Matinee

It is 1962 in Key West, Florida, where American forces are caught up in the naval blockade of Cuba and local families wait anxiously as the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolds. Into this tense seaside town comes Lawrence Woolsey, a flamboyant independent producer and showman who is promoting his latest low-budget horror picture. Instead of relying on the film alone, he stages an elaborate presentation in the local theatre, filling the auditorium with practical effects, props and performers in rubber costumes designed to shock the audience out of their seats. For teenagers such as Gene Loomis, the son of a serviceman, the arrival of Woolsey and his gimmicks offers a distraction from the uncertainty at home.

Joe Dante directed the film, his tenth of sixteen, following Gremlins 2: The New Batch and preceding The Second Civil War. Charles S. Haas wrote the screenplay, and Michael Finnell produced. The cast is led by John Goodman as Woolsey, alongside Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub and Kellie Martin, with sixty-nine credited performers listed overall. Made for about 14 million dollars, the film took in roughly 10 million worldwide, an underwhelming theatrical result.

Audience reception has been favorable but modest, with a rating of 6.9 from around 14,000 votes on IMDb and 6.7 from roughly 341 on TMDB. A critics' rating of 7.6 from 43 reviews puts it noticeably higher than those viewer scores.