This week we watched a classic homage-type film to the late horror director William Castle played by John Goodman as Lawrence Woolsey. It was full of great 60s swinging songs and hilarious cold war jokes. The film plays tributes to the efforts of Castle, who created sensationalism around films such as the Tingler beyond just the 2D viewing experience, and the questionable ploys made by the film industry to engage viewers. Trying their best to remain optimistic in the shadow of nuclear annihilation, every young person in town congregates at Key West’s classic balconette Strand theater to be entertained and distracted by the atomic horrors promised by Lawrence Woolsey’s new science-fiction film Mant! It’s a film about movie magic, and how it was a necessity that invested in the future of film making and experiences. 

The Japanese poster for Matinee 1993

The film is irrefutably hopeful and an upbeat film surrounded by the looming reality of nuclear threat and without a doubt a time-capsulizing piece; it was structured to be an outside the box film, but one not likely bound for blockbuster status. Dante’s unique thought was to bring the film out in restricted access to art filmhouses. He trusted positive word-to-mouth may help make a buzz, and was sure that this film – one intended for cineastes as a top priority – would be met with great first impressions. In any case, in 1993 Universal was a corporate titan that dropped their movies to nation release for a fast quantifiable profit. Tragically, Matinee was too separate a film to interest a mass crowd, completing a disillusioning box office fail for its first week of release. 

The film is both a reverence and a spoof of the various “techniques” studios utilized so as to draw in more individuals to the cinema. These days, computerized 3D is the only comparison we can make, yet the innovation of making a film seeing encounter would be totally unequaled during the 60s, particularly B-motion pictures introduced to be a spectacle. Setting off to the theatre was an occasion, and individuals enjoyed feeling like they were getting all the value for their money. For this movie, literally a bang for their buck. The film focuses on how the looming national threat furthers the need for distraction, and consumption of media. It paints Woolsey out to be a sort of unsung patriot by providing an optimistic spectacle despite the paranoia. In the article Film As a Subversive Mass Art: Joe Dante at BAM, Giovanni Vimercati writes “The bunker where everyone hides from irrational, manufactured fears is blown apart in Matinee to liberate the spectator from its own passivity.” 

I saw John Goodman vaping on my way to school one morning outside a cafe

John Goodman is excellent as Lawrence Woolsey. He is, most importantly, a salesman, yet one additionally gets the feeling that he truly gets a kick out of engaging individuals and making them shout. It’s the sort of character that could’ve been played as silly, over-the-top and overwhelming, yet fortunately Goodman accomplishes something somewhat more intriguing. His Woolsey is a serene kind of quality, a man who doesn’t lose his cool during desperate circumstances, and who appears to think about the individuals who pay great cash to see his shows. It’s a shockingly human translation of a character who occupies a capitalistic gimmicky world.

While the gimmicks of Hollywood producers intend for profit, but some prioritize the enjoyment and amazement of its audiences for the betterment of entertainment. William Castle was undoubtedly one of these creators, and deserves to be recognized for his contributions to cinema experience. I liked the film, it was quite the feel-good-amid-global-crisis that helped me get through this week. I love John Goodman and I spent a whole hour and half squinting at Cathy Moriarty before I remembered she’s in Forget Paris! So now I want to watch that. Thanks Dr S!