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The Last Horror Film: Tromatic Special Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Troma Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (21st September 2025). |
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The Film
 Saturn Award (Best International Film): The Last Horror Film (nominee) and Best Supporting Actress: Filomena Spagnuolo (nominee) - Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, 1993 Clavell de Plata (Best Cinematography): Thomas F. Denove (winner) - Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, 1982 New York cabbie Vinny Durand (The Ninth Configuration's Joe Spinell) has dreams of Hollywood fame, and his muse is Jana Bates (Dracula A.D. 1972's Caroline Munro), the "Queen of Horror Films". Leaving his job and his mother (Stardust Memories's Filomena Spagnuolo, Spinnel's real mother billed as "Mary Spinell") behind, Vinny takes off to Cannes - where Jana is promoting her new film "Scream", produced by her ex-husband Bret Bates (Trick or Treats' Glenn Jacobson) and directed by new beau Alan Cunningham (Judd Hamilton, Munro's husband who she met on A Talent for Loving) - with the goal of making her the star of his horror masterpiece. He naturally gets the brush-off as he tries to make contact with her at various events, and assumes a series of elaborate disguises in order to get closer to her. When people start dying and disappearing around her, the police and Alan believe it to be an elaborate publicity stunt. Alan decides that Jana needs to get away and spirits her off to the Chateau Pelly, which proves to be an ideal location for Vinny's horror movie... An early example of recursive slasher filmmaking, The Last Horror Film is an uneven but highly-entertaining mix of humor and horror (tying in the question of the influence of violence in cinema on real life directly with the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, even more so because of Vinny's job as a cabbie). Spinell is typically committed, even if the anguish of his character fails to overcome the more absurd aspects of the film –like Jana being up for best actress against Faye Dunaway, Jane Fonda, Julie Christie, and Meryl Streep and winning – but one can see why Spinell started to favor showy lead roles in films like this and Maniac (also featuring Munro), and even The Undertaker, over character bits in bigger films. The climactic twist has held up surprisingly well, with the revealed title of Vinny's horror film a subtle clue. Reuniting Spinell and Munro, the film is something of a follow-up to Maniac rather than its proposed direct sequel by Combat Shock's Buddy Giovinazzo, and even anticipates their first collaboration in Luigi Cozzi's Star Crash in that Vinny expresses a wish to follow up his horror film with a space film starring Jana. The film takes full advantage of the resources afforded by the Cannes location and 1981 festival setting, guerilla and authorized shoots, and picturesque settings with plenty of extras including plenty of opportunities for T&A via the topless beaches and uncredited "cameos" by Isabelle Adjani, Marcello Mastroianni, and Karen Black as well as a credited one by pre-Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' Robin Leach. It also gets to place its film-within-a-film in the enviable company of festival-submitted films like Andrzej Wajda's Man of Iron, John Waters' Polyester, István Szabó's Mephisto, Karel Reisz's The French Lieutenant's Woman, Andrzej Żuławski's Possession, John Boorman's Excalibur, Christian De Chalonge's post-apocalyptic Malevil, and Ken Russell's nearly-made "The Beethoven Secret" (which the director subsequently novelized as Beethoven Confidential published together with "Brahms Gets Laid"). Munro gets top billing but Spinell is certainly the star, writing and directing his horror film-within-a-film as well as The Last Horror Film overshadowing everyone else, building upon his lonely mama's boy character while everyone else seems to be following the script and only improvising during the scenes where they have to interact with the public by taking over the end of press conferences or walking in and out of hotels and theaters like any other celebrities. Munro's husband Hamilton had arranged partial financing for Maniac and initiated this project which was "taken over" by director David Winters (West Side Story), a dancer who choreographed films for Elvis and Ann Margaret – in one of Vinny's nightmares, Winters taunts him while spinning around on roller skates – and later directed several celebrity television specials and would direct a number of low-budget action movies during the eighties like Mission: Kill and would produce several throughout the eighties and nineties for David A. Prior and his actor brother Ted Prior including Deadly Prey, the slasher Killer Workout, and the film-within-a-film erotic thriller Double Threat which was theatrical-bound but ended up direct-to-video. Winters also has a small role as a director out to make Susanne Benton (A Boy and His Dog) the next scream queen. Assistant director Devin Goldenberg – who had previously appeared in the seventies slasher Savage Weekend and wrote The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood and may have had a hand in the multi-authored script here – has a small role as a cynical producer. Several of the crew and cast friends and relations have small roles in the film including Spinell's bodyguard Luke Walter (Nighthawks) and Hamilton's brother John Hamilton as security guards, Winters' wife (or rather her implants) J'Len Winters as the opening film-within-a-film victim and a later cameo entirely below the neck, cinematographer Tom DeNove (The Aftermath) as a police officer, and Hamilton's daughter and Munro's stepdaughter Tami Hamilton as a Jana decoy during her award acceptance scene. 
