It's been 5 years since the 2021 height of Covid (as we remember Covid) and a movie about being trapped in your house with your family, unable to go outside because something out there will kill you still feels incredibly on the nose. Attempting this is bold in that it could tap into the angst we now tie to that time or it could feel like retreading ground we don't want to revisit? I'm not sure we have good memory of that time as our politics and emotions have coloured everything we discuss and exchange regarding lock down. There hasn't been a lot of appetite for films which touch on what it felt like to live through that time.
Leterrier's film is ostensively horror but attempts to be more hopeful in its treatment of its themes, flirting with some darkness without getting too deep into those weeds and eventually making its way to its happy ending of being outside in the sun again. It takes no political positions in its analogy, picking a metaphor that doesn't implicate are argument for or against anything specific. Instead it is about survival and togetherness at least on a family level. In the end that means it doesn't really have a lot to say beyond celebrating enduring and coming out the other side, no matter who you are.
The Last House ends up feeling a bit surface level and safe. The film works better than it should due to the strong performances of Lee and Moura who are both up for bringing gravitas here that might not be in the script entirely. The film's basic premise is interesting enough to keep you invested and the final act has pretty decent action movie set pieces so that it isn't boring. That's not the same as being interesting. When the film does reach its final moments its ending takes a pretty big leap that I'm not sure it earns. Leterrier really tries to push that it does but it feels a bit forced. Still, The Last House, with its central performances ends up being entertaining enough, even if its story carries less weight than one might hope.
The Last House
Starring: Greta Lee,Wagner Moura
Director: Louis Leterrier
Writer: Matthew Robinson
No comments:
Post a Comment