PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I love a good slasher flick. I especially love those from the ’80s with their bloody practical effects, deranged madmen slicing and dicing their way through big cities, beachside towns, underground dwellings, trains, or whatever. I want them all. The Last Matinee is a fantastic throwback to those super bloody favorites. To celebrate the release of the film, I chatted with Ricardo Islas, who played the deranged killer in the film, and we talked about what made him want to play this character, how he almost quit acting, and what’s up next.
PopHorror: Hi Ricardo! I watched The Last Matinee last week, and I loved it. It’s so good, and I’m really excited to speak with you.
Ricardo Islas: Thank you! That’s wonderful.
PopHorror: What intrigued you about the film and made you want to be a part of the project?
Ricardo Islas: Probably the fact that I love horror movies as a spectator, and as a filmmaker as well. So when they offered me a project that was, in itself, a love letter to horror filmmaking, and in particular, two of my favorite subgenres within horror, which are Giallos from the ’70s and slashers from the ’80s. There was no way on this planet I would ever say no. It was like a dream come true.
PopHorror: I love that so much! What was your favorite part of filming?
Ricardo Islas: My favorite part of filming in general is bringing what’s on paper—what’s just a story or a script—bringing it to life with the actors. That’s when you realize that what somebody imagined could turn into reality. With this movie, when I got to the set and saw the very, very careful production value, the love that there was on the set from the crew, all young people, and from the cast, even younger people, I knew even before I started watching the dailies that we had something good going on. You can tell by the script, and many, many things can happen between the script and the actual making of the movie. In this case, everything was good.
PopHorror: You said that you are a big fan of horror, and I noticed on your IMDB credits that you have quite a few horror films under your belt. What is it that draws you to the horror genre?
Ricardo Islas: That is a difficult question that I’ve been asked, as you can imagine in my 50s, many times. I think it’s because I grew up watching horror movies on TV, and many of us decide that we want to one day is be on the other side of the screen, so if you watch sports, maybe you want to play sports. I watched horror movies, so I wanted to be in horror movies. That would be a very simplistic explanation. There’s probably something darker somewhere, but I learned that from my psychologist.
PopHorror: What was it that made you want to get into acting?
Ricardo Islas: When you were a kid, many, many kids are actors in front of their mirrors. Everybody thinks they can be an actor. I was just another one of those, but I was very stubborn. So I continued on it, and when the time came in the ’80s for me to start making my first movies, I realized that I could hire myself and that fire myself, so I wrote these movies in the ’80s and ’90s for me usually as the starring role sometimes playing the vampire, sometimes playing the good guy. And it was almost like a game, except that I never stopped playing, and I’m already 52.
PopHorror: I am impressed! I’m really excited to see what else you have coming up. What’s up next for you?
Ricardo Islas: Actually, in exactly two weeks on September 3, we start shooting Night Hunt which is a vampire movie where I will be playing a vampire. And to some extent it has to with this movie. I was telling Maxi [Contenti, the director] last week, because I used to play vampires like I told you back in the ’80s and ’90s, but then for many, many years I only directed, having decided not to act anymore. And then after seeing myself in this movie… I guess I can blame Maxi for it. I said to myself, “I still can look scary.” Actually, I look scarier now than when I was younger, so I decided to do it again. I’m bringing back to life a vampire that I played back in ’86 and ’89. The movies that I made in South America? I’m bringing them back to life, literally, here in Chicago, and we start shooting in two weeks.
PopHorror: That’s so awesome! I’m really glad to hear that you’ve decided not to quit and keep going. And that’s really exciting that you’re getting to relive that. I just have one last question for you, Ricardo. What is your favorite scary movie?
Ricardo Islas: I know this is a cliché, but it’s The Exorcist. I don’t think it’s ever been topped, and that’s because it’s a very good movie first, and then it’s a horror movie.
Thank you so much, Ricardo, for taking the time to speak with us. The Last Matinee is available to rent now!
