The Last House Is a Mystery That Never Evolves

Despite The Last House having an intriguing premise, its execution is quite lackluster. It’s another subpar science-fiction horror film.

Honestly, to call The Last House a sci-fi horror might even be a stretch. It proves to center itself as a story of survival rather than an exploration of the oceanic entity that is plaguing its world.

To craft a fleshed out sci-fi driven narrative, there needs to be a purpose and explanation behind the antagonist’s motives. By allowing the characters to gain a gradual understanding of what’s affecting the outside world, it’ll shape the narrative into one that doesn’t fall flat.

The Last House doesn’t do this. The film keeps the entity vague and nondescript. Even when the creature is shown toward the end of the movie, there is little to no anticipation for it.

There are consistent feelings of eeriness, dread, and isolation, but such emotions never lead anywhere monumental. The Last House is seemingly stuck in this loop where time continues to pass, but nothing truly changes for its characters. This is somewhat fine considering their circumstances, but it’s not an excuse for a lack of plot and diving into the entity’s lore.

From the beginning, it’s established that the rain itself is a character. However, as the film progresses, it does little to show us the contextual significance. In doing so, we’re left wondering why such a weathered event is acting the way it is.

Ruth — the youngest daughter in the family of four that we follow — is intuitive of the rain. She is consistently drawing different versions of angry rain droplets and even remarks at one point that the rain looks different.

Using children as a means of uncovering the horrors or uncanny events within a story is nothing new. Children are naturally curious and therefore more open to stumbling upon supernatural occurrences.

Unfortunately, The Last House does little to nothing with Ruth’s suspicions toward the rain.

What makes Ruth notice the rain is different? How does she pick up on its unnatural qualities? These are questions that are left unanswered.

The presence of rain can be a fascinating plot device when it adds something to the overarching narrative.

There are subtle moments where a character will put their hand against the windowpane and the rain will take the shape of their hand. Similarly, Ruth notices the rain will follow the movement of her drawing tools when they’re against the window.

These are all interesting uses of rain not only as a form of texture, but highlighting its autonomy. Though frustratingly, such scenes don’t amount to anything.

The Last House tries to come off as a movie that speaks to the influence and impact of the ocean through an otherworldly lens. However, it’s a shallow attempt. The movie never takes the time to build out a world for the creatures that are responsible for the halting of society.

Wagner Moura and Greta Lee play the duo of husband and wife.

While they perform well in their respective roles, the script gives them little to work with. The two are frequently interchanging between who is the pessimist and who is the optimist depending on how dire their situation is.

There’s a five-year time jump an hour into the movie, and we’re quickly acclimated to the reality that the outside world has developed inside. Ann (Lee) has taken to using the house’s soil as a means of growing plants. There are stalks of corn and vines of tomatoes quite literally growing between the floorboards of the family’s home. 

It’s clear the family holds a level of resilience that most wouldn’t have at this point. While this is a relevant quality for the characters to possess, it’s all The Last House focuses on. This causes the actual lore of the film to be underdeveloped. 

The Last House had the potential to be a thrilling and thought-provoking take on humanity’s relationship to the ocean. Ultimately, it was a half-baked attempt at presenting such ideas. 

---

What did you think of The Last House? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

The Last House is now streaming on Netflix.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!