Video
Given minor theatrical release in 1983 by JAD Films, a film market rival to Troma Films who eventually wound up with the rights, The Last Horror Film was easiest to see on Media Home Entertainment's VHS tape of the R-rated version which was ubiquitous in video stores while overseas territories got a slightly gorier version running less than a minute longer. Troma's first stab on DVD in 2000 under the re-release title "Fanatic" turned out to be the R-rated version from an old video master with only two TV spots and the usual Troma extras. In 2009, they re-released the film on DVD under its better-known title reincorporating the unrated gore and adding a commentary and interview with Walter and some other interviews but the materials were still poor-looking. Some time after that Troma struck an HD master of the R-rated version which underwent some restoration at Pinewood in the U.K. and inserted the unrated material from a video master for 88 Films' Blu-ray which was imperfect but turned out to be the best means at the time to see the film since Troma's U.S. Blu-ray the next year turned out to be the unrestored R-rated master. In 2023, Severin Films debuted a new 4K restoration of the film in a limited edition 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray set combining the R-rated version with the uncut materials from La Cinémathèque Française. The license was limited and there was no standard edition. The Last Horror Film is one of a handful of titles licensed from Troma to other companies who put out Blu-rays first which were then issued again by Troma after the licenses ran out with varying results. While their Blu-ray of Combat Shock looked more or less the same as Severin's limited edition, Troma's Blu-ray of Nightbeast severely cropped to 1.78:1 the fullscreen image of the master struck by Vinegar Syndrome for their Blu-ray/DVD combo. Troma's new 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray appears to utilize the Severin 4K master with the added French title "Les frénétiques" – the actual title card reasons "DANS LES FRENETIQUES" with the "dans" capitalized and the same size as the title giving an impression of sloppiness – while "The Last Horror Film" remains as it always has written on the leader of a film reel under the credits opticals. We have not seen the Severin transfer but this is the best we have seen the film looking, although the gore inserts look grainier and slightly paler – we are not sure to what extent if any Severin was able to match the material to the rest of the film or if those efforts are reflected here – with the partially-guerilla shooting leading to a varied appearance of grain and detail. The sunny B-roll – it is easier to notice that J'Len Winters' Cannes cameo – and various hotel room interiors look great while there is a degree of making-do with the night scenes including a stalk-and-slash sequence shot without authorization at the castle above Cannes. One of the final gore inserts looks particularly grainy and soft as a result of being both an insert from a print source and having been shot in slow motion in low lighting. 
Audio
As expected, Troma's feature audio track is in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 mono but it gets the job done with the dialogue always clear along with the music and effects, reminding viewers that despite the film's reputed low budget and how many financial shenanigans happened offscreen, the shoot and post-production – initially done in England and then finished in Hollywood – was comfortably-budgeted and professional. Optional English SDH subtitles have some occasional transcription and possibly optical character recognition issues. 
