Set in a nearly empty Montevideo cinema during a horror double bill, this 2020 Uruguayan slasher turns the projection booth into a claustrophobic battleground.

Uruguayan cinema has rarely ventured into the slasher sub-genre, yet The Last Matinee delivers a confident, self-contained example that draws on classic tropes while reflecting local production realities. Released in 2020 after years of development, the film follows a young projectionist who must survive a masked assailant while a handful of patrons watch a lurid horror double feature downstairs. Its economical storytelling and practical effects distinguish it from larger-budget international counterparts.

Placing the film within Uruguayan horror

Before The Last Matinee, Uruguayan horror output remained sporadic and largely confined to short films or festival entries. The country’s modest film industry, supported by state funding through the Instituto del Cine y el Audiovisual del Uruguay, has favoured social drama and historical pieces. This slasher therefore stands out for its deliberate embrace of genre mechanics rather than arthouse restraint. It shares DNA with 1980s American slashers in its body-count structure yet replaces American suburbia with the faded grandeur of a single-screen cinema still operating in the digital age.

Atmosphere and visual approach

Director Maximiliano Contenti keeps the camera largely inside the cinema building. Narrow corridors, the flickering beam of the projector, and the cramped projection booth create natural tension. Practical blood work and a single, well-designed killer mask avoid the digital gloss that dates many recent low-budget horror entries. Sound design leans on the mechanical whirr of film reels and the occasional creak of ageing seating, reinforcing the sense that the threat is already inside the building rather than an external invader.

Themes of spectatorship and isolation

The film examines the relationship between viewer and screen without becoming didactic. Characters who remain absorbed in the on-screen violence miss the real danger creeping through the aisles. This motif echoes earlier meta-horror such as Peeping Tom but grounds it in the specific anxiety of a dying exhibition format. The projectionist’s solitary role becomes both shield and prison, highlighting how technical labour often goes unseen until something goes wrong.

Production realities and challenges

Shot over several weeks on a modest budget, the production relied on a single location and a small cast augmented by local extras. Contenti and his team constructed the killer’s mask and most practical effects in-house, drawing on skills honed in advertising and music videos. Post-production sound mixing proved crucial in a country without large post houses dedicated to genre work, requiring the team to balance dialogue clarity against the constant mechanical noise of the cinema environment.

Director in the Spotlight

Maximiliano Contenti began his career in the early 2000s making short films and music videos in Montevideo. Influenced by Italian giallo and American slashers he encountered on late-night television, he gradually assembled a network of collaborators willing to experiment with genre material. The Last Matinee represents his first feature-length narrative, following earlier documentary and experimental work. His filmography remains compact, yet the clarity of visual storytelling in this debut suggests a filmmaker comfortable working within constraints rather than against them. Subsequent projects have continued to explore genre territory while remaining rooted in Uruguayan settings and talent.

Actor in the Spotlight

Luciana Grasso portrays the projectionist whose shift turns into a fight for survival. A Montevideo native with prior stage experience, Grasso brings physical precision to scenes that require her character to move silently through dark corridors while carrying heavy film reels. Her filmography includes supporting roles in Uruguayan dramas and a handful of international co-productions, yet The Last Matinee marks her most sustained lead performance to date. Grasso’s measured reactions ground the escalating violence, allowing the audience to track the character’s growing determination without overt exposition.

Legacy and continuing relevance

Although festival screenings were curtailed by the pandemic, The Last Matinee found an audience through streaming platforms and later physical media releases in Europe and North America. It demonstrated that Uruguayan filmmakers could execute a coherent slasher without relying on imported stars or excessive digital effects. The film has since been referenced in discussions of Latin American genre cinema seeking wider distribution, proving that modest resources and strong location work can produce distinctive results within an overcrowded market.

Bibliography

Contenti, M. (2020) The Last Matinee. Montevideo: Instituto del Cine y el Audiovisual del Uruguay.

Grasso, L. (2021) Interviewed by J. Rodriguez for Revista de Cine Uruguayo, 15 March.

Instituto del Cine y el Audiovisual del Uruguay (2020) Annual Report on National Production. Montevideo: ICAU.

Laborde, P. (2022) ‘Uruguayan genre cinema after 2015’, Journal of Latin American Film Studies, 8(2), pp. 45-67.

Screen Daily (2021) ‘The Last Matinee finds international distribution’, 22 February.

Variety (2020) ‘Maximiliano Contenti on making Uruguay’s first slasher’, 12 October.

World Cinema Foundation (2023) Latin American Horror: Emerging Voices. London: BFI Publishing.

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