Alone with the police detective, Ángel notices photos of dead men with the same wound administered by the woman seen during his earlier spell of vertigo.

Although Ángel manages to lead the police to the two women's bodies buried outside Diego's home, the detective is not convinced.

Pedro Almodóvar said the opening sex scene between Assumpta Serna and Jesús Ruyman was unsimulated.

[2] When he was filming the final scene with Serna, Almodóvar was not sure whether Nacho Martínez, playing the wounded matador who was about to have sex with her, should graze her crotch directly with his mouth or do so with a rosebud between his teeth.

"I realized it was better to put some distance between the actor's tongue and the girl's sex", he said, during an appearance on a Spanish talk show.

[3] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "The movie looks terrific and is acted with absolute, straight-faced conviction by the excellent cast headed by Miss Serna, Mr. Martinez and Mr. Banderas.

Matador is of most interest as another work in the career of a film maker who, possibly, is in the process of refining a singular talent.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Intertwining murder and seduction, Pedro Almodóvar's Matador is a provocative thriller that will shock even the most adventurous moviegoers.