Extras
The film's extras combine those of Troma and Severin starting with the original 2009 audio commentary by Joe Spinell's assistant and associate producer Luke Walter, moderated by Troma Films' Evan Husney who recalls meeting and becoming friends with Spinell and reveals that he was initially supposed to play the cowboy character who gives Vinny a lift to Cannes and pops up throughout the film before Winters recast the role and instead gave him a 16mm Arri to shoot behind the scenes footage. Walter and Husney discuss the film's free production value, stealing second unit footage, and the time capsule quality of Cannes in 1981, Spinell's partying with Arab pimps and at the house of arms dealer Khashoggi, running around the Cannes beaches naked, and finding extras. Recorded for the Severin release is the audio commentary by actress Caroline Munro, moderated by FrightFest's Alan Jones who recalls meeting Spinell on Star Crash and that she and Hamilton were initially involved in a sequel intended to feature Nancy Kwan along with Donny and Marie Osmond, Winters' dancing career and television work, her impression of Spinell versus that of ex-husband Hamilton, shooting in public without permits – real reporters often crowded around their reporter extras and some of the public actually thought she was "Jana Bates" – and how she avoided the partying and seems to have been sheltered from the behind the scenes financial issues. She does reveal that the Swiss castle they stayed in later in the film belonged to Ponzi schemer Bernie Cornfeld who Winters knew through actress Victoria Principal and reveals that the make-up effects were the work of Peter Mackenzie Litten (Rawhead Rex) who also worked on her next slasher Slaughter High for her second husband George Dugdale. Jones discusses how much Cannes has changed from the time of the film to now – along with things that remain the same – as well as providing some more background including the Starburst issue Vinny is reading early on that includes a location report on the film itself (denoting those scenes as having been shot afterward) as well as some of the material written about the film like the Swiss location report that mentions that the production intended to shoot a scene with piranhas in a swimming pool. Also recorded for the Severin release is an audio commentary by Joe Spinell's assistant and associate producer Luke Walter, moderated by Severin Films' David Gregory – these two having first collaborated with one another on a Spinell documentary – in which Walter rehashes a lot of familiar material from the earlier track but is much more candid about his role in Spinell's life as the worrier – due to both the actor's impulsive behavior and his hemophilia – citing more of Spinell's outrageous behavior on both sides of the pond. He also recalls learning of his friend's death after seeing him the day before and revealing that the cops did not know what to think when they burst in and found Spinell's prop severed head from Maniac on top of the television set.  The film is preceded by the introduction by Lloyd Kaufman (4:07) shot for the 2015 Blu-ray which cannot be skipped can can be fast-forwarded through – you can also start the film immediately but going to the scene selection menu and clicking on "1' – and from the Severin edition comes "Like a Father Figure: Sal Sirchia Remembers Joe Spinell" (21:11) in which the musician/actor recalls getting to hang out on the set of Nighthawks where he first met Spinell, his admiration of Maniac and their friendship including several saved answering machine tape messages of Spinell calling him at all hours to hang out. Also from Severin is "My Last Horror Film Ever" (18:58), an audio interview with producter Hamilton who recalls the film as the worst experience of his life but does not regret it since it contributed to him moving in to his current field. He recalls at first being impressed by Winters but then describes him as an "idiot" and the legal trouble the director's financial malfeasance got him that contributed to one of the biggest scandals for Lloyd's of London and eventually handing the film over to Winters and letting him finish it, along with Winters' seeming invitation for them to make use of Cornfeld's castle only for Cornfeld to reveal Winters promised Hamilton would pay him ten thousand dollars cash. He also recalls the difficulty of working with Spinell in both Cannes – he had to send his brother back there to get Spinell out of legal trouble – and also in London where the actor was in the West End when he was supposed to be on the set (he does attribute Spinell to bringing the "street level" element of Cannes into the film). Also from Severin is "The Last Horror Film New York and Cannes Locations Visit" (14:23) in which Fangoria's Michael Gingold gives a tour of the New York locations then and now – including Spinnel's apartment building – while Severin's Gregory takes over for the Cannes locations. Ported from the Troma editions is "Mister Robbie" (8:04), the promotional trailer for the never-produced "Maniac II: Mister Robbie" directed by Buddy Giovinazzo in which Spinell plays a childrens' television host with a traumatic past who snaps upon reading fan letters of children revealing abuse at the hands of their parents. The disc also includes two TV spots under the "Fanatic" title (0:32 and 0:31, respectively) and one for The Last Horror Film along with "Tromatic Extras" from the 2015 disc: Highlights from Tromadance 2015 (5:21), "The Return of Dolphin Man" short film (4:48), an episode of "Kabukiman's Cocktail Party" (9:44) and trailers for other Troma titles. 
Overall
While we have not seen the Severin 4K/Blu-ray extremely-limited edition, Troma's new special edition of The Last Horror Film is the best the film has ever looked in Troma's own hands.
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