"an inventive and creative focus on the horror genre as a whole"

Phil Hawkins follows up his debut feature Being Sold with something decidedly contrasting from said quick-fire, frivolous comedy, with a notable step up in both scale and ambition.

Starring legendary Freddy Krueger mask-wearer Robert Englund, he plays Stuart, a taken-for-granted, faceless multiplex staff member that sees him serve popcorn and rip tickets all evening long. But he wants more. In fact, he demands it, and no longer is he willing to be pushed around by his superior.

With a comparatively modest budget of $2 million (well, in terms of modern Hollywood films), Hawkins gets the chance to explore the realms of horror, as well as exploit its conventions.

In essence, Englund’s character is all about perfectionism and professionalism when it comes to running a cinema. There’s a commendable swipe at the modern age of digital projection and the almost extinct art of manually projecting a film, but there’s also much more on a subtextual level going for it, too.

Allie (Emily Berrington) and Martin (Finn Jones) embark, as couples often do, on a date to the cinema, unbeknown to them that Stuart has formulated a twisted plan for them to unwittingly star in his very own horror film.

Rather than opt for a found-footage style, The Last Showing refrains from doing so, instead incorporating CCTV. Stuart’s desire to make his own sordid horror fantasy flick is largely captured on the security cameras dotted around the cinema in which it is set, which makes for an interesting comment on the voyeuristic tendencies of the genre.

While Hawkins’ sophomore feature does a job of creating a villain that feels cold, calculating, and a tad psychologically damaged, it also effectively pits us against the lead male. Martin, while essentially a ‘good’ guy, comes across as a bit of a douche, as we’re encouraged very early on to dislike the cocky chump before Stuart selects him as his star. What’s more, this oddly encourages you to favour the deranged Stuart over who we’d usually associate an allegiance with.

Even though any jumps and genuine scares present themselves too infrequently, the idea of someone constantly watching and plotting a sadistic way to draw unsuspecting, innocent victims into a twisted real-life bloody horror is a creepy, effective premise.

The Last Showing is an inventive and creative focus on the horror genre as a whole, and while it may not pack in the quota of scares of its modern counterparts, it instead serves as more of a commentary on the genre, which many fans will likely pick up on.