The Last Winter

It took me two watches to finally come around and give this movie credit where it was due. The first time I didn't see it all and I judged it unfairly as a result. It may not have helped that I saw it on the Horror Channel, which I only flick through out of boredom! It's a well crafted tale reminiscent of The Twilight Zone and with hints of Lovecraft, but also mostly steeped in reality with good use of psychology and paranoia like John Carpenter's The Thing.

You can't go wrong with it's cast, notably Ron Perlman, James Le Gros and even Kevin Corrigan and Jamie Harrold, who provide solid backing.

The theme is notably environmental horror with a big hint of the paranormal, which you can't tell in the Alaskan wilderness without a couple of natives on board. That theme, when it all mixes up with escalating events proves very atmospheric, and so whether you like the ambiguous ending or not, there's little denying that this slow-thawing chiller does a good job!

6/18/18. It was ok at its start. Almost like a cross between The Thing, Event Horizon and Alien. Decent EFXs, and then POW! -Not a very good ending.

Ah, Alaska... The Final Frontier. By far the most breathtaking place on earth, and still the most magical place I ever visited - and probably ever will visit - in my life. Since I took a road trip there (nowhere near the North Slope, obviously) I try to watch as many movies as possible that are set in Alaska, especially if they are horror. So, regardless of how good or bad Larry Fassenden's "The Last Winter" turned out, at least I was fairly confident the filming locations and the photography would be astounding.

But "The Last Winter" has more reasons for existing than just its Alaskan (and apparently also Icelandic) filming locations. It's actually a rather ambitious, creative, well-acted and contemporary relevant combo of supernatural horror and climate fiction. It's not great, but compelling enough to keep you entertained throughout its running time. A hardened crew of the North Corporation, led by the robust Pollack, is making the final preparations to start drilling for oil, in spite of doubts and warnings from the independent environmental counsellor James Hoffman. Whilst Pollack and Hoffman are constantly bickering, and not just over the environment, other crew members are behaving increasingly strange and unpredictable. Are they being haunted by the Wendigo, are toxic gassing emerging from the soil, or are the geographical isolation and working conditions just becoming too unbearable?

Mind you, I'm not upholding the mystery with that final sentence. I genuinely had no clue what was going on! Near the end, Larry Fassenden loses his grip on the plot and the overall film, but compensates the lack of logic & coherence with a couple of spectacular scenes and visual effects. The global warming and ecological morals are omnipresent in Fassenden's script, but never shoved down our throats - which is good! The cast is fantastic, the final sequence is lousy, and the film as a whole is somewhat in between.

I'm a big fan of remote, icy movie settings, especially in horror; so it's possible that I'm being generous with my 7/10 rating.

This movie could have easily been spoiled with climate change preachiness, but the contemporary messaging was balanced with suspenseful dread and growing hints of the supernatural. The lead character (Perlman's Ed Pollock) is overbearing and unlikeable, but not comically so, and there was enough depth in other characters to assist the story.

If there is one criticism, the ending could be thought of as leaving too little to the imagination. Overall a nice way to spend a snowy night at home.

"The Last Winter" has an effective build up. It's not completely original, mind you. We have seen that kind of setting before, in "The Thing" and a dozen other movies where a crew is isolated in a strange place where weird things start to happen. It's the memory of those far superior movies that make this one watchable at first. However, the story drags on and it all goes downhill soon.

The mysterious ongoings aren't really that intriguing, and they get less intriguing the more they are exposed. On top of that, Ron Perlman's character is annoying and unbelievable. He's just a constant pain in the a.., just for the hell of it. The worst part about "The Last Winter", however, is the resolution or rather the lack thereof. It seems as if director/writer whatshisface hadn't thought the whole thing through and just decided to go ahead with filming because the topic of global warming is so trendy right now.

Well, it's a pity. "The Last Winter" could have been a solid mystery/thriller. Instead it's an unsatisfying waste of your time. There are far too many good movies out there waiting to be watched for you to rent this one.