The Last House

Source: Netflix

I stumbled upon this movie just scrolling through my for you row in Netflix after dinner on a Friday night. I was in the mood for something pulpy, and I am a fan of movies like this one described itself to be.

This movie is about Greta Lee (who I know most from Sisters with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey for her role as Haewon the nail tech) and her family who mysteriously become trapped in their home during a rain storm. We follow the family as they discover why they're trapped and what's outside lurking.

Dope

It truly was a delight to see Greta Lee in a more serious role while still keeping a bit of her sense of humor in smaller moments in the movie. The acting from the whole family was really good. I truly believed I was watching two parents trying to figure out what the hell is going on and how to keep their kids safe.

Typically, I can look at the special effects for a Netflix movie and know right away it is a Netflix movie. I didn't get that feeling at all in The Last House. Whatever is lurking outside, the house including the community, and the toll their predicament takes on the family are all believable and rich. Their team does a good job making all these things logical and believable (for a sci-fi movie).

Sucks

This movie felt, and is, long. Longer than you would expect for a movie with the plot that I described above. If I'm thinking creatively maybe this was intentional on the part of the director to put the audience in the same waiting game as the characters. They were going insane inside their house and so were we.

The Last House does not escape the tropes of sci fi and horror movies where characters will inexplicably do things that are incredibly stupid to force the characters to take more risks than they have been for most of the movie, but that can be forgiven because it's something that I have come to expect from movies like this.

Since I'm not a parent I can't truly speak to the reasoning for the decisions the parents of this family made but to me, at times, it felt like their worries were mistimed for the situation they were in.

Final Verdict

Would I rewatch this? No, once is enough

Would I recommend this? Yes! Ultimately I had fun

Who is this for? Horror & Sci-fi lovers, give this one a shot. If you need something a little silly but interesting on a Friday night? She's your gal

Rating 3.5/5

Streaming now on Netflix.