Louis Leterrier’s **THE LAST HOUSE** joins a growing list of thrillers seemingly inspired by the post-COVID era. Sure to trigger resentful memories of being forced to shelter in place during the global pandemic, Leterrier’s film is a dampening reminder of how miserable life really was with limited social options.
Then again, being trapped inside a house with your family for years is arguably horror enough without the creatures.
With a screenplay by Matthew Robinson, Leterrier’s film starts off very strong when a major rainstorm inexplicably results in countless occupants being entombed in their homes, but loses steam once the family at the center of the story simply goes about their lives, stuck firmly indoors.
Parents Ann and Jason (played by Greta Lee and Wagner Moura) do their best to hold their two children together against all odds, both psychologically and physically, as the weeks, months and eventually years go by.
(How the family has not succumbed to poisonous black mold over the years spent inside the home is one of the great unsolved mysteries here.)
With diminishing options as the family transitions, worryingly, from thriving to barely surviving, the central mystery as to ***who***, ***what***, ***why***—or even ***how***—this predicament unfolded around the world barely gets the attention it deserves until a hasty final act, heavy on thrills but sodden with explanation, tries to wrap things up.
Leterrier, known for creating engaging spectacle but not always sticking the landing, offers more of the same here as the family stands their ground against creatures who look like a cross between Bill Nighy’s Davy Jones from **PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN** and H.P. Lovecraft’s ***Cthulhu***.
More could have been done to explore the mystery of the creatures themselves instead of settling for the feeble “we never saw them again” explanation offered by the narration. It’s the anticlimactic ending no one asked for—especially after Netflix reeled in so much interest with an effective ad campaign that is sure to pay off with streaming records this weekend.
**THE LAST HOUSE** begins with the kind of intriguing premise that promises something far more ambitious than what ultimately arrives. Unfortunately, once the doors close, the film has nowhere nearly as interesting to go.