Red Screening – Al morir la matinee (2020)

Directed by: Maximiliano Contenti | 88 minutes | horror | Actors: Luciana Grasso, Ricardo Islas, Julieta Spinelli, Franco Duran, Pedro Duarte, Yuly Aramburu, Hugo Blandamuro, Daiana Carigi, Valeria Martínez Eguizabal, Lucas Fressero, Vladimir Knazevs, Juan Carlos Lema, Fernán Moliv, Patricia Porzio, Julio Sobré Troisi, Vicente Varela

A ruthless killer in a dark raincoat sneaks into a movie theater to slaughter the movie fans one by one during the last evening show. If that sounds like music to your ears, then the Uruguayan horror film ‘Red Screening’ (2020, original title ‘Al morir la matinée’) by Maximiliano Contenti is definitely worth watching. Not that this film is so original or very surprising in terms of plot or characters, but Contenti simply radiates love for film in general, and horror films in particular, like blood spatter dripping from the murder weapon. He also has a perfect sense of atmosphere and needs few resources to evoke the right ambiance. Contenti will be especially pleased (!) with the location he was allowed to use for his film: the beautiful classic cinema ‘Cinemateca 18’ – which at the time the film was set was still called ‘Nuevo 18′ – in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo. that same deep-seated love for film. This is a place where movie buffs like to hang out until the wee hours. Such a cinema where they still work with an old-fashioned film projector and where your ticket is still cut or stamped when you enter. That the killer has chosen this fantastic location to commit his brutal murders is not so strange when you know that he is particularly after one particular body part of his victims…

‘Red Screening’ is set in 1993 Montevideo. It is a gray, rainy evening and the last film showing in the atmospheric cinema is about to start. Student Ana (Luciana Grasso) has offered to take over the job of her father (Hugo Blandamuro), who is a film operator and has already had a long day on it. Once the film is on, she can study quietly in the projection room. The last film to be screened is the horror film ‘Frankenstein – Day of the Beast’ (a film that actually exists and was directed by Ricardo Islas, who takes on the role of the murderer in ‘Red Screening’). A mixed group has arrived. An old man. A newfangled couple of which the man seems unworldly and the woman a bit spoiled and bored. Three youngsters, one of whom is in love with a girl he met on the bus and who he thinks resembles actress Brooke Shields. That girl also appears at the last moment to walk into the hall. There is also a boy who should have been in his bed long ago, a stowaway who has sneaked into the room secretly and unobtrusively to watch a scary movie. As far as staff is concerned, in addition to Ana, cinema worker Mauricio (Pedro Duarte) is also present, who doesn’t seem to have much sense anymore and finds it more interesting to harass Ana and keep her from her studies. And so there’s our killer, who, after locking the entrance doors, takes his seat in the back of the room and waits for his chance to strike. One by one, moviegoers are being tricked…

Contenti is a real enthusiast, that much is clear. In his film, he not only pays tribute to the cinema as a phenomenon in itself, but also to two specific horror genres: the Italian giallo and the slasher films from the 1990s. The love for giallo is mainly reflected in the style and look of the film, including film posters by, among others, Dario Argento in the background, and the appearance (dark clothing, gloves) and modus operandi of the killer. The synthesizer music is also a big nod to the classic Italian subgenre. With the screenplay (by Contenti and Manuel Facal) ‘Red Screening’ does not really distinguish itself; who the ruthless killer is and why he does what he does remain a mystery. Contenti could have made a difference there. The characters are also quite one-dimensional (but that is of course often the case in a horror film) and they also make silly choices. It’s not really credible that nobody notices that a murderer is walking through the cinema, even if he slaughters a fellow visitor right in front of them. But of course you don’t watch a film like this for the carefully fleshed out characters, the deeper layers and motives of the killer and for the undeniable credibility. You watch these kinds of films for the tension, the gore, the blood spatter, the creative ways in which the killer kills others and for the oppressive atmosphere and all those aspects have been taken care of in ‘Red Screening’ down to the last detail. The gritty cinematography, reasonable to good acting and love for cinema that radiate from this retro slasher do the rest!