Caroline Phillips Before Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream made self-reflexivity cool in horror films, there was this unknown little gem that reunites Maniac stars Joe Spinnell and Caroline Munro to make an, at times, hilarious send up of both Hollywood and horror films.At first glance, it might seem as if Spinnell is resuming his role from Maniac, but his Vinny is a far more sympathetic and likable guy. He has big dreams to quit his taxi driving job and make a film with his favorite leading lady, Jana Bates (Caroline Munro with a hideous skunk-like white streak in her hair). He scrambles the money together to go to the Cannes Film Festival and pretty much stalk Jana until he can be alone with her and persuade her to be in his film. Naturally, someone is killing off people in Jana's entourage and it might be Vinny.Whereas Maniac was grim and sleazy, The Last Horror Film is pretty upbeat and silly. I really can't imagine someone not finding a lot of fun in this. Spinnell and Munro seem game for anything and some of the murder set pieces are fairly imaginative and fun. There's even a nifty twist at the end followed by one of the strangest final scenes in horror history.Seeing all the famous celebrity cameos and movie marquees during the Cannes scenes is a treat as well. Horror fans should give this one a chance.

trashgang I was expecting a lot from this so-called horror also know as the last Horror Film. Why, because the combination of Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro is back on the screen best know for their cult classic maniac (1980). Joe plays Vinny, obsessed with Jana Bates (Munro) who he wants to play in his last horror flick. He travels to Cannes to convince Jana to play in his flick but people surrounding Jana disappear. I thought that this would be a brutal horror but it's really low on every part. Some scene's are clearly filmed at the festival without knowledge of the organization but it just doesn't work. Spinell's acting is okay and did remind me of Maniac especially when he's projecting Jana's face over his body. It's funny to see the promoting of flicks at the festival with a lot of posters and marquees. Also funny is the ending were Spinell has a scene with his real mother. One to see for Spinell or Munro fans but horror buffs will be disappointed because this isn't another Maniac and is a bit low on red stuff, although it contains a bit of nudity. Not as good as expected.Gore 1/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Witchfinder General 666 "Fanatic" aka. "The Last Horror Film" (1982) is sometimes labeled "Maniac 2", which cane merely be interpreted as an attempt to cash in on William Lustig's ultra-nasty 1980 shocker "Maniac", which featured the same cast. The incredibly creepy-looking Joe Spinell played the eponymous girl-butchering maniac in Lustig's film, and he once again plays a rather demented role here. However, as opposed to "Maniac" which is easily one of the most disturbing American Horror films of the early 80s, "Fanatic" is rather a dark comedy, or a darkly but strongly satirical Horror film to say the least.Spinell plays Vinny Durand, a New York taxi driver, mama's boy, total psycho and fanatical film fan, who plans to make his own Horror movie starring the star he worships, Horror beauty Jana Bates (played by Caroline Munro, who also played the female lead in "Maniac"). He follows her to the film festival in Cannes, where he tries to stalk her, but never manages to come close to her. In the meanwhile, more and more of Jana's associates in the film business end up in gory massacres..."The Last Horror Film" satirizes the 80s controversy whether watching violent and gory Horror films will turn viewers into violent psychopaths. Some fellow reviewers seem to state that the (gory) film absurdly agrees with that ridiculous assumption, but, as far as I am concerned, the opposite is the case: Some people's cry for censorship in the 80s (the decade of the UK's infamous 'Video Nasty' list) is ridiculed by the film. Joe Spinell is always great for extremely sleazy, perverted and creepy roles, and his performance is doubtlessly the main reason to watch "The Last Horror Film". Caroline Munro is a beauty as are most other female cast members, all of whom are eager to expose their breasts. Sadly, "Fanatic" features no suspense at all, and while there is some gore it is not comparable to the disturbing nature of "Maniac". The film has its very funny moments though, mainly provided by Spinell's character's extreme eccentricities. The film is certainly no must-see, but it nonetheless provides a good laugh.

Ton_O Scream…. but so much better. This film start the inimitable Joe Spinell in a part that only he knows how to deliver. Aspiring filmmaker Vinnie (Spinell) is an obsessive fan of scream queen Jenna Bates (Bond-girl Caroline Muroe) and wants to make his own film, with her as a star. This doesn't quite work out, and he stalks all the way to the Cannes film festival where things go from bad to even worse. This film from 1981 is made on a budget that wouldn't cover the first week's catering on some of the slick so-called Horror movies (i.e.: some teens running around screaming) but is so much better than most of them. The characters are a lot more believable than the stereotypes you see in the mainstream Hollywood so-called horror flicks in Scream and the Bad Guy (with all his good intentions) is much scarier than the ridiculous Freddie in his own much too famous film series. The atmosphere is extremely unsettling, which is enhanced by little things one could easily miss (like a theatre at Cannes advertising to show Cannibal Holocaust - a film you would hardly expect to play at today's Festival). One prophetic scene is saying a lot about the aforementioned Blockbuster Horror movies that Hollywood chunks out. During a press conference the star in the film Jenna Bates is asked if she is at the Cannes Festival to promote her new film. "Yes, and it is called 'Scream', is her answer. 'Now, that is bound to sell a lot of popcorn'. And this is fifteen years before Wes Craven released his ridiculous kiddies-horror - just an example to show where many filmmakers get their inspiration: from TROMA, of course. Highly recommended.