Movie Review: The Last Winter

The Last Winter

Rating:  

Directed By: Larry Fessenden

Starring: Ron Perlman, James LeGros, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford

Plot Synopsis:

Ron Perlman stars as Ed Pollack, an oil company employee who arrives in Alaska. He’s eager to take some of the tundra’s oil bounty, but the rising temperatures have an environmental scientist (James LeGros) worried about the irreparable damage they could do to the Alaskan wilderness. Soon things start to go wrong at their camp, and one of their one dies mysteriously. Whether it’s cabin fever, poisonous gas, or supernatural forces, something is threatening the camp and the people who live there. (Rottentomatoes.com)

Review:

The Last Winter is a slow burn, claustrophobic thriller set in the remote Alaskan wilderness.  It’s not a thrill-a-minute story, but one that unfolds in a logical yet unsettling way.  What makes The Last Winter work is not necessarily the effects or scares.  The character development is strong and the film makers rely on our relationship with the characters to build the story’s main tension.  Not many horror movies these days trust their audiences enough and burn through plot to get to the scares.  The Last Winter is a genuinly creepy tale, but is no crap-your-pants frightfest.

The Last Winter is totally a lower budget movie.  It was made on the cheap, with minimal sets and the Alaskan setting helps with the scope of the film.  A lot of white backdrop really stretches the production dollar.  I believe it is also Larry Fessenden‘s first film.  The direction is simple yet strong.  All characters are believable and Larry Fessenden knows how to frame a shot.

I love seeing Ron Perlman in smaller films.  He’s the kind of guy who will give a first time director a shot, even if the film ends up not working (Mutant Chronicles).  The man loves to work and if you look at his IMDB page, it’s pretty impressive.  Plus, even if the movie sucks, he’s always great.  Here he plays the most low-key character I’ve seen him play.  He plays Ed Pollack, a manager of an Oil Outpost responsible for searching for Alaskan Oil.  It’s fun seeing him play the “ordinary guy” role since  I’m so used to seeing Ron Perlman in some sort of character make-up (Hellboy, Beauty and the Beast, Outlander).  Perlman is great here and gets to showcase his range as an actor.

The other actors get the job done to serve the story.  There’s nothing outstanding here, but no one is chewing scenery and help support the story.  A couple stand outs are James LeGros (sporting a pretty awesome beard) and Kevin Corrigan (you may remember him from a small, yet memorable appearance in Superbad).

As a whole, the story of The Last Winter is interesting.  It’s not mind blowing by any means, and they missed out on a massive WOW shot at the end of the film (probably due to budget), but for an hour and a half, you’ll be entertained.  If anything, you’ll appreciate that it isn’t a run of the mill horror story and attempts to be different.

Not Rated.