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Murder on Flight 502 (1975) / The Last Matinee (2020)






I caught this mid seventies melodrama that was shown on YouTube, from a channel called Cult Cinema Classics. It was a murder mystery that took place on a plane.













Several passengers board a flight to London. After the plane takes off, the airport security chief, Robert Davenport, receives a note that is delivered a day early, that states “by the time you receive this letter, you’ll already know about the murders on Flight 502.” He calls the pilot of the plane and informs him. The pilot and his staff seek the help of an onboard doctor and police officer in trying to figure out which passenger is responsible for the letter, while Davenport and his staff look into the backgrounds of everyone on board, hoping to find a clue to identify the writer of the letter. Things escalate when one passenger is found murdered, while the personal dramas of several of the passengers play out. Everyone must race against time to uncover the culprit before more people are killed.









The movie is cheesy and fun, boasting an all-star cast (for 1975), including Robert Stack, Farrah Faucet-Majors, Sonny Bono, Danny Bonaduce, Walter Pidgeon and George Maharis. The passengers’ personal stories include an angry father who wants vengeance against the musician he feels is responsible for his daughter’s death, an older man who’s dying, a drunken mystery writer who finds inspiration for her latest novel, and a man who seems fixated on a doctor who’s onboard. The script is silly, the various stories play out like soap opera plot lines, and the characters are colorful, with every actor doing their best to chew up the scenery. This is the type of film that could’ve only come from the 70’s, playing out like an extended episode of the Love Boat on a plane, mixed with an Agatha Christie novel and even throwing in elements of a disaster thriller like Airport 75.







The next film in my double feature was a 2020 horror movie from Argentina called The Last Matinee.






The film is set in 1993. Student Ana takes over the projection duties at a local cinema, relieving her father, who works there. She calls a cab and sends him home, due to his ill health. She'll also use the quiet time in the projection room to get some studying in for an upcoming exam. Several people show up for the late night screening of a Frankenstein horror film, including 3 friends, a young kid who hid under the seat during the previous screening so he can stay for this one, a guy on a date with a girl, an older man, and a single girl by herself. While everyone is busy watching the movie, a mysterious guy in a black coat and hood has snuck into the theater and begins a murder spree, stalking and killing the various patrons in the theater.















The film is straightforward, bloody fun, with the cast members being slaughtered one by one by the maniac, nothing more, nothing less. It's filmed with an 80's slasher / Italian giallo vibe, complete with a synthesizer score, gory, blood soaked kills, a stylish use of color (particularly reds and blues), and the killer even donning black gloves. The acting is decent, and the murders are graphic, plentiful and filmed with visually stunning flair. This is one of the better modern slashers that effectively captures that fun retro vibe. The Last Matinee is a great time, available to stream free on Tubi. Highly recommended for giallo fans.













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