're decompressing on the weekend. It has been an awful week---you've worked yourself ragged, you've had to burn the midnight oil to get a major presentation out, the boss hated it, the clients balked, no way of knowing whether you're going to get the deal. The girlfriend is still not talking to you, for whatever reason.

So you figure you'll grab some brew and a horror flick from the local video store. You rent "The Last Horror Movie", you pour a cup of liquid cheer, you pop the tape in the hopper and let it rip.

Something unexpected happens.

Seconds after the hapless waitress working the late shift at the roadside Michigan diner is about to get slaughtered by the masked serial killer, the screen goes fuzzy---white noise, electric snow---and then a man's face---lanky black hair, thick pursed lips, a smug and arrogant countenance---fills the screen.

He introduces himself as `Max' (Kevin Howarth, truly a one-man show). He tells you he taped over the horror flick you rented. He also tells you that in its place is his own `home movie', but rejoice: you're still going to get to see a horror movie. The only difference: this time the horrors will be real.

You like scary movies? Then you're in for a treat.

What you're going to watch, then---should you choose to keep watching---is Max's little experiment in Reality TV: he's going to commit murders, real murders, carried out against random victims---and film them.

The rest of the movie boils down to four `themes': 1) Max going about his work: throttling, stabbing, and bludgeoning his unwitting victims; 2) Max talking directly to the camera---to us---about his philosophy of life; 3) Max trying to psyche his cameraman into killing someone (Mark Stevenson, who plays the bloodthirsty down-and-out homeless assistant as part reluctant monster and part good-hearted human Border collie); 4) Max hanging out with friends and family (and musing to the camera about killing them, of course).

Now: "The Last Horror Movie" moves along briskly, is competently shot (yes, it captures the raw home-movie feel, but without the barf-inducing vertiginous camera-maneuvers of Blair Witch or Bourne Supremacy), carries out is bloody business and gets home in time for chow. If you release yourself to its black magic, and turn all the lights in the house out, you might even get goosebumps in the final five minutes.

But "The Last Horror Movie" is not really horror: maybe I'm jaded, but I wasn't shocked by any of the killings. This film has been compared to "Man Bites Dog" and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", which is an insult to either of those truly disturbing and genuinely pioneering films: "Man Bites Dog" is napalm, "Henry" a bunker-buster, and---by contrast---"The Last Horror Movie" is a knife shoved deep into the back of your neck in the dark.

But hey, a knife in the dark gets the job done, doesn't it?

Cheap, silent, quick, sarcastic, and very deadly, "The Last Horror Movie" succeeds in spades: not as horror, but as a wickedly gleeful little Q&A (with the victims, of course!) on the Meaning of Life.

In that regard, the movie rises and falls on the strength of the actor playing Max: Kevin Howarth is "The Last Horror Movie". You should see the movie for Howarth's insanely amazing, and genuinely moving, performance. His expressive facial expressions, his caustic, brutal, Satanic wit, the range of emotion on his face, the relentless questions---all of this could have been wasted in the hands of a less accomplished actor, and had Max been weakly cast, the flick would have been a disaster. Not so with Howarth, who makes his Max captivating, engaging, charismatic, and surprisingly compelling in his bleak assessment of the world.

Now if you want disturbing---the cold grue of the dead gaze of a camera that chronicles, without moralizing, a serial killer's ghoulish adventures---look elsewhere: this isn't that movie, despite that being the way it promotes itself. In a world bombarded by "Silence of the Lambs", "Man Bites Dog", "I Stand Alone", "Maniac", and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", there are plenty of nastier films that serve up blood and gore and shock.

Why, then, did "Last Horror Movie" quickly capture my interest and slake my ceaseless thirst for the deranged? Easy answer: it's a sincerely spooky little flick that gets right down to its creepy-crawly business. But the deeper answer: I like the fact that Max isn't a garden-weed monster: this dude is seriously looking for answers.

If you're thoroughly miserable, Max wonders---well, why live? Why do these hapless souls, leading their lives of desperation both quiet and noisy, their faces screwed up in despair---why do they struggle so against the blade, the strangler's embrace, the pistol shoved up against the skull? Why do they fight so hard, cling so tenaciously to a life they despise?

