All my previous posts have dealt with classic films that helped pave the way for both modern horror and the lower budget “B movies”. I have always found “B movies” to be great movies in their own right because they deal with ideas and concepts that the mainstream movies do not explore. No matter how absurd these ideas may be. The culture and mindset for people who enjoy these films vary from person to person. Some of us treasure the enjoyment we get of seeing the on screen characters afraid of an idea that is so far from what we would consider rational and logical. We are automatically transported back to that childhood mindset where anything could be possible. These ideas show us things that if they were real would frighten us to death; I use that phrase in the most literal since. Maybe the reason is because the basis, for many of the great horror, is often structured in reality then taken to extremes. It seems that every day in the real world someone is talking about the end of the world these films give us a window into how insane these ideas can become. This is why those of us that are fans of the craziness known as horror hold these experiences so dear.
The film Matinee staring John Goodman is a great example of the escapism that the horror genre provides. Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman) is the ultimate depiction of the schlocky B-movie creator; who is premiering his new film MANT at a local theater in Key West, Florida during the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis. MANT uses the average B-movie plot and acting combined with Woolsey’s new gimmick “Atomo Vision”. We see the stir that MANT causes in the community through the prospective of Gene Loomis (Simon Fenton). Also we see the panic of the early days of the Cuban Missile Crisis as Gene lives with his younger brother and mother on the local Navy base. Gene’s father is deployed out at sea during the length of the film. Because of Gene’s worry for his father and the state of the impending crisis he, and his younger brother, bury their thoughts into film and in particular the horror genre.
Due to Gene’s well versed knowledge in the horror genre he sees the crazed panic of the public as nothing more than average and at times entertaining. A great example of this is during a scene in a local grocery store where his teacher and another patron are fighting over a box of Shredded Wheat cereal. The store clerk has to step in take the cereal from the men, who are having a “tug of war” with it, to tell them that they will have to go the apocalypse without any Shredded Wheat. Horror films have always shown that the best way to deal with impending doom is by remaining calm, and actually using your knowledge to the best of your ability. Woolsey points out to Gene that sometimes adults can forget this, “You think grown-ups have it all figured out? That's just a hustle, kid. Grown-ups are making it up as they go along, just like you. You remember that, and you'll do fine.”
Escapism in the, what at times can be called, absurdity of horror films blends very well into real the real life fears presented. Matinee is truly an underrated film. It is thick with plot while also being lighthearted enough to be an easy watch for anyone interested in the mentality and appeal of the B-horror film. All of this truly speaks to this crazed writer.
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