I was told by many people that The Last Winter is one of the best horror films of 2007. Many of my friends and colleagues whom have a taste for the macabre all promised me that The Last Winter is my kind of horror film. They were right. There is so much that went into making this masterpiece of a film I don’t even know where to begin.
The Last Winter in terms of style is very similar to that of John Carpenter’s The Thing, that’s the first impression I got. However, just because the film takes place in the frozen tundra of Alaska, compared to Antarctica in The Thing; the movies in comparison are very different in terms of context and story. Carpenters film is just a monster film, nothing more. Fessenden’s film is a lot more than that as it deals with a economic, energy and environmental issue that we all here in the United States. The oil crisis and the very large price we are all paying for our dependency on oil as a resource. What Fessenden’s film does is give us a horrific aspect of what if the earth fought back at us for destroying mother earth. One of the characters in the film says something to the like of humans are like parasites, and mother nature is trying to rid us before we destroy her.
The story follows a group of environmentalists who are working together in the Northern Artic National Wildlife Refuge for the North company. They are their obviously looking for oil and to see if the environment is stable enough to withstand the drilling without being damaged. The company has already started building an ice road into the region as a means of environmental concern that the tundra will stay frozen and the vast wilderness on the tundra underneath the ice road will be unharmed. Ed Pollack (Ron Pearlman) is in charge of the team and is also in charge of letting the government and corporation know when the area will best be suited for harvesting the oil below. While at the outpost however, odd things begin to happen at night and members of the team go missing. The small group of workers soon learn that they are not alone and that someone or something is out there in the tundra that’s not happy with them being there.
The script is out of the world great. I for one really liked the style and complexity in which Larry Fessenden and writing partner Robert Leaver put into it. So many horror films are plainly just put onto paper without any kind of thought process involved and mainly contain a slasher or monster with a bunch of teenagers running around making bad decisions. I’ve always used the term “Smart Horror” when it comes to horror films that don’t follow the cliché, and the script for The Last Winter is not only a smart horror script, but also is a script that talks to the audience and puts not only the characters of the film in danger, but it’s one that presents a danger that may come to the human race in the future should we ruin what we have. The script is perfectly written with the perfect balance of story and character development, as well as pacing and eeriness.
The acting is really good in this film. Ron Pearlman who plays the tough and arrogant Ed Pollack gave us one hell of a performance in the role. You got a real sense of the character who acts all tough and has this real cowboy, bad boy feel to him, but actually has his secret issues of weakness, such a scene where he pisses the bed. James Legros plays the environmental extremist James Hoffman and is the guy who’s thoughts and research are what determines what actions will be taken on the tundra. I’ve seen Legros in plenty of other films and television shows, and this has got to be his best performance to date. The rest of the cast which includes Connie Britton, Kevin Corrigan, Jamie Harrold, Pato Hoffmann, Zach Gilford, Joanne Shenandoah, and writer/director Larry Fessenden himself, all were perfect in their roles. This was a script where it seemed like the actors were really behind it and all involved wanted to do their best.
The Last Winter in terms of production value looked like a film that was made for about ten million dollars when it was made for nearly a fraction of that. Sure it was shot in Iceland where you can make a film for peanuts, but the fact that the production value was superior to that of a Hollywood movie is one in itself. Everything from the set and costume design to the visual effects were flawless.
Overall, The Last Winter is a horror masterpiece. I’ve read a few posts on message boards and a few other reviews where people said they didn’t get this film. I for one will go on record as saying that those people really don’t know what a real horror film is. Real horror films are not the movies that you watch to get a thrill out of it and then forget about it the next day. Real horror films haunt you for days, they affect the way you think about your life and the world around you. The Last Winter is a film that will may you think about driving half a mile down the road when you could of just conserved the fuel in your car and walked or rode a bicycle, or leave all the lights on in your house when your not home. It’s a film that makes you think about the way you look at nature and what if, just what if, nature decided to get rid of you. By far one of the best films I’ve seen in the past year.
The DVD includes a few extras such as a feature-length documentary about the making of THE LAST WINTER, deleted scenes, an interview with Director Larry Fessenden as well as feature commentary by Fessenden as well. This is a DVD and a film that any fans of real horror films should be adding to their collection.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