Good questions, and Max takes considerable pains---as do his victims---in getting answers. The least you could do is bolt the door, secure the windows, douse the lights, and spend a rainy evening scoping out the results of his experiment. Speaking of which, did you just hear a noise? Is that someone in the corner, huddled next to the fridge? And why is he holding a videocamera...?

JSG

reallity horror seems to be the final step for the genre! reallity is pretty much as scary as it gets. with that said, the title that director Julian Richards chose for this absolute masterpiece "THE LAST HORROR MOVIE" is pure genius! the double meaning for the title is just to damn clever & you will know the 2nd meaning for the title after you watch the movie. this movie is one of the most intelligent pieces of artwork on film ever made! i have read other reviewers claim that this might not be so original or its all been done before???? well YES! reallity horror has been done before!!! from "TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE" "LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT" & "MANIAC" to "HENRY:portrait of a serial killer" "AMERICAN PSYCHO" & "SCRAPBOOK" reallity is nothing new to the horror genre,but never has it been done like this before!!! viewers have never been able to get this DEEEEEEP into the mind of a psycho or should i say never has a psycho from a horror movie been able to get this DEEEEEEP into the mind of the viewer?. max(the psycho) has got to be the most intelligent version of a serial killer that we have ever met on screen,i mean the way this emotional sicko displays humanity & turns the tables on the viewers making us question ourselves in so many different ways,its almost like your stuck in a room with a psychotic shrink for an hour1/2!!!(THIS KILLERS GOT A CONSCIENCE!!!!!) SO NO! reallity horror isn't new to the genre,but what is new & original is how deeeeep we get to go into mind of this very clever artist/psycho!! this movie is one of the creepiest,mind boggleing, & ground breaking horror films ever made!this is a new cult classic & in the long run will be hailed as one of the best horror movies ever made right along side "HENRY" & "T.C.M."!!! it is now one of my top ten favorite horror movies !I LOVE IT! & if your a real horror fan your gonna love it to! so hurry up & go get it right now! you won't regret it!!! BUT just remember enjoy it while you can because this very well may be "THE LAST HORROR MOVIE" you ever see! HA! HA! HA! HA!

I really wanted to like this one more because it was truly an original idea. Shades of Blair Witch meets American Psycho as the anti hero spends the entire movie talking to the camera in between some brutal killings. This is pretty low budget stuff, but well done for what it is worth. I think it is one of those love it or hate it movies, so the reviews will be all over the place on this one.

The Last Horror Movie is one genre film that deserves to be huge. It's an uncomfortable film, but a compelling one and that modern day rarity, a horror film that makes you think whilst scaring the hell out of you.

MOVIE CAME FAST AND GREAT SELLER. BUT WASNT SCARY AT ALL AND JUST PLAIN STUPID I THOUGHT,

I warned my wife (who generally likes Serial Killer flicks) not to get her hopes up about this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie moves along nicely as our anti-hero is videotaped during his daily activities (socializing with friends & famliy, randomly murdering strangers). The quality of the acting and of the film itself are above average. My only gripe is with the film's 'black comedy' tone which should have been replaced with a more serious, documentary film-style approach (with less mugging for the camera). The ending throws in a bit of the Ring for good measure (if you watch this you will die), which I thought was effectively creepy. An entertaining look at the banality (and self-indulgence) of evil.

lead actor, Kevin Howarth, steals the show- and a few lives in this performance. I should tell you that I simply detest DVD movies that are shot on video. However, I really liked this. Think of it a british "american psycho". Throughout, I really enjoyed the lead/serial killer's musings about life, death and his take on "other people's" conceptions on the subject. While his dialogue may seem trite in certain parts, overall you find yourself really liking this fellow. The extras include a few previews of some other shot-on-video titles such as "Corn" and "Virgin". There's a director's commentary, a few deleted scenes, actor's audition tapes and a short film (about 3 minutes) from the director's friend. I really appreciated this DVD.