Last Screening Explained

Last Screening
Director:Laurent Achard
Starring:Pascal Cervo
Charlotte van Kemmel
Karole Rocher
Austin Morel
Mireille Roussel
Noël Simsolo
Music:Mikael Barre
Xavier Griette
Cinematography:Sabine Lancelin
Editing:Jean-Christophe Hym
Runtime:81 minutes
Country:France
Language:French

Last Screening (French: Dernière séance) is a 2011 French horror film by Laurent Achard. The film is about Sylvain (Pascal Cervo) who is devoted to the theater, which is about to go out of business. He lives in the basement of the cinema and is the film programmer, projectionist and cashier. Each night after the final screening, Sylvain leaves the theatre to perform brutal acts. The film had its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Release

Last Screening had its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival on August 9, 2011, where it was shown in competition.[1] [2] It was later shown at the BFI London Film Festival[3]

Reception

Variety gave the film a negative review, stating that the film "plays like a private joke best shared among movie buffs" and that it was "ultimately little more than an accomplished but empty formalist exercise, devoid of the genuine feeling that distinguished Achard's previous, "Demented"." Film4 gave the film a negative review of two stars out of five, stating that the film "is very forgettable. It's a shame that Cervo's great performance hangs limply on a wobbly script full of poor choices."[4] Time Out London gave the film a rating of two stars out of five, calling it "out-and-out preposterous, a soulless essay that's livened by a smattering of striking imagery and a few neat juxtapositions, but nothing to really sink your teeth in to."[5] Screen Daily referred to the film as a "humourless little slasher" and wrote that it was "Neither scary nor engrossing, it is just unnecessarily repetitive."[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Film Detail. Locarno International Film Festival. January 7, 2012.
  2. Web site: Last Screening. Variety. August 21, 2011. January 7, 2012. Felperin, Leslie.
  3. Web site: Last Screening. Romney, Jonathan. January 7, 2012. British Film Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20120304175015/http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1728. March 4, 2012. dead.
  4. Web site: Last Screening. Film4. January 7, 2012.
  5. Web site: Last Screening Review. Time Out. Jenkins, David. January 7, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120103153759/http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/90991/last-screening.html. January 3, 2012. dead.
  6. Web site: Last Screening : Review. Screen Daily. January 7, 2012. August 10, 2011. Fainaru, Dan.