MATINEE: COLLECTOR’S EDITION REVIEWED
“Matinee” is Joe Dante’s stunning tribute to gimmick filmmakers of the Drive-In and Traveling Roadshow circuit. John Goodman stars as the William Castle/Samuel Z. Arkoff stand-in that wants to premiere his new movie in Key West. Unfortunately, the Cuban Missile Crisis is kicking up and the entire town is on edge. Goodman hires Dick Miller and John Sayles to get the crowd nuttier, but it’s too late. The kids are movie crazy and the parents think they’re all going to die.
All the while, you have a stunning turn from a young Kellie Martin and some fun creature effects in the Mant movie scenes. The film works because it carries an honest love for the material on its sleeve. Anyone familiar with Dante knows about his love for these creatures features and I recommend using this movie as a springboard into the films that inspired it. That being said, I wish the transfer on this film looked a little better. It’s not bad, but it spots that same washed-out haze that I saw on the Arrow UK disc.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Interviews
- Featurettes
- Trailer
- Full-length version of MANT
- and more!
A/V STATS
- 1.85:1 1080p transfer
- DTS-HD 2.0 master audio trakc